suspected cam failure

[rksailor]

Hey all, I'm looking for some help with my son's 98 SHO. It has what I suspect is a cam failure on the rear head. It has no compression on the #1 or 2 cylinders, but I haven't been able to get to the #3 or 4 cylinders yet. I have a few questions about how to fix this, such as, do I need a new head with good cams or can I replace the bent valves, replace the cam that is bad, get them welded and get him back on the road? I read a thread where the contributor had a similar problem with his front head, but some of his questions were not ansswered in that thread. I think his log-on was PFD or something similar. TIA for all your help-Mike

 

[midnightauto]

As long as a valve head did not brake off it can be fixed with some valves and welded cams. I have pics of the repair just click the project 99 link below to see what your in for.

 

[NebraskaSHO]

Just don't weld your spun cam though and put it back in the car.

 

[SHO Dude]

Just don't weld your spun cam though and put it back in the car.

Why not. We do it all the time.

RKSAILOR - How far from Atlanta are you?

This is a job we do on a regular basis.

 

[rksailor]

Do I really need to pull the engine out of the car to do this repair? It seems to me that this is a maintenance intensive vehicle, I'm wondering if this car is worth the time and money for a 23 year old with limited mechanical skills. After the cams are welded, how reliable are these vehicles? I'm about 350 miles from Atlanta. Doug, can you PM me with a quote to weld them up if I can get the heads to you. I'm going to try to find a cam that has not spun, once I know which one it is, but I'll look at all options. I haven't had a chance to get into the engine. I have a lot more questions, but I'm going to take this a little at a time. Thanks-Mike

 

[NebraskaSHO]

Why not. We do it all the time.

RKSAILOR - How far from Atlanta are you?

This is a job we do on a regular basis.

You weld on a spun cam? I've only heard bad things about doing that. I guess you have done it many more times than I have though.

Anyways...

 

[JoesSHO]

Gen 3's ('96-'99) are way less labor intensive than the Gen I and II's ('89-'95) are. It's not a money pit, most everyone I know with a welded SHO has limited problems mostly caused by overdriving them too aggressively.

 

[roland]

Gen 3's ('96-'99) are way less labor intensive than the Gen I and II's ('89-'95) are. It's not a money pit, most everyone I know with a welded SHO has limited problems mostly caused by overdriving them too aggressively.

definitely, about 90% of my maintenence issues are from abusive driving

 

[JoesSHO]

Thought so... lol!

But hey- that's not a SHO thing, that's any car... Might as well be in a SHO for the good times!

 

[NebraskaSHO]

Yep, my car has been very reliable (knocks on wood) for nearly two years. Only one coil pack, and a suspension rebuild and it's been all good.

The transmission however... that's been a steady decline since I bought it.

 

[rksailor]

Well he certainly doesn't baby it. The tranny was rebuilt by AAMCO before he bought it, but if there is a known problem in them, I'm sure they did nothing to fix that, just rebuilt it to stock specs. The previous owner did nothing as far as regular maintenance, just fixed it when it broke, so it might take awhile to find all the glitches. If these cars are fairly dependable, we'll figure out a budget and go from there, with 103,000 mi on it, it's in below average condition for it's age and mileage. Most of the leather is ******* the top of the back seat with lots of cracks in the driver's seat. If we decide to fix this, what are we looking at cost wise? I know I'll need gaskets, valves and other misc. stuff, plus the cost of welding the cams. Thanks again-Mike

 

[E1]

More than 10 posts, and nobody has asked if you registered the camfailure with V8SHO.com yet.

huh.

Well - IS IT?

 

[sososho]

I've had three of these all high miles and yet to experience a cam failure.

 

[NebraskaSHO]

Good for you

 

[stephen newberg]

I've had three of these all high miles and yet to experience a cam failure.

The milage at which failure occurs seems to be hugely variable, and since we know of actual failure on less than 10% of the production run, there is very little of statistical validity on this. There are folks that have reported being in excess of 200K with no problems and others with failures below 50K. It seems likely that all of them will fail eventually, but at what point and under what circumstances and use history is really not known or apparently knowable. With that in mind, if you value the vehicle, an under $1000 fix seems pretty useful as a preventative repair.

pax, smn

 

[sososho]

The milage at which failure occurs seems to be hugely variable, and since we know of actual failure on less than 10% of the production run, there is very little of statistical validity on this. There are folks that have reported being in excess of 200K with no problems and others with failures below 50K. It seems likely that all of them will fail eventually, but at what point and under what circumstances and use history is really not known or apparently knowable. With that in mind, if you value the vehicle, an under $1000 fix seems pretty useful as a preventative repair.

pax, smn

When I say "had" I mean no longer have so an under $1000 repair for me is unnecessary. I did however inherit one with a broken connecting rod it did have that sewing machine ticking sound.

 

[JCU]

Gen 3's ('96-'99) are way less labor intensive than the Gen I and II's ('89-'95) are. It's not a money pit, most everyone I know with a welded SHO has limited problems mostly caused by overdriving them too aggressively.

They are not a money pit? Next thing you'll be saying is that the 3rd gen holds it value very well. These cars are not for people who want relatively cheap repair(s). Ford reliability coupled with parts which tend to be more expensive than a normal car equals a money pit.

 

[stephen newberg]

Not really. With the exception of the cams, which are fixed for under $1000, the car is more reliable than most, particularly more than most high powered sports sedans, which is what they were designed to be, and needs less repairs than most as well. The parts in general are no more expensive than parts for other cars of their ilk. But it is not just a regular Taurus, but rather an SHO and not just the motor is unique. If you get to thinking it is just a Taurus, you fall into the error that FMC did in marketing the vehicle, which is why they are no more.

For their type, they are not at all expensive to maintain. But no sports sedan is a cheap to keep in top shape. If you want cheap repairs, best to shift to an econo-box.

pax, smn

 

[JCU]

Not really. With the exception of the cams, which are fixed for under $1000, the car is more reliable than most, particularly more than most high powered sports sedans, which is what they were designed to be, and needs less repairs than most as well.

Have you forgot about the tranny? The ax4n is about as strong as a chinet paper plate. This "high powered sports sedan" will leave you with a headache between locating certain parts and paying for them.

 

[stephen newberg]

Have you forgot about the tranny? The ax4n is about as strong as a chinet paper plate. This "high powered sports sedan" will leave you with a headache between locating certain parts and paying for them.

No, I have not. There is nothing wrong the with transmission. But it was not designed for drag racing, and since that seems to be done with it a lot, failures are to be expected. Like for most sports sedans, the transmission was designed for fast rather than quick. Hopefully you understand the difference. Additionally, like most transmissions, it will not last forever. Its the moving parts coming into contact thing. On manuals you wear out clutches, pressure plates, and throw out bearings. On autos, you wear out bands, torque converts, etc. The only reason some see the AXN4 as a weakness is because they are using it beyond its design intent. Mine is at 170K with not a burble. But I have taken it to the drag strip exactly once, just to try it out. Similarly, if you read up, you will find lots of reports of very high milage AXN4s out there, and their owners will pretty uniformly indicate they drive the car as a sports car, not a street light racer. The Gen I & II were oriented to that, and built for it. The Gen III was not. When people use wrenches for hammers, they often get short lived wrenches. But that is the user, not the tool.

pax, smn