Introduction, ignition wire question

[shojuan]

First off I'd like to introduce myself to the
forum. My name is Rick. I have an 89 SHO that
used to belong to my parents but my wife's car died a few years back after my parents bought a
new car so now the SHO is ours. It has 147,000
miles and I'm about to perform its first 60K!
A heater hose popped a leak a month ago so I replaced that and started collecting the rest of the replacement hoses. Then the radiator went, so in went a new one. The water pump has been shorting out the CPS occasionally during the summer the past 3 years although this year I kept those problems at bay for a while with Bar's leaks. I hate using that stuff but nevertheless it bought us 6 months. So I've gathered the following new parts: plugs (can't believe the car still get 25mpg with the originals!), CPS, waterpump, coolant hoses, new shims and valve tool rental, Gates timing belt, goodyear gatorback accessory belts, and felpro VC, plug well, and intake manifold gasket sets.

I didn't buy new plug wires because A: the original wires seem to still be fine; no missing, car still runs smooth. B: The extra $150 for wires would be the straw that broke the camel's back this month. There was a new set on ebay for $85 a week ago and the wife didn't give me the go ahead at that price either.

The only problem I've felt with the engine is that the stock power level has been down quite a bit for that last 100,000 miles or so (I remember driving the car down to Big Sur summer of '89 to break it in. This was shortly after my parents bought the car and my mom went on vacation. I'd drop it to third and pass everything in sight. Good times.) We've babied the car for the past 45,000 miles so as not to stress all those old, cracked, and tired original components.

Those of you who are still with me (sorry for the long post): If the wires don't seem *obviously* bad, am I OK in waiting till the second 60K to replace them? That will be at about 210,000 miles.

Thanks!

Rick

 

[SHONUT91]

Rick,It is your car so do as you wish,but if it were me for an extra 80.00 for wires from ford parts network(new ones at that). I would replace them especially since you will already be in there and wouldn't it suck real bad to get all done and your car run like shit within 20 miles or so.
Just my .02 thumbs_u

<small>[ August 15, 2002, 06:08 AM: Message edited by: SHONUT91 ]</small>

 

[luigisho]

Rick, welcome. I agree with the above. You should replace the plugs and wires at this time. Fordpartsnetwork.com has the correct wires all day long at $84 and the correct plugs at $3.99 too. You should give the cooling system a really good flush too. The stop leak often ends up in the heater core and it's a really crappy job to replace one. Sounds like you have most of the rest covered. The best heads up I can give you is use a torque wrench when working on the valve covers. The bolts are unique in shape, expensive to replace, and break easily. The threads on the bolt and in the hole are soft too. Tie a string to the tappet holder so it doesn't pop out and end up in the oil return line in the block. Run a search on 60k topic in this section for good previous discussions. Peace.

 

[shojuan]

Yeah it would suck. Believe me I would like to get new wires now. It's just that the present wires seem fine, they don't seem to be causing any problems. Also I'm currently unemployed and my wife's promotion is taking a long time. Getting what I have was already a financial burden. Point is the money is gone now.

Any of you with high mileage SHO's ever take original wires up to 200K without problems? Scott, is it possible my wires could last me that long?

Thanks a bunch. I *really* appreciate the SHO thought collective on this forum.

Rick

 

[pjtoledo]

shojuan:
Yeah it would suck. Believe me I would like to get new wires now. It's just that the present wires seem fine, they don't seem to be causing any problems. Also I'm currently unemployed and my wife's promotion is taking a long time. Getting what I have was already a financial burden. Point is the money is gone now.

Any of you with high mileage SHO's ever take original wires up to 200K without problems? Scott, is it possible my wires could last me that long?

Thanks a bunch. I *really* appreciate the SHO thought collective on this forum.

Rick

The wires on my 92 gave me all sorts of problems when they hit 120,000 miles. New wires and plugs worked wonders for the car. Will they do any damage if left in???,,,ask around here for the story of how rich/poor running SHOs destroy the catalytic converters, which in turn can destroy the engine. My 92 now has about 246,500 miles on it, getting a bit tired now. Happy SHOing.

Perry Toledo,Ohio