Valve Adjustment needed?

[LOUDSHO92]

I have a 92 and everything but the vlave adjusment was done for the 60k/120k by the previuous owners. My car is running great, so should I have the valve adjustment done or wait till it needs it. I asked a shop who is familiar with SHOs and they said it is not needed since it is running right. Should I have it done or not?

 

[luigisho]

How many miles are on it already? I think the shims should be checked for proper gap, especially if it's over 120k. I wouldn't think it's something that needs to be done right away, but I would have it addressed in the next few months to keep everything in good shape.

 

[LOUDSHO92]

It has 134k miles on it.

 

[Mike Kopstain]

A moderate loss in power over time is more difficult to feel than an immediate loss in power. It may seem like it's running fine, but if those adjustments have not been done you need to get on that. BTW: Don't trust any mechanics on this engine. Learn to work on it yourself.

 

[Bigjoey71]

Hey Mikey,
I am going to need mine done too. Seeing that you are also in the Chicagoland area, where would you recommend me getting it done? How much am i looking to spend? I have 125k on mine.
Thanks,
joe

 

[cf5390]

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum. I just picked up a 92' Red SHO last week. It has 129k and I have doing alot of reading about this car. It's not my main vehicle and I have it parked in the garage. Very excited to get it out this weekend. Saturday I'm doing plugs and wires. It's hard to tell how old the plugs are. I'm to assume that nothing has been done for the 120k maint. (I purchased from a dealer) Would you only recommend plugs, wires?? Anything else?? Oh, I can also tell you this. When I took out the first three plugs they were torqued way tight!!! I'm thinking original plugs.
Thanks in advance.

 

[jcostantino]

It's not so much that the valves are out of spec but that the cam lobes can get pitted and scratched if the shims start to wear.

I'm going to be doing my shims in the next month or two since I've got a tap that's starting.

The recomended shimming by ford prior to (I believe) '92 is every 60k, the recomended shimming '92 and beyond is 100k. Wether the pre-92's can go 100k or not isn't sure but I would figure that none of the materials or parts have changed, only the intervals.

Going OVER 100k is certainly not a good idea, however.

Jeff

 

[sdpatt]

Chad,

Welcome to the SHO and the SHO Forum. Has the sound of the engine hitting the high revs gotten you hookewd yet? It will.

Do you know if the valves were ever gapped at the 60,000 mile service? Did you find any oil in the spark plug wells? That is from leaking spark plug well seals at the valve cover interface. Those seals, along with the valve cover seals, plugs and plug wires are usually replaced during the valve gapping job since the intake manifold and valve covers are removed to perform this job.

It is not a good idea to let the oil in the plug wells drain in to the cylinders. Use a vacuum pump, rags, compressed air (messy) or other means to get it out. There tends to be a little road grit down in the wells that snuck past the spark plug boots. The oil and grit soup draining into the cylinders can really do the engine harm. I hope you didn't have to deal with that.

Replacing the plugs and wires is a good step. Please use only the proprietary Motorcraft AGSP32PP double platinum plugs available from FordPartsNetwork.com for $3.99 each. You should also use only the Motorcraft WR-4033 plug wires from the same source for $83.99. These are the lowest prices I am aware of. FPN responds with excellent service.

For additional information on the SHO, have you visited the SHOtimes.com site? Lots of good information there. Again, welcome.

 

[cf5390]

Scott,
Thanks for the response. I am hooked on this car, it puts out some good power. I did have oil in the plug wells. At first I thought that was from my oil change at the local 10min **** shop. I figured they put too much oil in. I've only driven 9 miles so far. I haven't had the car started either since I noticed the oil in there. Becuase the dealer has no record of what has been done to this car I'm going to at least take care of the plug, wires, valve adjust..
thanks again,
Chad