General maintenance, kinda long, several questions

[Will]

Ok, ive got the sho torn all down, as we are doing timing belt, acc. belts, water pump, plug wires, and a/c clutch. I have a couple of questions. Thanks

Advanced auto has a lifetime warranty pump for $185. This is the best price i have found and a good warranty too. Is it any good?

At auto zone they have msd wires. I ordered those. Has anyone ever used them?

And the last question, i think.
I hear all this talk about rod bearings and the bad shape they are in. I just got my SHO about a month ago. She has 117k on her. Should i get in there and check, or not?

Oh yeah, just a tidbit. Pulled the old plugs, I think they were originals as they had burned to a gap of 72 thousandths.

Thanks for the help,
Will

 

[luigisho]

I would get the waterpump from Rockauto.com. I think it's around $60 with a core return charge. There is a post somewhere here for the 5% discount this month too.

Rod bearings- your call. It seems a little early, but if it were me I'd do it. I've seen good bearings at this mileage and I've seen spun bearings at lower mileage. Thankfully it's not a very difficult job. I would spend the money and do it for peace of mind. Get the felpro oil pan seals from AutoZone and some extra black rtv to reseal the pan. A new y-pipe to catback exhaust donut would be a good idea too.

 

[Yamaha V6]

Rod bearings:
Opinion... Do it.

You need more than the OS FelPro gasket set though.

• Rod Bearings, Clevite # CB1435P (Napaonline.com), about $7.50 per cylinder (6qty req'd for all).
• Large tube of Ultra Gray (sensor safe) RTV. RTV included in the pan seal set isn't quite enough.
• Oil Pan Seal Set
• Oil Pump Pickup Tube to Oil Pump gasket (or get the "Timing Cover Set" from FelPro that has the front crank seal in it; it contains the pump to block gasket & pickup tube gasket); the pickup tube gasket is discontinued (of course) from Ford. I've been going on locator services all week scarfing them up. Costs more to ship them than to buy them.

14 / 15mm sockets for Y-Pipe stud nuts (depending on how rusted away they are, PB Blaster for said nuts, 18mm (or whatever size bolts you have on the Y-Pipe to cat-back), 15mm & 13mm for Starter removal, 12mm for oil pan (u-joint / "wobble" for one bolt) & for windage tray / splash shield, 10mm for oil pump pickup tube to pump nuts & girdle bolts, 13mm? for rod end caps, torque wrench for caps. I also use a rubber mallet to pop the pan loose from the old RTV.

I think it's 24lb-ft 1st torque, 35lb-ft for second torque on the caps.


Waterpump:
No "Autozone" Pump experience, sorry.
Rock Auto is a reman'd pump (front only), with a gasket. Half the time the gasket's torn or mangled due to the way it's packed in there. It's still a good deal though, I've only had one or two A1 Cardone (Rock Auto) pumps fail on me so far.

Good luck on your service.

 

[ShoGuy93]

Will:

At auto zone they have msd wires. I ordered those. Has anyone ever used them?

I would stick with either the motorcraft or taylor wires. they seal the best...

 

[noSHO]

If you paid for those MSD wires, I'd get your money back, if not, opt out of buying them. I don't know for sure, but I doubt they fit right. Autozone carries all kinds of neat wires and plugs that aren't even close to fitting right, so I'd pass and order them from Summit (Accel wires) or get some Ford ones from Ford Parts Network. Make sure you get the Ford plugs, don't get any other kind. You can get Denso, but it's so much easier just to get the Ford ones that you know will fit. This is very important.


I got a water pump with a 2 year warranty for under $43 from Murray's auto, so you can definitely do better than that price. You may opt to pay more for a lifetime warranty, it's your choice. My pump was a whole pump, complete with intact o-ring.

Do the rod bearings if you can. I might do mine if I can this summer, I've got a hair over 98,000.

 

[sdpatt]

Try this post for some of the best sources for the right parts. Stick with the Motorcraft wires and plugs. You can do much better on the water pump. The connecting rod bearings would depend a great deal on the previous oil history and use/abuse of the engine. They are cheap insurance for a long engine lifetime.

 

[I'll_SHO_U]

I too ordered the MSD wires from autozone and like scott said, stick with the motorcraft wires. I picked them up and they look like they would work great except for the fact that they won't seal off at the top of the valve cover. Its a shame cause the price is right.

 

[BenSwanson]

rock auto discount code is 42048-good thru june 15

 

[I'll_SHO_U]

how much is the discount?