General Newbie Questions

[93MTXSHO]

I got my SHO for my 16th birthday, and the last year and a half seems to have been a nightmare. The car now has 195000 miles on it, and since I've had it, I've put over 4000 into it just to keep it running.

My questions are:
Is the 3.0 Yamaha Motor a Non-interference engine? My biggest fear since I got the car was timing belt breakage, since the former owner told me that at 80K the engine had to be replaced because the belt broke.

Does the 3.0 share the camshaft failure problem of the V8SHO?

Why is the Valve Adjustment so necessary? I replaced the valve cover gaskets because I had oil in my spark plug wells, and I couldn't see or feel any wear on the shims, is this still something I should be concerned about? Other than power, what are the repercussions of not performing this service?

 

[Jr's Sho]

Look between the "register" and "faq" for the search option at the top of this page. Then type in "60k" or "timing belt" to get a list of posts just on that topic. It helps out a lot because you don't have to wait on people to reply. AND YES, THE SHO MOTOR IS A "NON-INTERFERENCE" ENGINE.

 

[projectSHO89]

Why is the Valve Adjustment so necessary?

Because the shim is made of a softer metal than the camshaft lobe, it will wear faster than the lobe and sacrifice itself first. If you don't replace the worn ones, they will eventually cause scoring and galling on the cam lobs, ruining the camshaft.

Does the 3.0 share the camshaft failure problem of the V8SHO?

Nope, that situation is uniques to the 3.4L

Steve
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