Possible new sho?

[Foamy]

Well I am looking at a 1992 red/black mtx sho, but it has a few issues that I would like an opinion on before deciding. First off it has the usual rust on the door jams and what not, it has a new clutch and the interior looks to be in good shape.

The bad is what I think is a rod knock at 3000-4200rpm(obvious new rod bearings) and a front seal leak(bad enough that the car smokes from under the hood). Now I am not too sure what seal it is but worst case I was thinking a crank or main seal. I dont know a whole lot about the v6 sho motors so I dont know what is involved in replacing/repair both.

The asking price is $1200, but I figure I could get it for less but would it be worth my time to try and repair it? Or a better question is, does anyone have a gen2 mtx for sale near Edmonton Alberta, that wont need a whole lot of work to make it a reliable dd?

 

[SuperHO]

if there's rod knock, run...run away fast...run as though your hair was on fire and your ass was catching...

 

[Foamy]

Fair enough. I guess I will avoid that one and keep looking. Getting rather difficult to find a good used sho these days it seems.

 

[rubydist]

in my experience, a rod knock is going to be much more noticable at idle than at 4k rpm. I would listen closely to see what else you might find. I have heard loose timing belts cause a knock very much like rod knock, for example.

front seal leaks that get on the exhaust are more likely to be cam seals than crank seals, but I would replace them all while I was at it.

$1200 is too much for that car w/ the engine issues you describe and the rust issues, imho.

 

[sho'noffmtx]

^^^ agreed. 1200 is too much. if you take the 1 off the front you might have something to start with...

 

[TYSHO]

It can be the timing chain tensioners gummed up. An easy clean, while replacing the oil seals and you have a great running SHO. It depends on the knowledge of the buyer if you end up having a deal or not. I bought a SHO that the previous owner told me had rod knock and if I planned on buying it to fix, I was wasting time. I bought it with the valve covers off, the next day I drove by his house when he was outside... the look on his face was priceless.

Rod knock and rod bearing failure is overrated on these motors from less knowledgable forum members going with the flow of what they hear.

 

[SuperHO]

from my experience, rod knock isn't always quite as noticeable at idle as it is under light load around 3k. question for the OP...did you happen to open the hood to attempt to pinpoint location of said knock?

 

[Phoenix]

I agree with the others , but sometimes SHOs in Canada are hard to find. At least in Quebec they are.

For 500$ I would consider it.

You can try to lowball it and give him your number if ever he changes his mind. Sometimes it works.

But im saying that only if you are going to do the work yourself , if you plan to bring it to a garage , stay away from it.

 

[sperold]

X2 on a SHO being hard to find in Canada.
First off, there were not a lot sold here. Then you have the rust. Then you have the repair / dealership issues of trying to service a rare car by personnel who have never seen one.
There are very few SHOs to start with and even less now, so if you want one, you have to be prepared to negotiate and pay more than what is quoted on this forum.
I would be surprised if a rod knock showed up at 3 to 4 thousand rpm and did not make a noise at idle where you have a whopping 3 to 5 PSI oil pressure.
At an idle, slowly release the clutch and stall the the motor out.... the last few rpm should really be clunking.
Like Phoenix said, it you want to tackle this car yourself then it is a go. You will find a few members from Alberta on this forum who can advise / help you. You are not going to find a garage or dealership that can work on it, and even if you do, they will take so long you will go broke.
The reason the guy wants $1200.00 is because he paid that to have the new clutch installed.
Maybe give it some time and that memory will dull, and the price will come down.

 

[TYSHO]

When you have rod knock, it's not just a knock you are listening for, look for a flickering oil pressure warning light. Like I said, the rod bearings are overrated. If it was such a huge problem, there wouldn't be so many SHO's available in the market.

I have yet to run across a SHO in the junkyard seized up from rod bearing failure. I've ran across many locked up from the timing belt pulleys, misdiagnosed for a seized crankshaft.

There are too many problems that will give you a rod knock sound, but everyone likes to scream ROD KNOCK, RUN AWAY. It's time to dig in the archives and listen to those members who actually have knowledge from personal experience and not those who read and try to relay the information they have read.

 

[TYSHO]

The bad is what I think is a rod knock at 3000-4200rpm(obvious new rod bearings)

If he replaced the rod bearings, ask to see if he has the old ones because they will tell you the story. If they were damaged with the crankshaft, I'm sure he wouldn't have spent money to replaced them.

 

[Marc]

Did you try looking at kijiji, they pop up once in a while.
Hmmm, Edmonton, 95 mtx, 87k km, no rust...

 

[Foamy]

When I had the hood up I didnt hear any knocking, it showed up under light and heavy throttle use near 3k rpm. The guy didnt mention having the bearing replacedI actually stalled the car the first time I tried to move it(been a while since driving a manual) and I didnt hear any other clunking or knocking. There was no flickering oil light either. I was planning on waiting to try and lowball him a bit. His wife said that if it didnt sell fast she would take $1 to get rid of it, so maybe a few more days/weeks might help.

Yah I seen the 1995 sho on kijiji and while it sounds great, I am not paying $8500 for one.

 

[sperold]

If it really has a new clutch, the interior is nice, the exterior does not need new paint, and the AC system works well (including the dreaded blend door)...... then the price is not crazy/wacky. The only wild card is the leaky / noisy motor, and what will it take to fix the leak and diagnose the noise. There is a good chance the motor will NOT have to come out to enact the fixes, and despite the smoke embarrassment, the car can be driven to a place to diagnose it.
Only make serious plans to buy it after you have made contact with a forum member who is close to you. There is too much to learn and not enough time to learn it for you to tackle this thing now. It will overwhelm you. Later on, it will be a different story.
Call the owner's house, and make sure his wife is aware there is a potential buyer, you will be getting a call soon enough.