New Sho Owner...need Some Help!!!!!

[1black89mtx]

Im the proud owner of an 89 black mtx, which i just recently aquired. the car is in great condition as far as exterior/interior and mechanically, there are just some small or maybe not so small problems I would love to get cleared up so I can enjoy my new SHO. If anyone can answer any of the following questions I would greatly appreciate it...

The biggest problem right now with it being winter and all is that the heater does not work. I replaced the thermostat (not with the recommended Ford B, just a regular i picked up from autozone), and i could tell the heat has gotten warmer but barely. It takes a very long time for the car to warm up and even after i've been driving for a while the temp gauge is very low (just above the C area in the grey)..what is my next step in fixing the heat? oh and i also did the self test for the auto temp control and it says i have a blend door problem...what is this and how is it fixed?????

Next...My fog lights are not working and i cannot figure it out for anything..do the fog lights normally turn on with the head lights and parking lights or is there a separate switch (my mtx is mostly the same as it rolled off the line so no mods have been done as far as the interior controls go)

Next...this is very minor but it bothers me...there is a round hole in the middle of the compartment where the interior lights and the sunroof control switch is. Was there some sort of switch there, maybe for my fog lights..or what was it??? Am I missing something important.

And finally...I was looking under the car and the exhaust pipe has a hole in it..will this affect performance..should i get this fixed immediately???

Sorry I lied this is the last thing...As a new SHO owner I most definitely want to see how this car stacks against others racing wise...what are safe shift points while racing 1st:..., 2nd:.....etc.. I definitely dont need to replace a transmission or blow my engine after having the SHO for just 2 weeks...

IF ANYONE CAN ANSWER ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT....

Also, is there anywhere i can get headlight/tail light covers for my 89...

 

[Black89SHO]

Hi, and welcome to the SHO world I don't know that much about the heating so I will skip that one.

The fog lights. There is a switch right next to the rear defrost switch to the left of the steering wheel.(there should be two switches anyway) The one closest to the steering wheel is the fog lamp switch. So there is a seperate switch.

My SHO has no sunroof so I can't answer this one either.

The exhaust pipe with the hole should be fixed. I am not sure if it will affect performance or not. I imagine that it would. So just fix it to be on the safe side.

The SHO is a fast car. You can suprise alot of other fast cars out there. The SHO loves to be revved. The rev limiter is set at 7250 rpms. I have read that the best shift point is at around 6700 rpms for all gears. I tried this when racing an Eagle Talon TSI turbo, and it worked well. I won

That was the first and only time I have raced....ever. I would suggest not to go around racing alot because the SHO tranny has an open differential and to much banging on the gas or excessive burn outs can cause the tranny to say byebye. So if you do decide to race alot just be aware of this. You could always install a quaife into the tranny, but that is expensive. But I have heard that if you have the $$$ it is the best mod you can do to the SHO. Have fun.

Head/tail light covers ?????? Sorry man.

 

[autobahnsho]

Welcome to the love/hate SHO world.. :evil_gri:

Shifting while racing depends on how long you want the car to last/ how much you want to spend on repairs. You can shift all the way up to 7000rpms, but after about 6700 the horsepower drops off and so you're better shifting before that. Shifting that high will wear on your clutch more than regular driving. And if you find you can't go faster than 1XX-sh in 4th gear, (around 5000 rpms if I remember right,) shift to 5th and keep going...

Is there cardboard or anything going in front of the radiator? does the fan stay on all the time when the car is on? These will affect heating. The fan should NOT be on all the time, just when the temperature climbs. But if the switch/relay whatever goes out, sometimes people wire the fan so it's always on.

The sunroof console hole is so you can manually close the sunroof if the motor breaks. It should have a little cover that plugs it.

The fog lights are wired from the factory to only work if the regular headlights (not just the park lamps) are on. The switch is on the right of the steering wheel. Shotimes.com has a writeup on how to wire the switch to always work.

The exhaust pipe could let Carbon Monoxide (CO) into the car, which can **** you. I'd get it fixed as soon as I could, definitely don't let the car idle a long time, letting exhaust into the car. CO poisoning builds up in the body over time and the only cure is to get away from it.

 

[rangerj]

!. exaust leak: Ditto - get it fixed ASAP. As you said it is winter and we tend to drive with the windows up. CO2 will get into the cabin and can **** you. Enough said?

2. Blend air door: The blend air door is acuated by vacuum. The vacuum motor may have a leaking diaphram (age) and is letting cold air in to mix with your warm air, consequently you are not getting warm. Are your heater hoses hot? Feel them when the car is fully warmed up. Do the same for the radiator hoses.

Check the connection at the temperature sending unit. This is the single wire unit near the thermostat, not the temperature "sensor". The sending unit provides the signal for your temperature gauge. Did the aftermarket thermostat you installed have a sealing "O" ring arround its perimeter? If not you could have to much fluid bypassing the thermostat (long shot). If the engine is in facr running "cold" the Electronic Control Unit (ECU), the "computer" (the big Kahuna), will "code". Search the prior threads on how to get the codes. As a SHO owner this is a skill that you must master ASAP.

The hole in the overhead cover: I have the same hole in my 90. I think there may have been a plastic plug in there at one time to serve as a cover. It bothered me for a while but I have learned to ignor it. You have plenty of other things to worry about, so set this one aside.

Fog lights: First step is to determine if you are getting power to the lights. Then you can hook up battery power to the lights to be sure that the lights work. If the lights work then start tracing the problem back to the switch by doing continuity tests. Before doing any of this check the fuses.

As for Racing: I advise against anything other that legal sanctioned racing e.g. NHRA, AHRA, SCCA, etc. Street racing is dangerous, irresponsible, and can be deadly. If you really want to know how good you and your car are, do it on a sanctioned track where it can be witnessed and documented for all the world to see. Anything else is just plain bovine excrement! You have no right to put other peoples lives in danger. rangerj

 

[Black89SHO]

I didn't even think that the hole in the ehxaust could cause CO2 to leak into the cabbin. Get it fixed man, get it fixed.

 

[anarchy04]

I heard that the rev limiter is higher in 89's than in the rest if the years, personally I think my 89 have the rev limiter around 7600-7800, I have no problem getting it above the 7500 rpm line.