New 7/10/2003
In November of 2002, I needed a third car in the family and decided to purchase my 3rd SHO but, a used 1997 SHO. The car ran great until June 13th 2003, only 7 months from date of purchase and with 83,127 on the odometer. On this morning I started the car and I could hear a clicking/tapping sound out of the engine. I immediately took the car to my local mechanic and he informed me that it would better if I took the car to a Ford dealer. I than drove the car to Whitmoyer Ford of Elizabethtown PA, where upon inspection they discovered that the camshaft had slipped and was now causing the valves to hit the top of pistons. Dave from Whitmoyer Ford informed me that they had spoken to Ford Service and were informed this was very unusual and they were not aware of any problems with the engine that caused such a slippage. Since, the car was out of warranty and the problem was unusual there would not be any assistance from Ford Motor Company. The cost of this repair would be a minimum of $5,000 plus what ever damage that might have occurred. I never started the car. Whitmoyer Ford gave me a loner car and I drove home to do research.
Dave from Whitmoyer Ford and I both research the problem independently on V8SHO.COM and cam to same conclusion. Since the engine did not stop the problem was about to happened and with any luck, no damage had occurred. Dave and I decide a weld job was necessary. The best place to do this work would be at Pro-Tech in Gaithersburg MD, a 100 mile drive. I called a tow truck and, with engine still apart, had the car trucked to MD.
Kevin Mahoney of Pro-Tech received the car from the towing company advised me of the cost and the work he was going to do. The experience of dealing with Kevin was painless. (It's better to call him than deal through emails.) The cams are welded and the engine seems to running better than before. I hope I can get few more years out of the car.
1. VIN#s 1FALP54N0VA200010
2. Date of malfunction June 13, 2003
3. Where did the malfunction take place (highway, city streets, driveway, parking lot, etc.) Driveway
4. Odometer reading at time of malfunction 83,127
5. How fast were you traveling? 0 MPH
6. Were you accelerating or staying at a constant speed? NA
7. Estimated date of purchase, new or used? October 31, 2002
8. Estimated Odometer reading at time of purchase 69,000
9. Full Name, address, and a good phone# to reach you at during the day and night.
>
Shahjahan "Chuck" Mathias
10. Brief description of the time of events leading towards the malfunction. (what did you hear and see before, during, and after the
malfunction) Drove the night before 250 miles. 8:00 AM started car and engine had Clicking/Tapping sound. Drove car to
dealer about 25 miles.
11. Customer service phone # you called and the name of the person you talked to. (if you can remember) 800-241-3673 called over several days and spoke to several customer service reps. Michelle, Stacey, and Charlene (sp) ID number 2028
12. Did you feel satisfied with the answers customer service provided? Explain. No. Just referred to back to the warranty. It was not a known problem with the design.
13. Which dealership did you take your vehicle in for service? (name, address, phone#)
Whitmoyer Ford
199 Merts Drive
Elizabethtown, PA 17022
717-367-7022
14. What was the cause of failure determined by the dealer? Camshaft slipped
15. What was the cause of failure determined by you? Valve problem
16. How much was your statement? (I hope you kept your receipt) No worked performed yet. Minimum estimate of $3600
17. What can FOMOCO do to make you a satisfied Ford owner? Pay for the fix of all 4 cams