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

    You can register to join the community.

Please Help... Seized Crank Bearings! engine swap opinions needed

E

ELECTRO

CEG'er
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
104
Location
AZ
:help: Hey everyone. I really need your opinions'. Recently I had some horrible luck with my SVT. I accidentally downshifted from 5th into 2nd instead of downshifting properly into 4th. Needless to say, my 2nd gear did not match well with my current speed and I burned up the crankshaft bearings. Supposedly that is the only problem (found so far) with why the engine won't turn over/run. I really don't know a lot about engines other than just the basic stuff. The mechanic told me that he could put new bearings in, but then at the same time he'd have to pull all my cylinders and rods and then check them, and all this other stuff. Basically it's going to be pretty expensive just to get the work done on my current engine.

I really didn't want to get rid of my car. I love my SVT. So I started looking for other options. I found a place in Tucson, AZ (which is about an hour from where I live) that said they would do an engine swap for apx $1000. I started looking for other used SVT engines on our website. I also called our friend out in Las Vegas, which I've ordered from before. He told me about the 3L swaps.

Basically, I need everyone's opinion about how I should proceed with this. Keep in mind that I'm in the Army, and I don't make a whole bunch of money.... so telling me that I should get a dodge viper engine and slap it in really isn't going to help much. My final goals with the car, after I come back from Afghanistan, are to put a turbo kit on. So keep that in mind when giving recommendations. I'm going for a suggestion that either leans towards getting a ford escape engine and just dropping it straight in, or somehow using parts from my current SVT engine to build a hybrid. I WILL NOT BE DOING THE SWAP OR MODS MYSELF. I simply don't know how and don't have the time. So also keep this in mind because if there is much work involved, I will be paying for all of it out of pocket. Also this is my daily driver, so I would like to stray away from swaps that are complex and take a lot of time to work all the kinks out. Again, I do not know how to read engine codes and tinker with stuff. I need to be able to get in, turn the key, and get to work on time. This is even after I get my turbo kit installed.

Let me know what you think, and if you are a person that likes to build engines and then sell them, let me know that too. If you have any type of engine (ie. stock SVT engine, modded SVT engine, modded 3L engine) please let me know as well. I truly appreciate all of your input. You have no idea how much it means to me to get others' opinions since you've 'been there done that'.

Thanks a million - Matt

HeavenMusic02@hotmail.com
Cell: 913.579.1536
(All help is appreciated)
 
Last edited:
I would think you'd also need a new head, just from experience with bmws, a lot of people 'money-shift' their m3s going from 3 to 4th but accidentally go to 2nd and they destroy their valvetrain.
 
Pick up a used 01+ 3L, vin S from LKQcorp.com.

That will run you around 400-500 and then spend a bunch of time reading the 3L section to determine what other little parts you will need. Give all this info to your mechanic. Oh, and buy the modified lower intake manifold from Natuilus Performance. PM Burrita or Warmonger about details on that. It wil save you mechanic a bunch of time and we all know saving mechanics time saves us money.

Thats the easiest way to go. It is really more involved than that but I would hope a competant mechanic could do this.

New and even used complete svt engines are hard to come by cheap.

Easiest yet would be to buy a completely prepped 3L from 3lduratec.com and have your mechanic simply drop it in. Might cost a couple bucks more.


Also noteworthy, as much as turbo'd contours can be completely reliable daily drivers (I am daily driving mine) I have to recommend at least having access to some other alternative way to get around should something go wrong. Just speaking from experience here.

If you read the forced induction forum many of the turbo guys, including myself have spent a fair amount of time with the car off the road for diagnosis repair.

Now, I must say. I have NOT heard of anyone that went with Nautilus spending any serious time with their ride out of commission.
 
Last edited:
wow

wow

sell the car to somebody who knows what they are doing.

buy a cobalt ss or some other warrantied car

its a lot of money and a lot of time - buy the tools and do it yourself or don't do it at all.. be prepared to have the need for $$$$

i have a broken shifter bolt and i'm downtimed still
 
God damn it, free dumb I hate you. I typed a whole bunch of advice before I realsied how old this thread is. Why would you bump this!?
 
We can sell you a 3L motor modified so that any mechanic can drop in like a stock 2.5L motor. See the site in my sig and check your email.

Chris
 
Blackcoog said:
We can sell you a 3L motor modified so that any mechanic can drop in like a stock 2.5L motor. See the site in my sig and check your email.

Chris
Click to expand...

Electro go with that, a prepped 3L outta of the box thats the way to go. it would be too hard to find a svt motor, trust me. and forget getting a stock 2.5L you're wasting your money when you can get a 3L. If i had the money I would of got one myself from Blackcoog. but I'm broke but I had access to tools and just did it with a friend of mine. but it took a long time and was messy.
 
well..... i have to pay for all the dumb i get from the blonde's at the bar. so this is refreshing, drinks are expensive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top