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3.0L Oil Pans - Front or Rear Sump

G

Grayson

New CEG'er
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
10
Location
West Chester, OH
I'm looking to install a 3.0L Duratec in an old RWD car as a fun project. I've chosen to use a 2000-2002 Lincoln LS motor so that I don't have a water pump fouling my firewall, and since I insist on oval ports. I've settled on DAMB, so I'll ignore that 2000 Taurus motor. I don't want to tinker with VVT so the project stays fun, not funky.

Anyway, I need to consider oil pans. I have to use a "rear sump" pan. It seems to me that the transverse-mounted engines (Taurus/Contour/Cougar/etc) have "rear sump" oil pans, and longitudinal-mounted engines (Lincoln LS/Jaguar S-Type) have "front sump" oil pans. Let me know if I'm wrong about this. Based on this, I'll have to replace my Lincoln LS oil pan with one from a Taurus/Contour/Cougar/etc. Do any of you know of any hurdles here? Are the oil pumps basically the same in both the transverse and longitudinal engines? Can I just swap the pickup and the oil pan and be done with it?

Just trying to plan ahead here, and this is a topic where forum searches start returning blanks.
 
I'd say use the latest escape pan and pickup, it should be your best option, and it is rear sump. I believe the oil pumps are all the same, though the VVT pumps probably have a higher output. I've never had one of the DAMB engines apart myself, but I think the only potential pitfall w/ the oil pan would be if the LS front cover mates up to the pan the same as the contour or escape front cover. Best advice is, get friendly with a local CEG'er that has done a 3L swap, and compare parts in person.

This wouldn't happen to be going into an XR4Ti would it?
 
It will be going in this XR4Ti. SCCA Street Modified rules allow me to use up to 3.0 liters with a turbocharger and overhead cams. Guess which engine seems to be a good idea.

image020.jpg
 
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Whereabouts are you?

btw, I think I would avoid a turbo car in autoX, or at least be REALLY careful with your turbine sizing, because rapidly building boost = spin on a tight course, lol.
 
I just updated my profile to show my location. Stupid newbs. I'm in West Chester, Ohio, a northern suburb of Cincinnati.

With the exception of a few borrowed cars here and there, I've never driven a non-turbo car on an autocross course. I've had my share of spins, but it doesn't take more than a couple runs to get used to an engine's characteristics. The turbo won't be a problem - it's not like this is a Sunbeam Tiger I'm working with ;)

What I'm gathering so far is that it sounds possible to remove the LS oil pan, remove the LS pickup, replace the gasket, install the Escape pickup, and then install the Escape pan and go...pending consideration of the front cover interface. That's a good catch there.

So, does the Escape have a different oil pan than the Taurus/Contour/Cougar?
 
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The escape pan is similar to the contour/cougar, just has better baffling. The taurus has a different pan, I'd have to look at my take off pan at home, but IIRC its more of a center sump.
 
You can always remove the pully to the WP cam and use an electric pump.
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Actually, I can't. The engines with water pump drives on the rear of the cam have protrusions from the head and the valve cover that basically "stick out" over the back of the block. The cars with water pumps on the front end accessory drive have heads and valve covers that are flush with the back face of the engine, with no overhangs. The overhang is small...perhaps 3/4"...but that's 3/4" further I can set the engine back.

I think I'm probably just going to use the factory front end water pump. I see no real reason to run an electric pump, though it would be VERY cool to be able to flow coolant through the engine after shutdown to assist with cooling. Unless the factory water pump has some kind of shortcoming, I'll let Ford do the brainwork on that. I definitely have a lot of other things to worry about :crazy:

I grew up in Grand Rapids, by the way. Went to Forest Hills Northern on the Northeast end of town.
 
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Grayson said:
I'm looking to install a 3.0L Duratec in an old RWD car as a fun project. I've chosen to use a 2000-2002 Lincoln LS motor so that I don't have a water pump fouling my firewall, and since I insist on oval ports. I've settled on DAMB, so I'll ignore that 2000 Taurus motor. I don't want to tinker with VVT so the project stays fun, not funky.

Anyway, I need to consider oil pans. I have to use a "rear sump" pan. It seems to me that the transverse-mounted engines (Taurus/Contour/Cougar/etc) have "rear sump" oil pans, and longitudinal-mounted engines (Lincoln LS/Jaguar S-Type) have "front sump" oil pans. Let me know if I'm wrong about this. Based on this, I'll have to replace my Lincoln LS oil pan with one from a Taurus/Contour/Cougar/etc. Do any of you know of any hurdles here? Are the oil pumps basically the same in both the transverse and longitudinal engines? Can I just swap the pickup and the oil pan and be done with it?

Just trying to plan ahead here, and this is a topic where forum searches start returning blanks.
Click to expand...

Swapping the 2.5L pan onto a 3L requires you to pull out a lower block bolt and replace it with a stud for the pickup to bolt to. This also means you need to modify the 3L windage tray so it fits over that new stud. You may have to do something similar.
 
That sounds very similar to the kind of work I have to do when I install a windage tray in an engine that didn't have one originally. Thanks for the heads up!
 
Blackcoog said:
Swapping the 2.5L pan onto a 3L requires you to pull out a lower block bolt and replace it with a stud for the pickup to bolt to. This also means you need to modify the 3L windage tray so it fits over that new stud. You may have to do something similar.
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Not never replaced a stud on anything. The YL8Z pick up off the Escape ususally does the trick. Maybe on a different 3L that I've worked with which is 01+.
 
Swapping over 2.5L pans/pickups from Contour/Cougars to 01+ 3L motors is where I have experienced this. It's possible the escape pickup will work but I've never tried to use one. I've also heard the newer 2.5L pickups don't have a support so it wouldn't need a stud then.
 
"so I'll ignore that 2000 Taurus motor" "I don't want to tinker with VVT" I a little confused. Maybe im not reading it right or something. But why would you use a LS motor when it has VVT? The 2000 taurus motor has the water pump up front also but no VVT....just COP :eek:
 
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