Renee Olson - Cam Failure #760

New 12/12/06

-----Original Message-----
From: OlsonRe@monroe.wednet.edu
To: Larry@v8sho.com
Sent: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 2:38 PM
Subject: 98 SHO Rear Cam Failure

Hello Larry!

My husband and I have just recently come to know and appreciate the V8SHO.com website. Unfortunately, we came to know it through experiencing the rear cam failure! We have a 1998 with 114,000(?) miles on it that is currently sitting in the service dock of our local Ford dealer. The cam broke when we were idling while waiting to unload off of a ferry on Thanksgiving weekend. Three of the four rear valves are stuck open. The dealership has quoted us $11,500 to replace the engine.

We purchased the car from an independent used car dealer in 2002 with about 60,000(?) miles on it. It has definitely NOT been a trouble free car. We have had transmission issues for the last 2 years (have been “milking it” due to the cost of replacement) and since the second day I took it off of the dealer’s lot we have had issues with the door sensor and the interior lights.

I recently (2 months ago) had work done on the engine (front ignition coils, rear ignition coils replaced a year and a half ago). Not soon after that we got the “tick”, but I thought it was oil related. Kept checking the oil level and of course no problem and no indication of oil pump failure. Oh, woe is me that I didn’t get it straight back to the service department!

Anyway, we wanted to say we appreciate the work you are doing and the time and effort it is taking to pursue this lawsuit. We would like to add our names and information to the list of people interested in being involved with a class action suit. What do I need to do? Also, do you have any recommendations for what we do with the car now? I don’t have storage available and unless a miracle happens fast, I’m not interested in replacing the engine.

Thanks for your help.

Renee Olson
Snohomish, WA

Timothy,

Here are the answers to the questions. I did the best I could to answer them. You may call anytime in the evenings until 10PM. Also, we now have a home email address. It is malkur@comcast.net. It is the best address to email me.

1. VIN # 1FAFP54N2WA223643

2. Date of Malfunction: November 26th, 2006

3. Where Malfunction: While engine was idling on Sydney, BC to Anacortes, WA Ferry

4. Odometer reading: Can’t remember, it seems it would be around 110,000 to 120,000 (car currently at dealer service, will have to call and ask)

5. Speed of travel: N/A, see above

6. Idling

7. Estimated date of purchase: Fall 2001, used

8. Estimated Odometer at Purchase: 55,582 per odometer disclosure at time of purchase.

9. Renee Olson

10. Description of events: Had car serviced for ignition coil replacement in September (early October?) of this year, including oil change. Not soon after, engine developed light “ticking” sound often associated with oil pressure or level issues. Checked oil level and condition regularly, no problems. On 11/26/06 we were returning from Victoria, BC on the ferry. Near the end of the 3 hour ride all passengers returned to their vehicles. We started the engine to let it warm up as it had been snowing and temperatures were near 30 Fahrenheit. Noise seemed to increase at time of failure but that could be due to the sound effects of being on the ferry. Son commented as he was getting into the car that “it sounded like a time bomb”. Little did we know! Maybe 2 to 3 minutes later there was a sudden forward “lurch” of the car as if someone had accidentally bumped us from behind with their car (as often happens when loading ferries). My husband thought that somebody had hit us, but I noticed the engine had stopped. Tried to restart engine, but it was very difficult and when it did start it ran VERY rough and loud and didn’t want to stay running. Got the car off of the ferry, but then had to be pushed out of the way and off to the side.

11. Customer service phone # - Didn’t call anyone except AAA to tow the vehicle to our local Ford dealer in Monroe, WA

12. N/A

13. Sno-Country Ford
1175 Village Way
Monroe, WA 98272
360-794-5200

14. Did not specify cause, just failure of the rear cam. Mechanic said this “could not have been predicted or prevented” and “this was not a maintenance issue such as not having your oil changed regularly”. He also said that 3 of the 4 valves were stuck open and most likely had piston damage.

15. I don’t know that we determined a cause. My husband looked at the broken area when shown to him by the mechanic.

16. Service guy verbally quoted us $9,000 for a new engine and $2,500 for labor to install. 3 year / 50,000 mile warranty. Other option was to have this engine rebuilt, but no warranty on parts or labor and not much cheaper, although they didn’t give us an estimate on this option. We have not had work done on it at this time, so no receipts or written estimate yet.

17. At the very least, replace engine at their expense and reimburse husband for one day loss of pay due to inability to return home for work the next day.

FYI – I had a very short conversation in a local restaurant with a local Honda/Acura mechanic in town who said he also has V8SHO with rear cam failure. Not sure if it is his or a customer’s. He is a reputable mechanic in town and we’ve had work done by him on my son’s Honda. If you are interested in speaking to him, the shop’s phone number is 360-863-1079.

Again, thanks for all your hard work on this. Do I need to keep the car to be involved in the suit? Any idea what the status of the suit is? I read the last update from August, but didn’t know if there way anything more.

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