new 5/21/02
1. 1FALP54N3VA237780
2. Michael Proctor
3009 Log Cabin Court
Crestwood, KY 40014
502-243-4450
3. I just bought this car in April and didn't know of the cam issue at the time,
I can assure you that I would have thought twice and more than likely not bought
it. This car was a trade up from a 1993 SHO that I had for 4 years and loved.
That car had 120k on it when I sold it and the motor never once gave me any
trouble in spite of not ever having a 60k service.
About 2 days after buying the 1997 SHO I started to dig into v8sho.com and my enthusiasm for the car sunk. Like others I now have this sinking feeling every time I drive the car. I find it hard to even turn the radio on for fear that I will miss the tell-tale knocking that others have mentioned before the cam lets go. Luckily I have an ESP on the powertrain up to 89k. I intend to have it welded for my piece of mind and to save my credit rating should it let go, even if it voids the ESP.
I am also a die-hard Ford person, I have never bought anything else. I am not an engineer but have worked on my share of engines. Since this isn't the only 4 cam motor that Ford has produced, but it is apparently the only one experiencing this problem it has to be a design flaw. In my opinion the cams should have been pinned with roll pin in Japan when the engine was assembled. How much could this have added to the cost of the engine before it was built?
4. I think Ford should either pay to have the cams welded and reimburse those that have done it all ready or provide all existing SHO owners with new cams that have the sprockets secured with roll pins and cover all or at least half of the cost to install them. Given the limited number of these cars produced and the fact that hundreds of them have since been totaled the cost to correct this couldn't amount to much for a multi-billion dollar company like Ford. Assuming there are still 15,000 (actually less I would think) V8 SHO's left the welding option would only run them ~7,500,000. Just a drop in the bucket for a company that posts billion dollar profits, and a tax write off besides. Ford simply needs to step up and support the product that they designed, built, and sold regardless that they only sold ~20,000 of them model in question. Especially since this problem can total an other wise wonderful vehicle without bending one piece of sheet metal.