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#49's new powerplant has arrived, let the build begin

striker2 said:
I ordered a kit from them for the 2000 Focus MTX75 last year and it came with the double blocker setup for 3rd.
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What was the quality of the kit? I talked with TH today and he said he feels that those kits are pieced together with parts from China/Taiwan and doesn't think they are a high quality kit. He rebuilds the trans that are sent to him with OEM Ford parts. He also mentioned that he didn't think it would hold up to the 600bhp/450ftlbs torque that my engine should be capable of either. While I'm going to be driving it around town at a much lesser power level I want to ensure it will hold up on the track when I do put down the power. So I think I will after all end up sending the trans to TH and then based on his inspection and recommendations hit up Steve at Tousley for any OEM parts that are required.
 
from what i could see they appeared to be just as good as the original parts that i pulled out and included all of the exact same casting marks and numbers. all the bearings were an exact match as well. there was one part that had a casting flaw in it that somehow missed QC (wasnt anything major even) but drivetrainparts.com overnighted me a replacement one for free. in the about 1 year the trans has been installed my brother, who just turned 18, has put ~15k hard miles on it. I used Mercon ATF for the fluid as well and it shifts like butter.

as for holding up to 600HP, that shouldnt be an issue as the blocker rings, bearings, and seals are the only things that get replaced. as i said the bearings were all an exact match. seals arent an issue for how much power it can hold. blocker rings are brass, even stock, and dont have to hold any power anyways, thats the rest of the synchros and gears job.
 
TH did mention that the later Cougar trans has a more robust shaft design. However there downfall is the cost reduced blockers on the 3rd gear. Not sure of all the differences in the shaft though. I do know that the Contour trans uses a 18.5mm bearing where as the Cougar trans uses a 20.5mm bearing, which maybe that is the only difference. So basically to put together a solid transmission I would need to purchase the Contour rebuild kit and then purchase shaft bearings for the Cougar trans as well as a different 3rd gear to work with the double blocker design.

However all that said for what I have into this car I don't feel that I have enough experience with the MTX-75 to feel 100% confident with my work if I were to attempt the rebuild. I've read through the Ford CD and believe if push came to shove I could probably do it myself, but in the end I think I'd rather pay a premium and have TH do it so I know that it has been completed correctly. He is giving me crap for not going with the old style shift tower, but I have not had problems with my Focus tower and don't anticipate having issues with the Cougar tower. Besides if I do later on, replacing the shift tower is not that hard at all anyway, so no worries there.
 
the 2000 Focus is a weird mix of the 18.5 and 20.5mm bearings. I remember having to figure that out before ordering my kit. honestly, a manual transmission is one of the easiest things to rebuild, especially the MTX75. If you can build an engine you should have no problems rebuilding an MTX75.
 
striker2 said:
the 2000 Focus is a weird mix of the 18.5 and 20.5mm bearings. I remember having to figure that out before ordering my kit. honestly, a manual transmission is one of the easiest things to rebuild, especially the MTX75. If you can build an engine you should have no problems rebuilding an MTX75.
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My main concern was all of the shimming and measurements to ensure a proper installation. Did the kit come with shims? I'm guessing not in which case I would have to make a trip to Ford to order a shim kit. My brother has the dial indicator I need and I have everything else. I'm going to double check what I have for specialty tools to ensure I truly have all of the correct ones needed for the rebuild. Then perhaps I'll consider doing it myself.
 
no the kit does not come with shims. that said, I have found that the shims that are installed are almost always the ones needed because they are used mostly to deal with casting differences. i always check it and compare the needed shim to what came out though. sometimes you do need a different on which does require finding a shim kit.
 
CSVT#49 said:
My main concern was all of the shimming and measurements to ensure a proper installation. Did the kit come with shims? I'm guessing not in which case I would have to make a trip to Ford to order a shim kit. My brother has the dial indicator I need and I have everything else. I'm going to double check what I have for specialty tools to ensure I truly have all of the correct ones needed for the rebuild. Then perhaps I'll consider doing it myself.
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If I am remembering correctly, Terry or somebody else mentioned that the shims are no longer purchasable as a kit; you can only buy them individually.
 
striker2 said:
btw, if you have a press and a dial indicator this is something you can do yourself to save some money.
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What press did you use? I've got a shop press like this one (Link), but I don't see how I can get the trans housing setup to press the bearings in nicely. Also I read the press is not to exceed 15kN, which will be a bit hard to control with the press I have.
 
yup, one just like that (although not a harbor freight one). the bearings and gears on the shafts should slide right on with only a little pressure and they can only go so far. for the races in the case halves, i use the old race, large socket, extension and a small dead blow hammer. they should also slide right in with minimal force.
 
striker2 said:
yup, one just like that (although not a harbor freight one). the bearings and gears on the shafts should slide right on with only a little pressure and they can only go so far. for the races in the case halves, i use the old race, large socket, extension and a small dead blow hammer. they should also slide right in with minimal force.
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Good to know.

So I guess now the question is when you worked with Drivetrain.com were they willing to work with you on the kits? I have the 2002 MTX-75 which I want to rebuild. However I want to install the double blocker, which is going to require the 3rd gear from my Contour trans. So do I order the 95-00 Contour kit and then find the 20.5mm bearing separately? Or do I purchase the 99-02 Cougar kit and try and find the double blocker and synchros for the 3rd gear of a 95-00 Contour? Or do you think there is a chance that they would be willing to piece a kit together for me lol.
 
I honestly dont know, you would have to call them. if they wont then I would say that it will almost certainly be easier to find a bearing by itself as it will have a brand and part number on it you can use.
 
There is a lot to read on here so sorry if I ask a question already answered. Will this block support the Svt intake manifold? And what is the questimated HP? And lastly( for now) Wanna build me one next year maybe?
 
newguyhooah said:
There is a lot to read on here so sorry if I ask a question already answered. Will this block support the Svt intake manifold? And what is the questimated HP? And lastly( for now) Wanna build me one next year maybe?
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Yes, if you use the bugzuki plates you could use the SVT manifold. Including the turbo my goal is to get at a minimum 500whp. As for the build, I don't know if I will have the time, but I doubt you want to spend the money. My engine alone will be over $6,000 I'm guessing, which does not include the turbo kit. That doesn't consider any of my time/labor either. However I'm interested as I haven't really totaled it all up (kinda don't want to know either), but here is a quick break down on the rough numbers that I can think of....

05 Escape 3L - $400
K1 connecting rods - $620
Diamond Racing Pistons -$686
Total Seal Rings - $213.20
balancing of rotating assembly - $220
cleaning block -$65
honing block - $120
checking deck heights - $25
check main housing bore - $10
Oil squirter machining in block - $300
bead blast cleaning of heads - $100
Port & Polish work on heads, rework of valves - ~$1300
Mountune Cams - $1700
Mountune Valve Springs - $400 (I bought them from a Noble owner, from Mountune ~$600)
Complete Engine gasket kit - $220
Celvite Main & Rod Bearings - $90
fuel injectors (1000cc) - $620

so from what I can think of above... Grand Total of $7,289.20

You can buy an long block Noble engine from AER for probably about $4500, but that will not have the uprated cams, valve springs, ported heads and 1000cc injectors. So if you remove those from the list that puts my engine build at $3069.20 again which does not include labor. So I came out ahead as I am ending up with more then what a Noble has for an engine.
 
Yea it really doesn't make much sense... I mean yea you would have a warranty through AER, but you could probably get that through an engine builder as well. I guarantee that they will not be charging you $1430.80 in labor. Maybe $600-700.
 
So then out of that list what all is needed for just trying to make the blocker stronger to handle more boost? Obviously the rods, pistons, main and rod bearings. What about the seal rings, gaskets, balancing etc?
 
SJon85 said:
So then out of that list what all is needed for just trying to make the blocker stronger to handle more boost? Obviously the rods, pistons, main and rod bearings. What about the seal rings, gaskets, balancing etc?
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If you want more boost, you have a few options...
- run lower compression pistons (my pistons are 9.6:1)
- run thicker head gaskets to lower your compression (there are a few companies that make nice copper gaskets for the 3L and 2.5L engines, ~$350 IIRC)
- run E85 (I'm running this as well)
- run methanol/water injection
- upgraded wrist pins for the pistons to handle boost
- upgraded piston rings to handle boost

Balancing the rotating assembly is key anytime you change any of the rotating components regardless of whether you are any kind of power adder like a turbo or nitrous.
 
You are going with E85? IIRC thats 105 or so octane and with the aluminum heads you should be able to run a little higher compression for more low end torque when not under boost. I suppose it is a little too late to change it but you could have also considered retarding the timing when the boost kicked in and ran higher compression. Just a little more horsepower probably not worth the risk
 
RAD Merc SVT said:
You are going with E85? IIRC thats 105 or so octane and with the aluminum heads you should be able to run a little higher compression for more low end torque when not under boost. I suppose it is a little too late to change it but you could have also considered retarding the timing when the boost kicked in and ran higher compression. Just a little more horsepower probably not worth the risk
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Main thing there was to have the ability to go back and forth between 93octane and E85. If it was going to be nothing but E85, then sure I would have up'd the compression.
 
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