95 Taurus SHO [Archive] - Grand Am Owners Club Forums

pokesmot

01-09-2008, 05:46 PM

Just got a 95 Ford Taurus SHO with the 3.0L DOHC Yamaha engine... damn this engine is sweet; not sure if any of you know what it sound like once it reachs 4k rpm.. but its just awesome.
Its rated at 220 hp / 200ft lbs of torque. Came with the 5 speed as well.

Too bad the car is a crappy ford :(

Maybe my 96 project car will be the recipient of this donor engine!
"I will call it "the stable"...
cause this here is where I keep my 220 horses" :lol:

heard that one from conan o'bryan

thoughts on whether to fix the car or swap the engine to a more worthy car?

bballr4567

01-09-2008, 06:44 PM

Whats wrong with the Taurus?? My mom had a 94 and god it was a POS. However the SHO is a beast if done right. They can easily make over 300 HP and be a very reliable DD apparently if you can stand the craptastic interior.

Got any pics?

bkozlowski

01-09-2008, 07:00 PM

that's an awesome car, i wanted one for the longest time. but BE CAREFUL with it. When i was seriously looking to invest in one i did a bunch of research on it and they are very big money pits if not kept up and well maintained. that motor needs to have all the valves and timing re-adjusted EVERY 60,000 miles because of the motors design, and the valves already being so close to the pistons and all. that's a very labor intensive job. its also very hard to work on that motor because it's very packed in there. so Great Car, but Be Careful, don't let it go to waste.

Bryan

Deggy Fresh

01-09-2008, 07:20 PM

Not a fan of the Taurass SHO at all, but I have seen some very very well maintained and quick ones running well over 300WHP...but Bryan is right, they can become a money pit.

pokesmot

01-09-2008, 07:46 PM

Thanks for the advice, I was reading up and saw the same thing about the 60,000km timing / tune up. I got a fair bit of spare time but not a lot of money so I can set aside $1000 to put into it to get it on the road.

right now it needs a water pump for sure and probably the top end needs to be rebuilt and tune the timing. Cooling system looks ugly... Might just drop the engine and rebuild it, head gasket set, and get the heads planed and checked. It runs as is, but I think it overheated at one point in time because it stalls when warm, and doesn't easily restart.

I'll tear it apart this weekend and find out exactly whats wrong with it.

The interior of the car is mint, leather seats and was very well maintained. Exterior of the car is in good shape, except the paint is all faded. It's red. some minor corrosion and dirt accumulation under the hood, and it has good tires which is a bonus.

underneath everything looks good.

no pics as of yet, but will get some soon. I work in a shop, so the only thing I pay is parts, which is perfect because labor for most repair on these engines is expensive because its a cramped engine bay. Labor times for heads is 8.4 hours and 4 hours for the water pump, so right off the bat I'm saving oodles of labor $

Bought the car for $150, and am considering putting $1000 in parts into it.
Going to have to go over the car with a fine tooth comb.. if i find too many problems I might just scrap it, I can get $250 for sure from 1 wrecker.

bballr4567

01-09-2008, 07:55 PM

If you put that 1k into and rebuild it you can sell them for around 3k for a good running SHO. The paint is VERY VERY common. My moms was red and by the end of its 4th year it was already faded on the roof, trunk and hood.

TheTrader

01-10-2008, 09:50 AM

1995 SHO is one of my many dream cars, my dad owned a 1995 a few years back, and I love it, we had a few mods into it, and it should have been pushing in the 300 range, that car was a serious sleeper, suprised vettes, monte carlos, mustangs..... all kinds of fun to be had there, his was a 5 speed as well.

But, they are a bugger to maintain, which is why he got rid of it before it needed all that maintenance. There is a pretty serious following for those cars, they even have a monthly magazine "SHO times" I think...

If you could make the motor reliable with all the proper upkeep, a swap into the GA would be pretty unique, you could call it the "Grand-SHO"

Nighthawk243

01-10-2008, 05:06 PM

Throw a GT-R badge on it if you want to get rid of it... You'll probably be able to get 2 or 3 grand out of it ;).

pokesmot

01-11-2008, 09:41 PM

snapped a ocuple pictures with my cell phone.

Turns out the body is in mint condition, just needs a clear coat (I waxed and buffed it for now) Clear coat pealed off on both drivers side doors and the entire front bumper. Also appears as though there is an aftermarket spoiler with LED's ? or did the car come with it?

pulled out the front 3 spark plugs and they were gassed down so im thinking its not a head gasket... shop scanner doesn't work with his car so I am going to have to test the ignition system with a DVM

Needs rocker gaskets and a water pump for sure which means the intake gaskets are going to need replaced as well.. going to give it a tune up plugs and wires, which bring me to my next question:

what kind of spark plugs should I use? I was thinking motorcraft or champion.. should I get the iridum / platinum high end ones?

dealer prices are kinda funny too.. $458 for spark plugs wires $572 for a water pump... so im going to get most parts from rockauto.com instead.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/MnKyOfHaTe/sho2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/MnKyOfHaTe/sho3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/MnKyOfHaTe/sho6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/MnKyOfHaTe/sho4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v118/MnKyOfHaTe/sho5.jpg

bballr4567

01-11-2008, 10:00 PM

That doesnt look like a bad buy at all.

Gas on the spark plugs is interesting. Shouldnt be too hard to figure out though. Youll have a good car there.

Big Joe

01-12-2008, 01:45 AM

Nice! Those are one of my favorite cars. You don't see them that often around here. Sweet pick up. The SHO Taurus's came with a spoiler.

RocketFast321

01-12-2008, 02:07 AM

http://www.shoforum.com/
http://www.shotimes.com/php-bin/
http://www.taurusclub.com
I want a 89 sho :(

But anyways from what i read if you just do a lot of upkeeep it will last to 300k, and then some. Till then enjoy the secondaries.

edit also
as for pulgs
Motorcraft AGSP32PP,also you will be paying $50+ for wires

95blackz26

01-12-2008, 10:20 AM

from the ones i saw at the junkyard they came with the led brake light in the spoiler

pokesmot

01-12-2008, 04:07 PM

Thanks for all the links and info, will be checking it out and reading into it more.

Got to do a bit more work on it today; put new plugs in it, and have intermittent spark. it sparks, but it isn't a constant pulse like its suppose to be, more like an intermittent on delay, delay, off, some cylinders not even sparking.

I've ruled out cam sensor, but am still trying to figure out whether its the ignition module, coils or crank sensor. I have a good tach reading when I crank so I don't think its the crank sensor... will have to troubleshoot more when I have time tomorrow.

Deggy Fresh

01-12-2008, 04:12 PM

SHO-Ranger FTW
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z6/deggyfresh/SHOConvention0346.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z6/deggyfresh/SHOConvention0345.jpg

TheTrader

01-13-2008, 06:58 PM

That car is identical to the SHO my dad had.... the one he had was sold to a guy who drove it out to Ontario, or Alberta... I forget...

Does it have a Borla exhaust on it??

bkozlowski

01-13-2008, 07:04 PM

Deggy where did you find that? that's seriously pretty cool though, very unique

Deggy Fresh

01-13-2008, 07:14 PM

someone posted it on BrewCityMuscle.com it was originally from SHOforums.com or something like that.

TheTrader

02-01-2008, 07:30 PM

That car is identical to the SHO my dad had.... the one he had was sold to a guy who drove it out to Ontario, or Alberta... I forget...

Does it have a Borla exhaust on it??

Finally got my scanner going

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h79/danielalangray/SHO_Prom.jpg

thats me on Prom night... Circa 1999

pokesmot

02-01-2008, 08:39 PM

Finally got my scanner going

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h79/danielalangray/SHO_Prom.jpg

thats me on Prom night... Circa 1999

sorry for the delay in response!

yea that car DOES look identical to my car !
the driver side front fender has been fixed before, theres bondo all behind the head light.

No, don't think it has the borla exhaust... but everything after the cats was changed with some cheap self bent pipe. The UVIP says the car has remained in Ontario for its entire life, oakville, port perry and alliston.

just finished the following:
-water pump
-thermostat
-lower rad hose
-timing belt & tensioner
-all rear brake lines
-rear pads & rotors
-crank sensor
-exhaust flex pipe

car starts and runs perfectly. Took it for a boot along an abandoned road.. holy crap does it move fast when you tromp on it!

Just gotta replace the rear suspension; coil springs and struts cause one of the springs snapped, as well as oil pan gasket (leaks oil onto cat).

going to clean up the intake and paint it, replace the intake and rocker gaskets as well when im ready to shim the valves.

tore the front bumper off and grinded off ALL the rust then coated the entire thing with rocker guard undercoat, rubbery tar like stuff.

RocketFast321

02-05-2008, 08:43 PM

You got all the major SHO part replace so enjoy going up to redline

matts

02-06-2008, 01:14 PM

they're alright. i used to work with a guy that had one. it was pretty funny. just to piss him off i'd call it a SLO :lol:

pokesmot

02-06-2008, 07:16 PM

pokesmot

02-10-2008, 08:06 PM

Update with Pics:

Finished the oil pan gasket, redid all the exhaust flanges with new studs and nuts.

rebuilding the top end, completely overhauled the intake and am working my way underneath the rocker covers now.

TheTrader

02-10-2008, 09:20 PM

interior of the SHO is almost comparable to a Bonneville.

feels like your driving a leather couch ;)

although I don't think any Bonneville came with a 5 speed.

As powerful as the SHO is, they are fairly heavy... all those luxury features add a lot of weight to the car.

Wow.... I have driven both, and the SHO would kill a Bonneville on the track.... the SHO has a decent suspension under it, and the Bonneville has a tonne of body roll / slushyness to it...

Maby my fathers had a modified suspension (I dont think it did) but it handled the corners like it was on rails... took corners very flat.

And I have been around the local track in a supercharged Bonneville SSEI SC, and man, in a straight line, it was fast, and sounded bad-ass, but in the corners it was very soft.

matts

02-11-2008, 10:31 AM

Wow.... I have driven both, and the SHO would kill a Bonneville on the track.... the SHO has a decent suspension under it, and the Bonneville has a tonne of body roll / slushyness to it...

Maby my fathers had a modified suspension (I dont think it did) but it handled the corners like it was on rails... took corners very flat.

And I have been around the local track in a supercharged Bonneville SSEI SC, and man, in a straight line, it was fast, and sounded bad-ass, but in the corners it was very soft.

but in my opinion those 2 cars are geared toward different markets. a regular taurus and a regular bonneville would be a better comparison, IMO anyway.

like comparing a cadillac and camaro. on a straight-a-way cadillac's have a little punch to them, but they're a smooth ride.

[ChaosweaveR]

02-15-2008, 11:27 AM

Call me stupid, but is that SHO motor a V6 or a V8? You say it's a 3.0L, but I thought most SHO's were V8's. And that motor would be amazing in your GA. Too bad the 3400 never came with 5-speeds, they'd be a lot better. :cool:

TheTrader

02-15-2008, 03:00 PM

;1134340']Call me stupid, but is that SHO motor a V6 or a V8? You say it's a 3.0L, but I thought most SHO's were V8's. And that motor would be amazing in your GA. Too bad the 3400 never came with 5-speeds, they'd be a lot better. :cool:

1995 was the last year of the 3.0 V6, the v8 was only in 1996 - 1998 I believe??

RocketFast321

02-15-2008, 07:55 PM

3.4 v8 was 96-99

[ChaosweaveR]

02-16-2008, 11:06 AM

3.4 v8 was 96-99

o.O WTF? Those V8 were that small in displacement?

matts

02-17-2008, 06:55 AM

;1134748']o.O WTF? Those V8 were that small in displacement?

yeah, they had small displacement all around....small cubic inches - small output :P the V6 was actually the faster of the 2

SHOtime2511

02-25-2008, 10:10 PM

pokesmot

02-25-2008, 10:28 PM

good to see another SHO owner!!
ive been a SHO enthusiast for 5 or so years now and im a very active member over on SHOforum.com. looks like you got one hell of a steal on that car. 95's with a manual trans are very rare!
make sure you change out your rod bearings ASAP! that has been the one achilles heal with the SHO engines.valve adjustments can wait,there kind of over rated really.

that kind of sucks, just had the oil pan off to do the gasket too, because it was leaking :(

oh well.. at least the oil pan should come off more easily now that I replaced the exhaust studs.

I just started posting on the SHO forums recently, my name on the forums is shoon

Will probably wait till next summer to do the rod bearings, I only plan on driving this car just for this summer for now anyway because I am going back to school in Sept, and don't think I can afford insurance / gas / maintenance on the SHO while I am in school.

It has 192,000 km on it (120,000 miles ?) and it has never had the 60k service before, so I might just end up pulling the engine and rebuilding it off car depending on where I find oil leaks, and the condition of the clutch.

SHOtime2511

02-25-2008, 10:32 PM

that kind of sucks, just had the oil pan off to do the gasket too, because it was leaking :(

oh well.. at least the oil pan should come off more easily now that I replaced the exhaust studs.

I just started posting on the SHO forums recently, my name on the forums is shoon

Will probably wait till next summer to do the rod bearings, I only plan on driving this car just for this summer for now anyway because I am going back to school in Sept, and don't think I can afford insurance / gas / maintenance on the SHO while I am in school.

It has 192,000 km on it (120,000 miles ?) and it has never had the 60k service before, so I might just end up pulling the engine and rebuilding it off car depending on where I find oil leaks, and the condition of the clutch.

good to hear your over on shoforum too!
thats a great group of people and a vast amount of knowledge to be had!
my name over there is the same as here.