Questions about an SHO

[Mazdarx]

I have liked these cars for years and I always wanted one, but I could never justify owning one as I had one fast car and one 4x4. Now I am down to just the 4x4 (a Jeep btw) and the gas is killing me driving it everyday as it averages 13-14mpg. So anyway, I decided I should get another car cheaper on gas to drive every day and I came across an SHO for sale and figured now might be the time to get one. So this is the car

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rch/cto/2142129060.html

I went and checked it out, now as I understand it the heater core is an 8-10 hour job as the dash comes out? Beyond that, it had some rust on the passenger side quarter panel and some scrapes and such around the rest of the car not terrible for a 20 year old car. For whatever reason the hood is black, I don't know the difference between a regular and Plus hood, but it sounded plasticky when I knocked on it. The shifter felt very unusual to me, I don't know if it's normal for these cars or not though. It's hard to describe, most cars I have driven when you move the shifter around they feel kind of springy and return to center, this one felt stiff and it would basically just stay where you would leave it. But is this normal for these cars? The shifter itself looked shorter than the pictures I have seen of other SHO's can they be shortened and could that cause this? It was The guy said it was like that before he changed the transmission and cables. The reason for the tranny change was the diff pin ejected, it apparently cracked the case when it went. It also pulls to the right, I am not too sure what could be causing that? it has the black interior in good shape, aside from the climate control buttons falling apart. I had one other question regarding these cars, how do you carry skis or snowboards with one? The seats apparently don't fold down.

 

[lowc]

looks ok but with the issues he has listed i wouldnt buy it (personaly) the price is about right, but im sure you can find one in better shape for a few bucks more. the one thing i would be worried about is the whole subframe thing. who knows what he rigged up in there. might be the reason its pulling

 

[Mazdarx]

I figured I would offer the guy 5-600$ for it. I know he was given the car by his cousin, so his only investment in the car is the repairs. Oh it also has the airbag light on, and the anti-lock light flashes too. As far as the subframe bushing, I would probably swap in the Gen3 bushings, from what I have read that is the way to go. Doesn't look to be too difficult.

 

[93rev2sev]

Roof rack or trunk rack for the toys.

Looks like that car has lowering springs.

And yes, that's a plus hood.

 

[rubydist]

I would be very concerned about the rusted subframe bushing issue. Take a very good look at that before you decide to move forward. Depending on what is rusted, that may be a deal-breaker. If its the subframe, you can replace that for around $100 plus half a day's work, but if its the structure of the unibody that's rusted, I would walk away from this one.

The abs will give you a code if you pull it, which will tell you what that issue is. The abs will not work if the light is on.

The airbag light will flash a code at startup that will tell you what that issue is. The airbags will not deploy if that light is on.

The airbag and abs are typically not expensive to fix, but it depends on what the issue is, and I would figure that out before buying a car.

You can use your knowledge of the problems to negotiate a better price, depending on what you find.

R&R of the dash to fix the heater core is an all day project for you and a buddy the first time you do it. While you are in there, you are also going to want to make sure the blend door actuator works well, and replace the eatc and replace all the lights in the dash so you know they all work.

Good luck and welcome to the forum!

 

[Mazdarx]

I figured the abs and airbag wouldn't work with those lights on, that doesn't concern me too much as my Jeep doesn't have either of those things and it hasn't been an issue. As far as the subframe bushings, I was under the impression it was just the bushing that was an issue, not a rust problem in that area. But I am going to clarify that with the guy who has the car now. Any other questions I should ask him? Oh and not like it's a huge difference, but the car actually has 280,000kms and he listed it as 290,000. The guy who owns it is not an SHO guy, he had no idea what it was when he got the car.

 

[luigisho]

Check the subframe for rust and rot. There have been issues of subframe failure due to corrosion in salted areas. The bushing recall was also issued primarily for salted road regions. You can find a good used subframe if you need it. Might be alot of work. Take it for a drive and get it looked over on a lift.

 

[pitaSHO]

Rotted subframe bushings, bad heater core, ABS light, airbag light, car pulls to the right, unknown used tranny installed (correctly?), rotted exhaust, sloppy shifter... my advice = There's no telling any other issues that may come up after all of this is addressed. There are nicer ones out there, unless you really want to fix this one. And when you do get one, even if it is this one, welcome to the family, where we treat each other like distant cousins. :wave:

Chris K.

 

[Mazdarx]

Well here is where I am at with this car. I am sure there are nicer SHO's out there, but currently there is only one other SHO for sale anywhere close by, and it's a race car going for just under $4000. I don't really want to spend the next 6 months or however long looking for another one either. So if I pass on this car, it will be to buy something other than an SHO. This car does have some issues I realize, but none of them will/should keep me from being able to drive it. It does have some good things going for it too, lowered, plus hood, Gen3 chromies, nice black interior, all the power stuff works, the major mechanical stuff is done already.

 

[Mazdarx]

Ok, just got an email from the guy now. The subframe bushings are made from hockey pucks, there is no rust issues there. He said the transmission had 30,*** kms on it when he put that in 5000 kms ago. Not sure where he found a transmission with that low of mileage on it. Also it may or not be relevant, the guy had gone to school for first year mechanics, and he used this car as a project to work on in class.

 

[yung1]

You might want to check out the classifieds here, if you haven't already done so, and compare some of the SHO's on there to what you are looking at. You will probably find one in much better condition with it being owned by a member of the forum, and have a slim-to-none chance of being effed over as you are likely to find members who know the seller personally and can vouch for him or her. Also, morals, for the most part, run high around here, as is evident by the family-like atmosphere.

 

[93fordsho]

Ok, just got an email from the guy now. The subframe bushings are made from hockey pucks, there is no rust issues there. He said the transmission had 30,*** kms on it when he put that in 5000 kms ago. Not sure where he found a transmission with that low of mileage on it. Also it may or not be relevant, the guy had gone to school for first year mechanics, and he used this car as a project to work on in class.

that one might make me a little nervous.if he didnt know what he was doing

 

[zach44102]

two subframe bushings rotted off (common thing on all these cars) i have two homemade one i put on there because i dont think its worth buying new ones..

Sound's like to me the previous owner did all the maintence and this guy has let the car go. i say walk away. or buy it, part it, scrap it

 

[rubydist]

hockey pucks do not last as subframe bushings, so you need to replace them. they creep over time, and don't stay tight. some have also split, so you will need to replace those, even if there is no other rust in the area.

 

[digeronimo34]

Ok, just got an email from the guy now. The subframe bushings are made from hockey pucks, there is no rust issues there. He said the transmission had 30,*** kms on it when he put that in 5000 kms ago. Not sure where he found a transmission with that low of mileage on it. Also it may or not be relevant, the guy had gone to school for first year mechanics, and he used this car as a project to work on in class.

WOW hock pucks!!!!! That's the first time that I have heard about that mod ...... What you get ten extra horses? Lmao

 

[luigisho]

WOW hock pucks!!!!! That's the first time that I have heard about that mod

That's been done a few times around here.

 

[Mazdarx]

Sound's like to me the previous owner did all the maintence and this guy has let the car go. i say walk away. or buy it, part it, scrap it

The guy that currently owns it is the one who did all the maintenance work to it. He may not have really known what he was doing, but if it was done at a school at least there should have been an instructor there to help. I have read about the hockey puck thing here before, but I'm sure it's the same deal as using them for body lifts (some guys do that) the rubber just doesn't have the durability and they fall apart over time. So I do figure on having to replace those before too long, as I had said earlier probably with some Gen3 bushings from a wrecking yard.

 

[SHOYAY]

Me personally, I would wait.besides, its winter time and alot of people who have one they might sell wont try selling it until spring time, if you want to wait that long. If you really want a sho, dont rush into it, my friend learned that the hard way.

 

[lowc]

why go through the trouble of getting them from a junk yard when they are not that expensive in the first place, and who's to say that the ones you put in from a jy are gonna be any good or last a good period of time. if your planning on buying this car PLEASE fix it the correct and safe way

 

[gmail]

i like the price, if the car is rust free id jump all over it...

you will be fixing a lot of stuff im sure but for me its the normal because these cars are old and no one ever takes the steps to take care of them..

you know a funny thing to me is how everytime someone replaces something and says i replaced this with a low mileage one they never seem to have proof of it...

chances are that trans got a ton of miles on it