[Shotimes] No-SHO yet

Mon, 6 Dec 2004 15:44:21 -0500

>From www.shotimes.com (SHO cooling system maintenance)

"The coolant level sensor. This sensor is located in the recovery
reservoir and lights a dashboard lamp if the recovery reservoir is
near-empty. '89 and early '90 models used a float switch, late '90 and
later models use an electronic sensor that changes resistance in the
presence or absence of coolant. The latter type is prone to false
readings due to gunk build-up in the bottom of the recovery reservoir
and on the sensing contacts. This sensor also has no EEC-IV function
or connection."

While you're doing the t-stat (which does sound like your problem) you
might want to flush the coolant and replace the temp sender (one wire
- sends data to the gauge) and the ECT (sends data to the PCM).

I hate pogostick struts!  Supposedly there are still some Motorcraft
ones available.  A lot of people go with KYB or Tokico.  I've heard
good things about www.shox.com but haven't personally ordered from
them.

With the shifter, are you saying that if you pull it to the left (in
Neutral) that it doesn't go back to the right when you let go?  That
doesn't sound normal.  As I recall the shifter does center itself, at
least somewhat.

The e-brake cables are easy to replace but difficult to adjust
properly.  I think www.rockauto.com has good prices on this kind of
stuff, maybe $13 each (you probably need both sides).

A/C clutch is pretty easy.  You can rent (borrow) a tool to keep the
compressor from spinning while you're removing the clutch nut, or you
can take your chances and wedge a screwdriver in there.  I say borrow
the clutch tool!  The most important thing is to make sure the clutch
gap is correct when you're done.  .021 - .036 according to, once
again, the article on www.shotimes.com

Good luck,

Steve Tatro
Red/Black '93 with 180k miles
Monroe, Ohio

On Mon, 6 Dec 2004 12:09:51 -0800 (PST), Peter Chase
<pbc69stang@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Well, my trip to NY to pick up my SHO was only partially successful: The car is no longer at the seller's house, but it's not at my house either.  About an hour after leaving Long Island around 9 pm on Saturday, the alternator belt decided it had had enough and left the engine bay on the appropriately named Belt Parkway in the Bronx.  I immediately called the seller, who couldn't have been nicer and invited me to get the car towed back to his house and that I was welcome to crash on his couch for the night so we could get a new belt on Sunday morning.  Two tow trucks, one slice of NY pizza, and many hours later, I got the car back to Long Island and went to sleep.  When we got a new belt on and started the car up, the A/C compressor clutch was making a slight scraping sound so we unplugged the compressor so it wouldn't cycle on.  At that point (1pm) there was no way I was going to make it back to Atlanta but my father lives in Boston so I booked a flight out of Boston and he!
> aded
> north.  A few hours later, I was in Boston and on a plane back to Atlanta with the SHO parked at my father's place.   I'll be picking the car up at Christmas time when I head back to Boston for the holidays.
> 
> The car did fine once I got it on the road the second time, although it's going to need an alignment for sure since one of the tows tweaked something in the suspension and somehow got the steering wheel 30 degrees off center.  Also, the front struts are starting to go (there was a slight pogo-stick effect after larger bumps), and I think I'm going to need to replace the thermostat since the car never got above 1/4 on the temp gauge the whole way up.
> 
> After my initial shake-down drive I have a few questions for you guys:
> What types of struts are currently available for the SHO?  Are any of the performance struts bearable for a daily driver or are there any stock replacements that aren't just regular Taurus struts?  Also, I got a low coolant reading towards the end of my trip, but when I stopped and restarted the car, the light went out.  Does this sensor typically go bad?  Also, is it normal for the shifter to lack any self centering effect?  I think every stick I've ever driven has had some sort of spring to keep the shifter in the 3-4 plane.  Do Sho's lack this spring?   Also, how hard is it to replace the e-brake cables?  The cables on this car stick badly and have to be manually released with a tire iron after every application of the ebrake.  And finally, how hard is it to replace the A/C clutch?
>                                                                Thanks,
>                       Peter (happy to have a SHO even if it's not in my driveway yet)
> 
> 
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