From: sontakke@helix.enet.dec.com (Vikas Sontakke)
Subject: Re: $758 for an oil change?
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 03:43:38 GMT


In article <14114@auspex-gw.auspex.com>, tpickett@auspex.com (Tom Pickett) writes...
>I thought I would put my $.02 ($500) into this discussion.
> 
>I just got the following quote:
> 
>I called Swanson Ford in Los Gatos, CA (recommended by several people)
>and they said the 30,000 mile service is $550 - 575.  That includes
>fuel injection service (clean injectors throttle body...) changing all
>filters on the car, tune-up, scan all codes (computer system).  He says
>the SHO is actually $150 cheaper than a car with auto transmission.
> 
>I may save $100 if the plugs are platinum plus which only need to
>be changed every 60,000 miles.  No valve adjustment is necessary
>until 60,000 miles and the fellow I talked to said in the three years
>he's been there, no SHOs have ever required valve adjustment.
> 
>Now that's on a SHO, and I can't imagine that they charge less for a
>SHO than for some of the other cars Ford makes.  $758 sounds about right
>to me if you have auto tranny.  Keep in mind that the 30K service is a Major
>service point, so I figured it would be in the neighborhood of $500.
> 
> 
> 
>Tom Pickett 
>tpickett@auspex.com
>SHO  GOZE

If you ask few other SHO owners, most of them will tell you NOT to let a
mechanic touch your car unless absolutely necessary.

For 60K, Ford asks you to replace the timing belt and adjust the valves.  That
will run into serious money.  My mechanic has rebuilt a SHO engine and he tells
me that the belt is very hefty and the pistons have cutout for the valves, so if
the belt were to break, at least the engine will survive.

The spark plugs are dual platinum and those are good until 60K.  However, he
advises me to change them at 30K because by 60K they might get stuck in the
aluminium head (does he have a valid concern?).  He assures me that he can
replace the rear 3 plugs without removing the intake manifold and according to
him, even removing the intake manifold is no big deal.

SHO registery has quoted $600-1200 for 60K service in their sampling of various
US dealership.  One of the tip they gave was that all the gaskets are reusable
and one could save substantial amount by carefully removing and reinstalling.

Rest of the other maintenance is similar to any late model car i.e. flush the
cooling system, flush the brake fluid, flush the power steering fluid, replace
the tranmission fluid etc.

I would not mess around with the fuel injectors.  Just use Techron every 5K
miles and if you want to clean the throttle body, just by remove the big air
intake tune and use carb cleaner spray.  Throttle plate does get dirty after
a year or two.

K-Mart now sells Ford Motorcraft oil filters for under $3.00.  I have tried
Purolator and Fram air filters but they don't fit well in the air cleanr box.
So rather than paying dealer price for a Motorcraft air filter, I would rather
spring for K&N or a similar high performance filter.

I know someone who had almost 80K on his 89 SHO without doing anything to the
engine i.e. no vlave adjustment or timing belt service.

SHO has no PCV (at least for the 49 states) valve, no rotor or caps.

Personally, I have no intention of forking $600-1200 at 60K miles.  Scheduled
maintanance is listed in the owners manual.  Don't let a dealer pad it up.
At 30K, Ford asks you to replace the coolant and that's it.

Vikas Sontakke		Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard MA.
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