1997 FORD TAURUS (SHO) Engine And Engine Coolingengine Problems

1. DRIVING AT CITY TRAFFIC SPEEDS (25-30 MPH) IN PHILADELPHIA. CAR LOST POWER AND STALLED. UPON RESTART WOULD IMMEDIATELY STALL WHEN IDLE. 2. WOULD NOT STAY RUNNING, TOWED TO FORD DEALERSHIP 3. INFORMED BY FORD DEALER THAT THE CAMSHAFTS WERE BENT AND I NEEDED A REPLACEMENT ENGINE FOR $13,000.00. *NM

I OWN A 1997 FORD TAURUS SHO. THE FIRST SIGN OF PROBLEM BEGAN WHEN I KEPT HEARING A TICKNG SOUND IN THE ENGINE. I TOOK IT IN TO A FORD DEALER AND IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A MIS- FIRING CYLINDER. I COULD NOT AFFORD TO HAVE THE DEALER FIX IT SO I FOUND A MECHANIC WILLING TO WORK ON THIS TYPE OF CAR. I HAD THE TWO MIS-FIRING CYLINDERS REPLACED. THE TICKING IN THE ENGINE STILL WENT ON. BEFORE ANYTHING COULD BE DONE THE CAR ACTED LIKE THE ENGINE HAD BLOWN. FINDING A MECHANIC THAT HAS ACTUALLY WORKED ON THESE TYPES OF CARS IS HARD TO FIND, INLCUDING A FORD DEALER MECHANIC. I HAD A FORD MECHANIC THAT NOW WORKS OUT OF HIS OWN GARAGE LOOK AT THE VEHICLE. THE DIAGNOSIS WAS A BROKEN CAMSHAFT 4 BAD VALVES AND BENT PISTONS. THIS CAR ONLY HAS 86,000 MILES ON IT. THE...

THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT STAYS ON HAS BEEN ON FOR FEW MONTHS. CAR SEEMS TO RUN OK BUT CAN NOT GET CAR INSPECTED BECAUSE OF THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT. TOOK THE CAR TO AUTO ZONE THEY DID A DIAGNOSIS AND SAID THERE WHERE TWO CODES THAT CAME UP AS A FAILURE. I READ ON YOUR WEB SITE THAT THERE HAD BEEN A RECALL IN DEC. 2001 ON THE DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM UPGRADE. *JB

CAMSHAFT STRIPED OUT CAUSING ENGINE FAILURE. *JB

ON DECEMBER 21, 2004 MY 1997 FORD TAURUS SHO BEGAN MAKING A TICKING NOISE. TWO DAYS (AND ABOUT 20 MILES) LATER, THE LEFT EXHAUST CAMSHAFT SPROCKET FAILED, CAUSING THE CAR TO STALL AND NOT RESTART. AS A RESULT OF THE SPROCKET SLIPPING, THE NO. 5 CYLINDER'S PISTON WAS CRACKED DUE TO COMING IN CONTACT WITH AN OPEN VALVE (THIS IS AN INTERFERENCE ENGINE). 15,000 MILES AGO, THE LEFT INTAKE CAMSHAFT SPROCKET FAILED, RESULTING IN A $2900.00 REPAIR BILL FROM A FORD DEALERSHIP. UNABLE TO AFFORD THE COST OF SUCH A REPAIR AT THIS TIME (NOT TO MENTION UNWILLING TO DEAL WITH THE SAME FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT WANTED ME TO BELIEVE THAT THIS HARDLY EVER HAPPENS AND THAT I MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING TO CAUSE IT THE FIRST TIME), I OPTED TO ATTEMPT THE PROCEDURE MYSELF. AFTER FINDING AND REMOVING THE FAULTY CAMSHAFT, I THOUGHT MY PROBLEMS WERE SOLVED UNTIL...

VEHICLE QUIT RUNNING IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND VEHICLE SHUT DOWN JUST AVOIDING AN ACCIDENT ON A BUSY 55MPH HIGHWAY. COULD HAVE CAUSED A MAJOR ACCIDENT FOR MY 17 YEAR OLD INEXPERIENCED DRIVER. PUSHED VEHICLE OUT OF TRAFFIC, AND HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO MY REPAIR SHOP. VEHICLE HAD JUST OVER 100,000 MILES. WAS TOLD VEHICLE WAS ONLY RUNNING ON 5 OF 8 CYLINDERS. AFTER EXTENSIVE DIAGNOSIS, IT WAS DETERMINED TO THAT THE ENGINE CAM GEAR BROKE LOOSE THAT OPENS UP THE VALVE TO THE NUMBER 1 CYLINDER. MAJOR DAMAGE TO THE HEAD AND THE EXHAUST VALVES. SPENT ALMOST 3000.00 DOLLARS TO HAVE ALL REPAIRS MADE TO THE MOTOR. SOMEONE COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY HURT WHEN THE CAR ABRUPTLY SHUTS OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. PLEASE HAVE FORD ISSUE A RECALL FOR DEFECTIVE CAMS WITHIN THE 3.4L V8 SHOWS BEFORE SOMEONE GET SERIOUSLY HURT. *LA

A TICKING NOISE COULD BE HEARD FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT ESPECIALLY WHEN THE CAR WAS IN IDLE. I TALKED TO A FORD DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT THE CAMSHAFT PROBLEM WAS AFFECTING MY CAR. I WAS QUOTED AROUND $6000.00 FOR THE REPAIRS. I DID SOM RESEARCH AND FOUND THAT THE SECONDARY DRIVE GEARS FOR THE CAMSHAFTS WERE THE SOURCE OF THE NOISE. *TT

IT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT SOME 50 1996 THROUGH 1999 TAURUS SHO'S HAVE HAD CAM FAILURES. THE RANGE IN MILEAGE VARIES FROM LOW MILES TO HIGH MILES. A GOOD NUMBER OF THE UNDER 100K MILES. SINCE THESE CAMS COST $1000 EACH AND 4 IS NEEDED AND IN MOST CASES PISTONS ARE ALSO REQUIRED. ALL OF US WHO BELONG TO THE WWW.V8SHO.COM LIST ARE WORRIED ABOUT FOUR CARS HAVING CAM FAILURES. FORD HAS IN AT LEAST ONE INSTANCE PAID FOR HALF OF THE REPAIR BILL IN CAR THAT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, BUT HAS LEFT THE REST OF US HUNG OUT TO DRY. *AK DIMS 11 IVOQ ENTRY POSTED AFTER 12/12/02 CUT-OVER TO ARTEMIS-----758682.

ON AUGUST 18, 2002 I HAD CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE DUE TO A CAMSHAFT SPROCKET FAILURE. A WEBSITE HTTP://WWW.V8SHO.COM SHOWS 241 FAILURES THAT THEY CAN DOCUMENT. *JB

1997 FORD SHO TAURAS. THIS CAR QUIT ON MY WIFE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSTATE,NO POWER NO WHERE.THERE WAS CARS SLIDING,HONKING HORN ETC.TO KEEP FROM HITTING OR CAUSING SERIOUS DAMAGE TO HER.I WASN,T CONCERN ABOUT THE CAR,BUT SHE COULD HAVE BEEN HURT.THIS ISSUE IS VERY DANGEROUS AND COSTLY.SOMEONE NEEDS TO STEP IN AND TAKE THESE CARS OFF THE HIGHWAY,BEFORE ITS TO LATE.MY CAR IS SITTING IN THE GARAGE DRIPPING OIL EVERY WHERE.COST TO MUCH TO FIX TO MUCH TO SELL.JUST HAVE LITTLE OVER 70000 MILES.IF ANYONE NEEDS A CAR TO LOOK AT I,VE GOT ONE.

MY HUSBAND AND I PURCHASED A 1997 FORD TAURUS V8 SHO IN 2000. WE HAD MAINTENANCE AND OIL CHANGES PERFORMED ON A REGULAR BASIS AND NEVER EXPERIENCED ANY PROBLEMS UNTIL THE END OF DECEMBER, 2002. (THE TOTAL MILEAGE ON THE CAR IS APPROXIMATELY 64,000 MILES). IN LATE DECEMBER, 2002, THE CAR STARTED TICKING VERY LOUDLY SO WE TOOK IT TO A LOCAL MECHANIC ON JANUARY 3, 2003, WHO WASN'T SURE WHY THE CAR WAS TICKING BUT HE PERFORMED AN OIL CHANGE AND FLUSHED THE ENGINE. ON SUNDAY EVENING, JANUARY 5, 2003, I WAS DRIVING THE CAR AND THE ENGINE JUST DIED. IT LOCKED UP AS IF IT WERE OUT OF GAS AND I HAD TO MANUALLY STEER IT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. ONCE THE CAR WAS INSPECTED BY OUR LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP WE WERE INFORMED THAT THE ENGINE PROBLEMS ARE DUE TO A CAM SPROCKET FAILURE. IT IS...

I HAVE A 1997 FORD TAURUS SHO, I STARTED HEARING A TAPING IN MY ENGINE, I ASKED A MACHANIC FRIEND ABOUT IT, HE TOLD ME THAT HE READ ABOUT THE CAM SHAFT IN THE SHO'S FROM 1996 - 1999 GOING BAD, I TOOK MY SHO TO THE DEALERSHIP THAT I BOUGHT IT FROM AND THEY DETERMIND IT WAS THE CAMSHAFT HAD GONE BAD. I DID A LITTLE RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND THERE IS A WRITE UP ABOUT THE ISSUE.I TALKED TO FORD MOTOR CO CUSTOMER SERVICE, THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY HADN'T HAD ENOUGH COMPLAINTS TO WARRENT A RECALL, THAT I SHOULD SAVE MY RECIEPTS AND IF THEY HAVE A RECALL THEY WOULD REFUND MY MONEY. IF IT IS A KNOWN FAULT IN THE ENGINE WHY HASN'T FORD CHECKED INTO IT? I LIKED MY FORD SHO, AND WOULD LIKE TO KEEP IT FOR A LONG TIME.