new 12/17/01
----- Original Message ----- From: Scott Deischel To: TimWright@EMAIL.MSN.COM Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2001 6:59 AM Subject: Another V8 SHO Cam failure
Hello Tim,
My sister's 97 SHO had a cam failure at 85,000 miles. I'll get you all the info on her car shortly.
The Ford dealer is saying Ford will pick up half the cost...maybe. How many people with this failure do you have on your list? Is there anyway I can get a copy of this info to hand to the Ford rep when he tells me it's not a common problem?
The clicking noise that seems to be an indicator to this started the day before the failure.
The dealer charged my sister $480 to figure out one of the cams failed...after me telling them over and over that's what it was. The labor total so far is $1,800 just for the tear down and to see what condition the pistons, rods, and bearings are in. Hopefully all she needs is a new head.
I told her to sell it once it's fixed.
Thanks for your time,
Scott Deischel
Update.
I mistakenly reported it as a '97...it's a '96. BTW my sister is the second owner on this car.
The rear cam was the problem. All four pistons were damaged during the failure. In the process scoring a cylinder wall(s) requiring a new engine or a rebuild.
Ford offered to pay for the new "low mile" rebuilt engine (with a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty) from somewhere unknown and my sister will have to pick up the labor costs estimated at $2,300. The dealer wouldn't tell me where they were getting the engine from...but did say Ford has this place rebuilds junkyard engines for cases like this. BS? I don't know.
I told her to ask the Ford rep to buy back her SHO and give her a credit on a new car. No reply yet on that one.
I think Ford is responding well in this case. She's the second owner (bought it used at ~20k miles) and is getting more than half of the costs paid for....not a bad deal IMO since she's the second owner. Hopefully a recall will happen soon for you guys.
Fight the good fight,
Scott