new 7/31/03
1. VIN # 1FALP54N8TA248254
2. 7-10-2003
3. parking lot
4. 108,000 miles
5. I was parked and idling when the mechanic happened to walk by.
6. idling
7. last week of April, 2000, used?
8. 54,000
9. Brent C. Bailey
10. I arrived at a customer's location to work on their network. As I pulled in, one of the mechanics who happened to be outside told me I had valve train noise. I heard a slight ticking noise. I researched the symptoms on the internet, drove the card home and parked it. When I removed the cam, I found the right exhaust cam sprocket has close to 1/4" of side play and some rotational play.
11. I did my own troubleshooting because the car has a lot of miles.
12. See #11.
13. See #11.
14. See #11.
15. It appears that the sprocket develops side to side play which then wears out the splines.
16. I got a new cam for $162 (that includes tax). No bill yet on pinning.
17. Ford needs to
a. Repair the camshafts for all the low mileage SHO's
b. Produce a reliable camshaft that doesn't require pinning or welding.
c. Give a straight answer on the problem. The Locktite suggestion is a joke.