• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

Please double check my 3.0 plans

1.) If you're still trying to get this car up and running for as little as possible, then no. Drop the new motor in and deal with upgrades later.

Okay, I think I will stick with the Taurus cams, since I think the low end torque will be fun for tooling around town, which is most of what I'll be doing with this car.

2.) Unless you're doing a straight 3.0 swap, then you don't need to braze the fuel rail or EGR tube. Drop in the 3.0, use the 2.5 UIM/LIM and the rest of the SVT parts.

Well, the current plan is to do the straight 3.0 swap. I think right now I need to decide whether I want to customize the fuel rail and stick with the 3.0 UIM and LIM, or use the SVT UIM and LIM and port match the LIM to the heads. What's the better way to go, in anyone's opinion?

3.) If you do a straight swap, the airbox won't fit. However, the 3.0 stuff will but will need some persuasion to fit in.


So it would probably be a good idea to pick up one of these??
 
Last edited:
The stock SVT airbox WILL fit on a straight 3.0 swap, we bolted it up to rara's motor :shrug:. It just doesnt route like it did on the 2.5
 
you are correct and I should rephrase what I said. Yes, it will physically fit in there. However, it will not bolt up as originally intended and designed.
 
Okay, I think I will stick with the Taurus cams, since I think the low end torque will be fun for tooling around town, which is most of what I'll be doing with this car.



Well, the current plan is to do the straight 3.0 swap. I think right now I need to decide whether I want to customize the fuel rail and stick with the 3.0 UIM and LIM, or use the SVT UIM and LIM and port match the LIM to the heads. What's the better way to go, in anyone's opinion?




So it would probably be a good idea to pick up one of these??

Not a good idea IMO. Straight 3L's are only good if you have non-svt stuff and don't care to retain stock hardware.
 
Well I'm working with a mechanic that's never done this before, so I'm trying to make it as simple as possible for his sake and for my wallet's sake. I wouldn't rule out upgrading to SVT components myself this coming spring when I'll have a garage, some spare cash, and time. But for right now this seems like the simplest option.
 
Okay, how about this.
I get the straight oval port right now with Joey's fuel rail mod so I can get the car back on the road. Then when I get a little more cash and time and his LIM is finished, I pick one of those up and add that on along with my UIM (which will have gotten a thorough cleaning by then).

The key is that I need my car back ASAP and I need to make this swap take as little labor as possible.
 
I went ahead and ordered an intake/filter via eBay, and I've been in contact with SVTCuervo about a new SPEC Stage 1 clutch.
I spoke with the mechanic in person today. I have a few questions.

1. I'm going to be finding the engine on my own. I'll probably use LKQ, what exactly should I be aware of/stay away from? I've engines with 43,000 for $375 and some with 120,000 for $600. Is there any difference? What do I need to know?

2. I think I'm going to have him use the oval port UIM and LIM with Joey's fuel rail and the SVT cams/timing components. Sound good?

3. What should I have him save for me off of the old engine? I'm assuming I'll keep the heads, UIM, and LIM, but I'm not sure what else I could keep and then sell for a little extra cash. I'm assuming he'll dispose of the block/crank/pistons.

4. How hard is it to install a y-pipe with everything on the car? At this point I think I'll shell out for some coated headers and then install a y-pipe later.

5. I've read a bunch of stuff about the pulse wheel. What exactly needs to be done with it in my case?

6. What is used as far as the accessory belt? Since I've had the car, at full throttle above 5000rpm I get a battery light flicker, and the hard 2-3 and 3-4 shifts produce a squeal from the engine bay, so I'm assuming I'll need a new belt or tensioner. What do I do about this during the swap?

Thanks for all of your help guys.
 
Last edited:
(I'm still hoping for some answers to the above questions)

Update:

Purchased:
-MSDS Coated Headers from Nautilus Performance
-SPEC Stage 1 clutch from SVTCuervo
-Intake/filter from eBay

Have been in contact regarding:
-Joey's fuel rail
-Tune from warmonger


I'm hoping to call LKQ tomorrow, but I'm not sure if there's anything specific I need to ask before I order an engine
 
1. I'm going to be finding the engine on my own. I'll probably use LKQ, what exactly should I be aware of/stay away from? I've engines with 43,000 for $375 and some with 120,000 for $600. Is there any difference? What do I need to know?/
You want an 01+ with under 20k miles and should expect to pay around 400. If you feel like reading you can read up on 04+ blocks and decide if that is the mode you want to go.
2. I think I'm going to have him use the oval port UIM and LIM with Joey's fuel rail and the SVT cams/timing components. Sound good?
Sounds good, dont forget that when you swap the cams you need to use all the chains and guides. tensioner are backwards compatible. I ended up buying all new chains and tensioner. you may not need to depending on the mileage of your cams and components
3. What should I have him save for me off of the old engine? I'm assuming I'll keep the heads, UIM, and LIM, but I'm not sure what else I could keep and then sell for a little extra cash. I'm assuming he'll dispose of the block/crank/pistons.
Heads - worth some value I suppose... but not much without the cams. Keep the intake manifolds for sure, those are worth some good cash. You may want to keep other little things, sensors, misc bolts, waterpump if its upgraded...
4. How hard is it to install a y-pipe with everything on the car? At this point I think I'll shell out for some coated headers and then install a y-pipe later.
Ypipe has to go on after the motor is in... you'd have an amazing talent if you could put the motor in with that attatched!
5. I've read a bunch of stuff about the pulse wheel. What exactly needs to be done with it in my case?
Search for some of my posts on the topic. You need to orient the pulse wheel to the timing cover you are using. You will most likely be using the 2.5 timing cover, and so you will need to set the pulse wheel to that cover.

6. What is used as far as the accessory belt? Since I've had the car, at full throttle above 5000rpm I get a battery light flicker, and the hard 2-3 and 3-4 shifts produce a squeal from the engine bay, so I'm assuming I'll need a new belt or tensioner. What do I do about this during the swap?
Buy a new OEM motorcraft alt while you have the motor out. Its costly but OEM remans (from ford) completely rebuild the alternator, not just replace the cause of failure like other remans. Better to do this while the motor is out... 5 minute job instead of hours.

Not sure on your squeel, possibly the tensioner.
 
The clutch came in, I'm still waiting on the headers and intake, I bought a y-pipe, and Joey was going to PM me when his fuel rail mod is ready since I'm getting one of those too. Hopefully I'll have all the parts to my mechanic by early next week.
 
You want an 01+ with under 20k miles and should expect to pay around 400. If you feel like reading you can read up on 04+ blocks and decide if that is the mode you want to go.
Sounds good, dont forget that when you swap the cams you need to use all the chains and guides. tensioner are backwards compatible. I ended up buying all new chains and tensioner. you may not need to depending on the mileage of your cams and components
Heads - worth some value I suppose... but not much without the cams. Keep the intake manifolds for sure, those are worth some good cash. You may want to keep other little things, sensors, misc bolts, waterpump if its upgraded...
Ypipe has to go on after the motor is in... you'd have an amazing talent if you could put the motor in with that attatched!
Search for some of my posts on the topic. You need to orient the pulse wheel to the timing cover you are using. You will most likely be using the 2.5 timing cover, and so you will need to set the pulse wheel to that cover.

Buy a new OEM motorcraft alt while you have the motor out. Its costly but OEM remans (from ford) completely rebuild the alternator, not just replace the cause of failure like other remans. Better to do this while the motor is out... 5 minute job instead of hours.

Not sure on your squeel, possibly the tensioner.
Hey, the Y-pipe can be installed on the motor when either pulled or installed. It isn't a big deal to do with the motor in the car so I wouldn't sweat it and it is in the way of the AC compressor going on off easily, but it is designed to be installed that way at the factory and can be pulled through the top that way.
 
I went and picked up the engine today and dropped it, the intake, and the clutch at the mechanic's. I'm still waiting for the fuel rail adaptor, headers (ordered from Nautilus last week), and y-pipe (bought from a CEG'er, should have shipped today).
 
Last edited:
Headers, fuel rail mod, and XCal2 (or maybe 3!) are coming from Nautilus as soon as they're ready.

If I wanted to get new plug wires, would I get a set made for a Taurus or a Contour?
 
Great, let me know as soon as it's ready, I can't wait to get my car back on the road. I've been stuck driving my mom's ATX Zetec for the past two weeks. :(

There's nothing wrong with an ATX Zetec
disgusted.gif


haha :laugh:
 
Back
Top