Thanks for starting this thread for me. Kinda forgot that I had signed up here a while ago.
Indeed, I have lurked around here and have stockpiled all sorts of info from here and the NECO forums. At first I had some trepidation about the 3.0 swap but it looks like I'll be ok. Plus, it helps that I have about a 2 year window to get it all sorted out.
I will say, however, it's almost worth it to create a Wiki so that all of the useful info is stored in one place. Or, even a flow-chart :laugh: so that there's a path from start to finish. I get the sense from some individuals "in the know" that they're tired of answering questions. I've found the answers out there, but not until enduring many hours of cherry-picking from hundreds of threads. I was literally looking like this --> :drool:
Not only that, there are also many ways to skin this cat (no pun intended for the Cougar folks) which I think would be valuable to have without the 'fat' of the excess chatter in the way. Pictures, in particular, are tricky when they're not presented in the proper context.
Anyway, also wanted to mention that I played no role in performing the original 2.5L swap for this Focus as I acquired it that way.
This kind of project is foreign to me, but because I'm not completely ignorant about wrenching, I think I ought to be able to handle it. Besides, you're only young once, so why not. :shrug:
Just about everything I'm capable of now, in terms of maintenance, I've learned through watching others and then repeating their moves on my own. I'd love to be able to see someone else's swap or at the very least lend a hand so that I can literally see everything that's going on. Even better if I can help take things apart in preparation for the swap.
If someone's reasonably close by and they're doing the work on a weekend, I'd consider showing up to lend a hand. I'd be happy to take a bunch of pictures, since that's one of my hobbies.
So... I have ordered a '05 Taurus lump w/COP and will likely do the "Full" install. It'll be here either tomorrow or Monday. Once it arrives, and once I get it in the garage, the teardown of my ZX3 will commence.
The 2.5L that I have is from a 2002 Cougar, and it has only 34K on it. Is it worth anything to anyone? I probably can't use it afterward.
Feel free to PM me with any useful info. I appreciate everything you all and NECO have put out there thus far.