Engine Done For?

[The_Sho]

Hey guys,

Here's the story:

I was stopped in a left turn lane, and decided to turn the overdrive off, just to have fun. With the overdrive OFF, the highest RPM's i got up to were around 4,000. So i'm heading down the road and decided to turn the overdrive back on at around 50mph. so i let up on the gas, and when i turned overdrive back on, it went way below the normal rpms, and steadly went lower. the lowest they got were around 250rpms. i also notice that i wasn't really getting any power to the wheels, i had to about floor it to get anywhere. so i'm at a stop sign, and put it in neutral and started revving the engine just to keep from stalling out. it didn't do much. again, about flooring it and getting only 500rpms. when i went from the stop sign, i floored it just to get it rolling, and noticed white smoke pouring out of my exhaust. finally i pulled over and it stalled on me. It starts up fine, but low rpms and no power to the wheels at all, whether overdrive is on or not. Everytime time i give it gas, the smoke starts pouring out again. I'm thinking it may be gaskets, but my dad thinks it might be a cycliner not hitting.

If you guys could please help me, i'd appreciate it. It sucks even more because i just had it in the shop for not started, and i was just painted my centercaps and body letters!

Matt

 

[SmyleySho]

Need more info....What does the smoke smell like? If it has a syrup smell to it then yeah you have bad head gaskets or a cracked head. Have you checked your oil?.....from what you are sayin it sounds like she is a gonner.....

 

[The_Sho]

Well, it starts just fine, and idles fine for right now. the thing is it has a very hard getting above 2,00 rpms. if i really push it it jumps from 2 to 4. it feels like it is hitting a limiter or something around 2k. i'm not seeing white smoke anymore. as far as a smell, it smells like gas isn't getting burned.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Check ignition items like wires and plugs, oil in the plug wells, grounds, etc.

 

[silversho89]

I would still look into the head gasket or cracked head. Just because you don't see any more white smoke, doesn't mean you should rule it out.

 

[The_Sho]

Well after messing around with it myself, i finally got it towed to a well respected ford dealer. They figured out that a couple of spark plugs gappers were messed up and therefore would not firing. I guess that explains the gas smell coming from the engine. it smelled like a jet ski exhaust, 2 stroke engine type smell. I'm going to ask what kind of spark plugs they put in. I was looking through the car's records and found out the previous owner put bosch plugs in, and from what i'm read here, that's a very bad idea.

They also found out that the brand new DIS module i had them put in a couple weeks ago was failing as well. They said they could tap on it and the car would go crazy. Thankfully it's under warranty. So i guess all it needed was new plugs and a new DIS module. Since it has 99,130 miles on it, i'm letting them do a 100k fix too. Could you guys give me an idea on what they should look at as far as 100k goes? or anything else you could think of? I'm so glad it's not gaskets/nothing serious.
Thanks

Matt

 

[SmyleySho]

Glad to hear that it was a simple problem. Since they are changing the plugs you minus well have them change the wires also. If the 60k was'nt done, then you need to get most of that done if your pocket allows it. Did they say where the smoke was comming from? Or is that what you meant by the spark plug gappers. Im curious 'cause now I have smoke comming from my exhaust. Im pretty sure its not a head gasket, maybe unburned gas. And yeah I know what you mean by it smells like a 2 stroke engine. (o:

 

[Rockledge]

Be careful what they try and sell you as a "100K Service". My hunch is that it does not include a valve lash adjustment, timing belt change or any of the other recommended SHO-specific maintenance items. The reality is that hardly any Ford dealerships know the proper protocol for maintaining a SHO Yamaha engine.

Ask for a list of things that are to be included in the 100K service beforehand.

 

[The_Sho]

Be careful what they try and sell you as a "100K Service". My hunch is that it does not include a valve lash adjustment, timing belt change or any of the other recommended SHO-specific maintenance items. The reality is that hardly any Ford dealerships know the proper protocol for maintaining a SHO Yamaha engine.

Ask for a list of things that are to be included in the 100K service beforehand.

I specifically told them about the timing belt, valves, and o2 sensors. I'm not sure the 60k was done. I bought it with 88,000 miles on it.

Anything else besides those items?

 

[The_Sho]

Alright, I finally talked to service, and they basically said the valves are great, and don't need to be reshimmed. I asked are you sure, and he said "yeah, they look fine. In order to reshim the valves, you would have to get new lifters." Should i just take it as is and not worry?

I asked about o2 sensors because my check engine light would randomly come on and i'm getting crappy gas milage (a little under 300 miles on full tank) He said they would take a look at them. as of now all i've had replace are sparkplugs and timing belt.

 

[Rob94]

I am not a big fan of the myths of certain spark plugs and other parts being the "only one right for the SHO", or those that put down highly trained mechanics for not knowing every intimate detail of the SHO engine. With that out of the way, I'd take the car back AND worry about the job being done right. A valve reshimming does not require new lifters. I highly doubt they even bothered to remove the intake and cam covers to check them.

 

[Sho-N-Go]

How close are you to Indiana? I am not trying to drum up business for myself but I do work on these SHOs. I have a feeling as well they didnt do Squat to look at your shims

 

[The_Sho]

Depends what part of Indiana you're in. I live in Toledo Ohio. so pretty close i guess

GO COLTS!

 

[HopefulSHO]

Get it out of that dealer SHO's do not have lifters, and new shims are not hard to find. At the least you should take the shims you have now and flip 'em over sometime; give the cams a fresh surface to wear on. www.shonutperformance.com has good prices on the tools for it and such.

o2's are not hard to change; and would save you from getting boinked by the dealer on it. You can also check your computer's codes with a paperclip or some sort of short wire. www.shotimes.com has an article on it; or you could search the forums.

 

[JoeSho59]

The valve adjustment is very important. I have done this service twice and both times very little if any adjustment was necessary,BUT, if you did have a worn shim and did not replace it, the cam will wear down and then you are in for some big bucks to repair. Most mechanics will say it is not necessary because the job is not easy and does not offer any noticable gains when performed. It is routine PREVENTATIVE maintenence and should not be overlooked when performing the 60 or 120K.

 

[josh m kuhn]

i have a 93 mtx with 144000 miles on it and im not sure that the valve adjustment was ever did on the car. I havnt been too concernd becuase it runs good and quiet and gets good gas mileage but how difficalt is it to do the valve adjustment. you dont have to take the whole head off or do you.?