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new 8/19/04. updated 9/2/04
I am in hopes you can add me to the count of reported cam failures on the v8sho.com website.
My brother was the original owner of the '96 SHO that experienced the left exhaust cam failure. He had purchased this car from an elderly couple a month earlier with roughly 114,000 miles on the vehicle. Within the first couple weeks of driving it, he found himself on the roadside stranded not being able to get the SHO started again.
After being told by a local mechanic, who my father took the car too, of the cam failure my father (who actually purchased the car) decided that it was too much of a headache to fix and from the mechanic's estimate it would cost more then what he paid for the car to begin with so he was intending on selling the car as is. After persuading my dad to let my friend (who is a great mechanic in my mind) and I (not such a great mechanic in my mind) fix the car so he could at least get more out of it, he decided to give it to me to fix/sell, fix/drive, or just sell.
My mechanic friend has an associate that works in the parts section of a local Ford dealership that is well aware of the cam failure issue and is more then willing to sell us the parts that we will need at cost. I have not taken the car to a Ford dealership at this point and after reading through the information that is located on this site, I don't feel that it would be a necessary headache or fee to take the SHO in for a diagnostic test.
At this point, we know I am going to need a replacement cam, possibly valves, possibly pistons but we are intending on tearing down the engine to determine how much damage has been done. I love this car and fully intend on having it repaired as long as the costs of repair are within my budget. I also intend on having each of the cams welded even if it means I have to ship each cam off since there are no reported shops close to my area.
9/2/04
Requested additional information to join the class action lawsuit is below. I apologize for the delay in getting you all this information.
For those that had engine failure: Answer all the questions the best you can.
1.VIN#s:
1FALP54N6TA243506
2. Date of malfunction
Due to my brother being the previous owner, I don't have the specific date but it was in the month of May when the cam failure occurred.
3. Where did the malfunction take place (highway, city streets, driveway, parking lot, etc.)
City Streets
4. Odometer reading at time of malfunction
134,234 (approximately)
5. How fast were you traveling?
Brother claims no more then 25mph
6. Were you accelerating or staying at a constant speed?
Constant speed
7. Estimated date of purchase, new or used?
4/12/04 used
8. Estimated Odometer reading at time of purchase
132,000 (approximately)
9. Full Name, address, and a good phone# to reach you at during the day and night.
Neil Kitt ( )
10. Brief description of the time of events leading towards the malfunction. (what did you hear and see before, during, and after the malfunction)
Brother states that he heard nothing to indicate a problem before the failure. During he says he didn't hear anything with the loss of power when it came to a halt. After, he stated that it sounded like the timing was off (good guess) but no knock.
11. Customer service phone # you called and the name of the person you talked to. (if you can remember)
Did not contact Ford beings I found www.v8sho.com shortly after and found that it would be a waste of time.
12. Did you feel satisfied with the answers customer service provided? Explain.
Not applicable
13. Which dealership did you take your vehicle in for service? (name, address, phone#)
The SHO was taken to a local mechanic not a dealership.
14. What was the cause of failure determined by the dealer?
Not applicable
15. What was the cause of failure determined by you?
Shoddy design of the cam
16. How much was your statement? (I hope you kept your receipt)
Mechanic charged $400 for just peaking at it without tearing into the engine.
17. What can FOMOCO do to make you a satisfied Ford owner?
Admit to the faulty camshaft design, apologize to all of us current, previous, and future SHO owners, and reimburse us all for the work and parts that we have put forth in fixing and correcting the faulty design of the cams.
If you need or would like more info let me know what specifically you are looking for and I will try to provide you with the accurate information.
Neil Kitt
Cam Failure 430