oddball ground effect taurus with the high output V6 and a 5-speed manual. listed for 900 bucks, should I buy this? Im looking around for a winter car. I was thinking economy first, but this thing might be a little more fun.

Anyone ever own one?

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A Taurus SHO with a five speed...........as a winter car...............hello.............

SHO engine is known for camshaft problems. Camshaft and the drive sprockets go their separate ways. I don't remember what years, but I would definitely research that issue.

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Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE

good call, just researched and it appears that the camshaft issue is related to the V8 SHO engine, not the earlier V6 in this one. According to wikipedia, only 15hp separate the V6 and V8 engines, 220, and 235.

check this out from wikipedia, seems like a half assed solution destroying otherwise decent motors-
Soon after the introduction of the SHO V8, widespread problems with the cam sprockets began to surface. Ford had used a relatively unusual method, called "swaging", of affixing the cam sprockets to the camshafts.[2] The cam sprockets were fastened to the hollow camshafts by forcing a metal ball which was slightly larger than the interior diameter of the camshaft through the center of the camshaft, thus expanding the metal slightly and creating a mechanical bond between the cam sprocket and the camshaft.[3]
This method proved to be inadequate, and the cam sprocket could break loose from the camshaft and spin independently from the camshaft (or "walk").[4][5] This would result in the camshaft stopping and thus not activating the valves, allowing the pistons to hit the valves, ruining the engine.

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lol, Are you thinking quick crash vehicle? Im thinking good ski trip car, looks pretty ratty already, not worried about corrosion. nice to have power and manual tranny for mountain drives, and mid size cars are comfortable and roomy.

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I think the early V6's were built by or in conjunction with Yamaha. They only offered them in a manual trans because they didn't have an automatic that could handle the power reliably. I see a few around here cheap but rotted bad. Always tempting although I am not a Ford fan.

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'85 300SD (formerly california emissions)
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'93 Ducati 900 SS
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'86 Kawasaki KX 250
'88 Kawasaki KDX200
'71 Hodaka Ace 100
'72 Triumph T100R

Do it!

I think you'll struggle trying to keep the wheels from spinning during a launch...........it's a high speed engine that isn't suited for situations with poor traction...........especially with a manual.

On dry pavement, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

good point, ill run by in the morning and see how it runs. Guy claims it has a good clutch, and id like to see how the clutch engagement works on it, whether or not I can get slow easy movement out of it.

I used to own a 91 escort GT, an vehicle that was decent in the winter, but not great for the same reasons, easy to spin the tires. However, it got way better when I took off the GT rims and put some regular escort skinny tires on the front. Might be able to do the same with the SHO if I buy it

Ironically, the best 2wd winter car I ever had was a 1990 Mercury topaz 5-speed. Hideous, cheap, ****ty car with a rare manual that was clunky and like shifting using a grape on the end of a pencil, but just amazing traction for some reason. Was able to plow out of snow drifts and down snow covered streets with ease. No sex appeal though, uncomfortable, and of course ultimately blew up.

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they're gray cars for the money. Pretty good gas mileage too. Get it up to 70 mph and drop it into 4th and pan it. Fun car for the money.

the camshaft problem... Would that cause an engine to turn over and sound like it's tight/bound? friend has a early 2000's one and the engine wont run, sounds like it's really tight

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

I thought the camshaft problem affected the later V8 SHO.

-J

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1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

I thought so too. Those yamaha engines are pretty good but nothing far and above the Japanese v6s of the time, like the mitsubishi and Nissan 3 liters which had about the same non turbo output without being attached to a ford bore-us.

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

I had one -- loved it. The valve job and timing belt are due at 60K intervals and can be spendy. Ask when that was last done. Wintertime launch isn't bad at all since all the power/torque comes higher in the revs anyway; these are actually not the best cars to drag race for this reason... they are hard to launch. If you're worried about it, get some spare rims and throw snows on them.

I say check it out, but look for maintenance history!

SHOtimes FAQ :: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Ford Taurus SHO from the SHOTIMES mailing list.

Taurus SHO Community and Site - Super High Output

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1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)

all for naught. Guy had it crushed on the 29th. Unbelievable, lists in on craigslist on the 27th, crushes it two days later, leaves the ad up. Dropped by this morning. Also tells me hes gotten at least 5 calls on it since he crushed it.

Idiot.

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