New here; son w/SHO 300 mi. away with trouble....

[DennisT]

This is not going to be a very good beginning here. Our son lives 300 miles away and bought a 1992 Ford SHO about a year ago. He began having trouble with it not long after buying it, (private party sale). Vague, long distance trouble shooting is no good for any of us, but here's what I know:

1992 SHO, 130K miles on the clock. V6 with 5-speed. No service history. Ran perfectly for a while, but now, without warning, will suddenly loose most power; check engine light comes on when this happens. He had the codes pulled which only showed it had a, "coil," problem.. Whatever coil that was he had replaced for $200 and that did not fix it. No other codes since. Car will run so poorly it is hard to maintain speed and starting from stop requires really feathering the clutch to get it going. Then, just as suddenly, power returns and dash light goes off.

I know that not much help can be given on this forum for vague problems. I am only asking here to see if such a problem such as this reflects a very common, well known symptom in these cars.

I looked for a forum FAQ, and for any references to codes and running probems but have not found anything that fits yet.

The reference to codes doesn't seem to work for me, and with no codes typically showing, not sure it would help anyway.

Car may be reverting to some kind of, "limp-home," mode, due to a simple problem. Intermittent stuff is tough.

Any comments appreciated. If he takes it to a dealer they'll probably fiddle with it for 2 days trying to get it to happen.

He loves the car, but is really discouraged at this point.

Frustrated,
Dennis

 

[93rev2sev]

Step one. Unplug "MAF" sensor. (it's on the ********* intake hose)
Drive car.
Say

Report back.

 

[DennisT]

tnx, and..

Thanks, 93. I just called him on the Coast and told him. He said car was acting up again today so in the morning would be a good time to try unplugging the MAF. I suspect that is the boxy looking thing that has a cross-hair air sensor inside. Fragile, but problematic.

I'll see what he reports tomorrow.

Bottom line is that if we can get enough confidence in this SHO, and he can keep her running for 300 miles across the Cascade mountains, we can deal with it here where he's got some support.

Dennis

 

[firstgen89sho]

another thing to check out is the DIS module, it would drop a set of cylinders, causing lack of power, and illuminating the CEL

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

Where is he located Dennis?

If a forum member happens to live nearby, they might lend a hand

 

[St Louis SHO]

I'm betting Cam Sensor myself. The wifes 95 did the same stuff when it was intermittent.

- James

 

[DennisT]

location

Thanks. Where is the DIS module located? Where is the cam sensor located? (Near the top end by cam, I'll bet !!)

He is in Northern Skagit County, WA state. He is in the process of moving to Eastern Washington state.

I don't know a darned thing about his Ford, but I do other auto mechanical maintenance, so I'm not afraid of it either.

Dennis

 

[NWGRN94MTX]

Dennis,

Check you PM's. (Private Messages)

 

[average sho]

Have your son pull the codes.

http://www.shophoenixproject.com/eec/eec.htm

 

[Phoenix]

Have your son pull the codes.

http://www.shophoenixproject.com/eec/eec.htm

Ditto , plus if you happen to have some misfire codes 215 or 216 or 217 , replace the DIS (gray module left side of intake with 4 5.5mm screws) and call it a day.

a 214 code will more likely to be the cam sensor.

But wait , if you do NOT pull any of these codes , the DIS or the CID still can be your issue here.

 

[93rev2sev]

Hopefully, we will get a report today that the car ran great with the MAF unplugged.

 

[projectSHO89]

Hopefully, we will get a report today that the car ran great with the MAF unplugged.

I'm not optimistic that will happen.

The reference to the "coil" fault codes indicates, most likely, a DIS failure as firstgen mentioned is the most probably.

Steve

 

[SuperHO]

Yeah, i'm not seeing a cam sensor in the symptoms. I'm more inclined to go with Tom on the MAF.

 

[jelloslug]

I really don't think it's the cam sensor. The failure mode on those usually is no tach and hard starting. Once it's running it will run fine though.

 

[firstgen89sho]

I still think that it is the DIS module messing up, by the sounds of the concern

 

[Lightning]

Thanks. Where is the DIS module located?

Right here, he's pointing right at it.

(Thanks SHO Phoenix Project for the image)

Where is the cam sensor located? (Near the top end by cam, I'll bet !!)

Can't see it in this picture, but the Cam sensor is in the same area, almost straight down from where his finger is, about 8".


If your son has access to the internet, give him this link: http://www.shophoenixproject.com, just a ton of good maintenance information there. (like the above picture)

 

[93rev2sev]

Once the car is running, the cam sensor does not have the ability to make it run as poorly as described.

What we have here is either a dirty MAF, Bad Coil, or Bad DIS...MAYBE really bad plugs/wires...but I doubt it...and a SLIM possibility of fuel delivery problem(dying pump, clogged filter, etc..) but thats the most unlikely of this list.

Sure, the cam sensor may be shot, but it won't make the car drive like total poo...as stated by the OP...it barely makes it down the road.

 

[DennisT]

trouble

Wow, you guys are really digging in on this.

Report: Son called a little while ago. He pulled the connector off the MAF, drove the car and it ran worse. Then he examined the connector, which looked dirty, and cleaned it really well. He was driving the car again when he called. Apparently, when this car sits for a few days, it runs fine for a day or two. He began cautiously driving it again a couple days ago. Yesterday it began it's trouble symptoms. Today, after the MAF cleaning, he said it is running perfectly. He also said that after initial running over the past two days, it had become once again a problem, and that problem would normally be very persistant now....but it is NOT. So this may be a very good sign, but he said he'd run it more today to see which direction this may be heading. No sense digging into anything else until we see what happens now. I am logging all your comments into a file. He is prepared to drive back over the mountains in another rig if needed. But it would be great if the primary issue with the Ford is resolved before he leaves, or he could actually bring it if he is confident enough. We can drive back to get the car now if needed.

I'll report again when I hear.
Dennis

 

[DennisT]

Dis

Oh, one more thing: WONDERFUL photo of the DIS location; thanks. I mentioned that over the phone. He immediately recognized that device by description and said he had a mechanic go though it in the recent past, and felt it should have been eliminated as one problem.

Dennis

 

[Shopower400]

Once the car is running, the cam sensor does not have the ability to make it run as poorly as described.

What we have here is either a dirty MAF, Bad Coil, or Bad DIS...MAYBE really bad plugs/wires...but I doubt it...and a SLIM possibility of fuel delivery problem(dying pump, clogged filter, etc..) but thats the most unlikely of this list.

Sure, the cam sensor may be shot, but it won't make the car drive like total poo...as stated by the OP...it barely makes it down the road.

Sorry, but i strongly disagree! The cam sensor WILL make the car run like it's at it's last mile. Mine would seem to run 100% then out of nowhere it would start 'bucking' and loose ALOT of power. Then it'd clear it self up and run fine again. This also tripped the CEL! I replaced it for 35$$ and got it from a local napa. Just make sure you tell them it's a "SHO" & if it's a 3.2 or a 3.0 so they don't give you the wrong part. I myself would start with the MAF as it's the easiest to get to & replace. Good luck

P.S. you can pretty much rule out plugs + wires as the coulprit as that would not clear up on it's own or randomly until you replaced it. The CPS will.