Got a free SHO, needs some work.

[kdanderson5]

I got a 93 mtx for FREEEEEEEE this week. Has 190k miles on it. Seems to run good, but all 4 struts are shot to crap and it is missing the passenger side muffler. My questions....

I am going to swap out all 4 struts eventually (muffler comes first, then rear struts, then front) should I replace the springs too? No idea if the springs are the factory ones (by how bad the struts are, guessing it is all factory)? I am going to check out the bushings, brakes, wheel bearings while I am in there also.

I have never replaced struts so I don't know if it is worth it to just do the struts, or buy a whole new strut/spring assembly and be done with it.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Vnuk1]

Replace the Struts and springs, you'll thank yourself later. Pics or it didn't happen

 

[SHOtime2511]

I'd replace the springs too,the rears like to sag on these cars.
The assembled "quick struts" will make your cars ride height very high,F150 like.
Go with monroe sensatracs with moog cargo coils.

 

[kdanderson5]

I'd replace the springs too,the rears like to sag on these cars.
The assembled "quick struts" will make your cars ride height very high,F150 like.
Go with monroe sensatracs with moog cargo coils.

I am wanting to go cheaper though since the car was free, I don't want to really drop a lot of coin into it if I don't HAVE to . But then again I don't really want it looking like a truck bahaha.

My main worry is the car was parked for close to 2 years so I am not sure what I am going to run into not too far down the road, hence not wanting to drop a lot of money right away. The back end is sagging HORRIBLY right now, and you can feel the front suspension is just as bad.

Ill take some picks of it tonight when I am doing a few thing to it and post them up! Maybe I will run outside and snap a qucik pic of it now and throw it up here

Thanks again!

 

[frosho]

I wouldn't be surprised if the rear springs are broken. Definitely get new springs along with the struts, and get all new mounts and bushings too.

 

[kdanderson5]

I wouldn't be surprised if the rear springs are broken. Definitely get new springs along with the struts, and get all new mounts and bushings too.

I guess i will go that route then! It wont be right away though. Want to make sure it is going to keep running smooth for a month or so.

He is a quick pic as promised!



Passenger side rear wheel well and the whole lower portion of the car has some cancer, but it was free and it is a lot cheaper to drive then my 05 Dodge Ram so I will have no problems living with it!

 

[boat]

Wow, clean on the outside, but other than that, that is some serious rot going in if your cladding is falling off. I'd take a look underneath and see how much more rot is under there. It could get to a point of being unsafe.

 

[NP SHO]

The real question here is do you want to fix it cheap and then fix it again, or would you like to fix it right and be done with it? I just went through this with my 95 and I replaced everything. Kind of expensive up front, but I won't have to do it again. If you're going to do it right you're going to want to replace the struts, springs, mounts, endlinks and bushings. In the front you may want to check your tie rod ends also.

Is this work that you are going to perform yourself? If so, you're going to want to spray down all nuts and bolts with penetrating fluid once a day for a week. This will help you out immensely. The strut rod nuts and the pinch bolts are going to be a pain in the ass. Take your time and remember that heat is going to be your best friend. If you don't have a torch you may want to pick up one of those little MAP cylinder torches. That's what I used.

How has the car been maintained? This is also something to take into consideration. A well maintained SHO can bring you right up into the 300k mile range. If the car has not been maintained correctly though, it will be one problem after another.

I understand you not wanting to spend a lot on the repairs because the car was free. The way I look at it is you should be able to spend a little more in maintenance and repairs since you didn't have to put anything out to purchase the car. Just my 2 cents.

Good luck with the project. PM me if you need any advice. As I said I just finished this project with mine. Welcome to the forum and keep us posted with progress and pics!

 

[93rev2sev]

There's no such thing as a free SHO....or was that a puppy...

 

[frosho]

Lunch.

TINSTAAFL

 

[pitaSHO]

Lunch.

TINSTAAFL

I love google...

 

[frosho]

Dammit, you quoted my typo!

 

[Art5]

if side skirts are falling off, that's not good at all. yep check under the car. My red SHO is very very bad like that. sides are that rusty, that the whole car i making noise , because a lot of metal points are not attached anymore. Also, One subframe bolt rusted so bad, that I can't take it off to replace mount and that plays a big role in handling. little bracket for e-brake cable is gone with the rot, and I don't have e-brake anymore. So, in reality, sometimes it is cheaper to give something away, then mess with it.

 

[kdanderson5]

Ill take a good look under it tonight, it is going to be the first time I am going to have it up (figuring out a way to reattach the side skirt).

I am friends with the guy that gave it to me so I know there is on problems that he knows of with it besides what he told me about. He did not give it away because he knew someting was wrong, he gave it away because it has sat in his driveway for a long time and his wife wanted it gone, so they gave it to the single guy

 

[kevinspann]

There's no such thing as a free SHO....or was that a puppy...

Truth. BTDT

 

[StAnGbAnGeR]

From the sounds of it, I'm going with rust. This is how my 93 was, then one harsh chicago winter did it in.

 

[pitaSHO]

Dammit, you quoted my typo!

:laugh_ti::laugh_ti::laugh_ti:

Fixed.

 

[pitaSHO]

To OP; make it driveable and run it into the ground. I doubt it's worth fixing too much.

My .02.

 

[kdanderson5]

Well I have decided after looking under the car and giving the whole thing a good sweep, I am not putting a lot of money into the car. The rear tires are shot from the rubbing on the blown struts, the entire exhaust is worse then I thought, and the whole underside of the car is rather rusty from the wonderful Iowa winters.

So I am going to do what I am sure some people are not going to think is a good idea, find different suspension for the rear from a junk yard, at least some that is has not totally crapped out, get 2 used tires, fix the exhaust good, and do what pitaSHO said, drive it into the ground. It runs good and has a clutch that only has 10k miles on it in the car, but the rust has me concerned. Time to weight the options, my option it not a lot of coin.

Can anyone tell me if it will screw up the back pressure/hurt anything if I replace the exhaust from the manifold back and DO NOT do the dual exhaust and go with a single outlet? I don't think this should matter since it is a Y pipe by the rear axle anyways but I want to be sure!

Thanks again for the help!

 

[frosho]

Single exhaust is fine.