[edit] SHO 3.4 L V8
The V8 SHO appeared in spring of 1996. It was at 3.4 L and continued many of the traits of the SHO V6, including the aluminum cylinder heads (the V8 SHO engine has an aluminum block, V6 SHO engine has an iron block), 4-valve per cylinder DOHC design, but no variable length intake manifold. The V8 SHO has a split port style intake valve setup. The primary valve is exposed all the time and has the fuel injector spraying on it and the secondary valve is only exposed when the Intake Runner Manifold Control opens the secondary plates at 3400 rpm. Power was similar too, at 235 hp (175 kW) and 230 ft·lbf (312 N·m) of torque. This version was retired in 1999 because of changes to the base Taurus it was based upon for the 2000 model year, and the lack of a manual transmission as was available with the prior generation SHO.
Bore and stroke were identical to the Duratec 25 at 82.4 mm and 79.5 mm, respectively. The engines shared other traits as well, and insiders report that the designs are related, though not closely. One sign of such similarity is that the two engines share the same bell housing pattern.
Manufacturing was also a shared process. Ford manufactured the aluminum engine blocks, using a patented Cosworth process, at their Windsor, Ontario plant, then shipped them to Japan for finishing by Yamaha. The finished engines were shipped back to the Taurus plant in Atlanta, Georgia for installation.
Unlike the SHO V6, the SHO V8's valve train was an "interference" design, one that is shared by many engines built today, meaning that the piston will collide with the valves if the camshaft or timing chain fails. Due to some cam sprocket failures, the engine acquired a reputation for potentially catastrophic failure.
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THIS ENGINE WAS REMOVED FROM A 99 TAURUS SHO WITH 98000 MILES ON IT. WE REPLACED IT WITH ANOTHER THAT WE WILL HOPEFULLY HAVE MORE LUCK WITH. SO YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS ONE. YOU GUESSED IT CAM TROUBLE. ONE OF THE CAMS WENT BAD. THE ENGINE IS STILL SALVAGEABLE, BUT DOES REQUIRE SOME WORK., BUT IF YOU'RE EVEN LOOKING AT THIS LISTING YOU PROBABLY ALREADY EXPECT THAT. CAR WAS STILL RUNNING WHEN THE ENGINE WAS REMOVED BUT WAS ONLY FIRING ON HALF THE CYLINDERS. THE BOTTOM END SEEMS TO BE JUST FINE. LOCAL PICK-UP IS MOST DEFINITELY ENCOURAGED ON THIS MOTOR ALTHOUGH IF YOU INSIST I WILL SHIP. E-MAIL ME IF I CAN BE OF FURTHER ASSISTANCE.
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