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3.0l hybrid csvt i just bought threw a rod on the way home

howellj

New CEG'er
Joined
Jul 13, 2017
Messages
7
Location
cali
so i bought a 99 csvt, the second one ive had although my last one was basically stock. the engine seemed to be fine although the power wasnt really all there. i got what i thought was a really good deal on a clean 3l swapped svt ... the car is amazingly clean and has some nice wheels, torsen diff , paint is near perfect... until about 50 mins into my drive home a bottom end noise started getting extremely loud and by the time i could pull over it had shot a piece of the rotating assembly thru the oil pan. after that i got it towed home and started researching..pretty sure the seller knew something was wrong and put new bearings in and sold it to me or put some type of additive that i couldnt see on the dipstick because ive never heard of an engine running fine and then throwing a rod within 30 seconds. from what the seller told me i have a 3 liter escape block with 2.5 heads and intake and 3.0 cams. i just want to get this car back on the road as it stuck now in my driveway leaking oil. im going to pay someone to do the swap because i dont have the facilities to pull a motor right now.

so my question is can i just get another 3.0 liter escape block and just swap it pretty easily or what will have to be done? i tried using the search function quite a bit but found mostly people doing a full 3.0 or port matched setup. what mods will need to be done to another 3.0 block , and if my heads are still in ok shape (crossing my fingers) it should be a fairly direct swap , unless im missing something.

any info or a thread you can link me to with info regarding this would be great. like i said i searched the forum for over 3 hours and could not find anything relating to swapping a already swapped motor with a new bottom end.

thanks in advance and sorry for posting if somehow i missed readily availabe info
 
from what i have gathered i just need these things, assuming my heads didnt get ruined

1. 3 liter escape block ( because escapes have the right oil pan that will fit )
2. cut a tab off to make the alternator bracket fit
3. swap over the timing gear from my old motor
4. do something with the passenger side motor mount? not sure on this one because this should already be done considering i supposedly have a 3l now.
5. possibly replace the oil cooler or somehow flush it? coolant and oil were spewing out of the engine when it blew so i assume oil and coolant mixed in there
 
If you are taking off the heads the passenger mount is not an issue, it just needs to be bolted to the block before the heads.

The "oil cooler" doesn't do much of anything anyway. It's just a heat exchanger. Delete it, or upgrade to a air to oil
 
The "oil cooler" doesn't do much of anything anyway. It's just a heat exchanger. Delete it, or upgrade to a air to oil

It does one thing well, get the oil up to temp. Without it the oil pressure takes a lot longer to get into the normal operational range. I am sure it helps keep the oil temp in check but not as much as a air to oil heat exchanger would.
 
There's also an oil passage in the block you'll need to block off as there's no reciprocating passage in the heads. I've heard that once you lay the head gasket on the block its very obvious. I've heard that people have welded the passage closed...others have inserted a correct size ball bearing.
 
There's also an oil passage in the block you'll need to block off as there's no reciprocating passage in the heads. I've heard that once you lay the head gasket on the block its very obvious. I've heard that people have welded the passage closed...others have inserted a correct size ball bearing.

So by the sounds of it i have everything I need pretty much once I get a decent block, assuming the heads are ok.

Cool this makes me a lot more confident

Do I need to modify the pilot bearing? I read somewhere that it needs to be sanded down flush with the block
 
So by the sounds of it i have everything I need pretty much once I get a decent block, assuming the heads are ok.

Cool this makes me a lot more confident

Do I need to modify the pilot bearing? I read somewhere that it needs to be sanded down flush with the block
Correct. Or you could remove it. I think the first option is easiest.
 
It will be a lot cheaper to just to a 3.0 L swap without returning to a hybrid set-up. If you do the hybrid, you will have to buy head gaskets and all those one-time replacement bolts. You don't even have to open the motor up when doing it on the cheap unless you are hell-bent on using SVT cams. Historically, 3.0 L hybrids don't seem to produce more power than a standard 3.0 even though the compression is higher on the hybrid. Hybrids have been known to be more grenade-prone than non-hybrids. What you really need to find is someone who can do the tuning when all is said and done (getting tougher as this platform gets older).
 
It will be a lot cheaper to just to a 3.0 L swap without returning to a hybrid set-up. If you do the hybrid, you will have to buy head gaskets and all those one-time replacement bolts. You don't even have to open the motor up when doing it on the cheap unless you are hell-bent on using SVT cams. Historically, 3.0 L hybrids don't seem to produce more power than a standard 3.0 even though the compression is higher on the hybrid. Hybrids have been known to be more grenade-prone than non-hybrids. What you really need to find is someone who can do the tuning when all is said and done (getting tougher as this platform gets older).

I just don't want to have to do any Extra fuel rail mods and throttle bracket mods and that stuff. I figured just to get this one going redoing the hybrid would be the easiest way
 
The other option would be a port matched 3L. Takes some work on the heads but everything else bolts together as factory.
 
The other option would be a port matched 3L. Takes some work on the heads but everything else bolts together as factory.

i realize i could change the setup but i just want the car running... if my heads are damaged then ya i will do a full 3 liter since thats the easiest althought according to google it gains no power over the 2.5 .. as long as my heads are fine i just want to bolt on the block to my existing stuff and drop the thing back in . i havent even driven the car 100 miles, i can always locate another 3l afterward and build that one on the side to make the most power/reliability and swap it in later when i have the space and equipment
 
i realize i could change the setup but i just want the car running... if my heads are damaged then ya i will do a full 3 liter since thats the easiest althought according to google it gains no power over the 2.5 .. as long as my heads are fine i just want to bolt on the block to my existing stuff and drop the thing back in . i havent even driven the car 100 miles, i can always locate another 3l afterward and build that one on the side to make the most power/reliability and swap it in later when i have the space and equipment

The 3.0 will generate more HP and torque over the 2.5; don't listen to Google, read the forums here as well as on the NECO board. You may be able to find the modified brackets and fuel rail in the classifieds section so that you don't have to put-off doing a complete 3L swap. There may be members here on CEG that can help you out on the fabrication work. Either way, good luck on the swap.
 
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