99 Taurus SHO...need help...

[m_mathers_69]

just got this thing less than a month ago, and what a royal pain it has been..im 18 years old and working a pt job...so i cant afford the trouble its giving me. Anyways...right when i get the car...i start it up...its idling...and it dies. Wont start back up...have to call ford dealer and have them take it to the shop. They say starter motor?? and fix it. Runs fine...week later, i start hearing clunking noise from front left suspension, take it to the shop, broken stabilizer link, 180 dollar fix. Same day...well...that night...car is sittin in the driveway running, for probably 10 minutes. I go get in it, and i see dash lights going on and off, gauges acting weird (mph bouncing)...and rpms drop to stall. Try to start it back up and i get a slight wind and then just clicking...so i wait...and after a while i try again and it starts up after a struggle...so i drive it to the gas station, turn it off, fill the tank, get back in...clicking. I call up a friend and he brings jumper cables, it jumps immediately...and runs just long enough to get it home where it stalls again... what is this??? :| ford...

[drdisque]

bad alternator, i suspect that was your electrical problem all along and that the starter was fine

[FlamingTaco]

$180 for ten mnutes of work to replace a $40 part. You problem is not your car, it's inept mechanics and shops that are all too willing to depart you from your dearly beloved monies. If you are on a tight budget, you need to learn to fix the few problems you'll have yourself.

Speaking of a few problems, the main flaw the Gen3 SHO has is swedged cam sprockets. If you do not know about this, please to the following link, read up, and get yours fixed before your car with small headaches becomes a great big one.

http://v8sho.com/SHO/CamFailureLinks.htm

[m_mathers_69]

yea...im at 59k....and im hoping to have it done in january (welded)...alternator quote was 139 + 30 dollar core (i'll give them mine to get out of that)...does that sound right?

[FlamingTaco]

Originally Posted by m_mathers_69

yea...im at 59k....and im hoping to have it done in january (welded)...alternator quote was 139 + 30 dollar core (i'll give them mine to get out of that)...does that sound right?

The price is about typical. Be aware that there a lot of bad rebuilts from Autozone/PepBoys and the like, and you should have them test it before you walk out the door. If you have can afford to wait several days for the alternator, you are bound to get a much better alternator by having yours rebuilt by a local, reputable alternator/starter shop.

[mmichel]

Go to www.v8sho.com , there is no better resource for Gen III V8 SHO issues. I got rid of my 97 SHO because there is a defect with ALL the V8 made by Yamaha and used in the SHO. There is a fix that involves welding the cam sprocket.

Again, go check out the V8 SHO web site at www.v8sho.com

Good luck,
Mike

[m_mathers_69]

yea i've been there and looked through a lot of it in the past. I just called the previous owner of the car and he said he got the alternator replaced a few months back. So there is in fact a 12,000 mile/1 year warranty on it. It was replaced by a local ford dealer. I called them and they are coming to pick it up, but now im worried that since it was replaced a few months ago that it might not be the problem...or is it possible that it just went again, or the one they put in there wasnt quite perfect? I dont know..im just praying this is the fix and i can start saving for the cam welding. Also, why hasnt there been any follow up on the class action suit against ford for the cam sprockets, or has there been and im not aware of it. thanks for any info

[FlamingTaco]

After you get the car back with the replacement alternator, have your battery load tested to see if it is causing an abnormal drain on the alternator. Also, do a continuity check on all the large cables going from the alternator to the battery, chassis and starter to make sure you have good cables. If that's all good, then you simply had a bad alternator.

If you will read through the links at the page I posted for you from V8SHO.com, you will find out where they stand. In a nutshell, a CAL was filed, and now it will be years before real action will begin (Ford will surely stall a lot), and the burden of proof will be on the accusers. Don't expect any settlements anytime soon.

It's good that you are planning of fixing yours. Too many people seem to put it off, and I can name at least a handful that got smacked for their delay. At the same time, there are many out there with high miles that have not had the fix. Unfortunately, there's no way to tell if yours will last or not.

[m_mathers_69]

who can do all these checks on the battery and all the cables?

[FlamingTaco]

Most auto parts stores have battery load testers, as do battery stores. As for the cables, you can check them with a multi-meter, as cheap as $10 at radioshack, or you can let a garage do it.