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Alas, my poor CSVT died today! (Long)

Heywood said:
You are supposed to notify the DMV an pay a fee. There's a form on the website. Most people don't cause they won't approve a 3l swap. The only reason would be if you want to sell it and not have any worries. If you're going to keep it I wouldn't bother.
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Thanks Heywood; I plan to keep her forever!
 
Got the information I needed for my power steering leak from blu_fuz. Gonna order the fitting today. So, it looks like it will be next week sometime before I'm back on the road again Sigh! But that's ok. I'm getting there!

~VC
 
glad to hear you got your getting wheels back on the road, sucks about the power steering leak. just replaced my power steering pressure hose. that kinda sucked. had to drop the subframe a bit but i'm good to go.
 
On the road again!

On the road again!

Me and my CSVT are back! The power steering leak is fixed and she is running fine. Got some new ball joints so she pulls to the right a bit. Gotta get her realigned. Woooooo hoooooo! The new clutch is very smooth. I've only taken her around the block so far. Gonna head out on the freeway in a few to see how she does. So far the difference is slight; almost like it never happened. Thank you Mike Trevino for all your hard work!

Many thanks to all who helped me through this ordeal. I really appreciate you all along with www.contour.org! GOD BLESS AMERICA AND THE INTERNET! I will report again after my freeway test drive. Hot damn!

~ValCor
 
ValCor said:
Last month I had a clutch hose replaced. Then I had the engine bay steamed cleaned. I got new tags for her for 2010. She was looking good and running well. I was driving home on the 280 about two or three miles from home when tragedy struck! I heard a loud engine noise. Was it my car or the big truck next to me? I passed the truck and the noise continued. WTF? Suddenly the noise, a sort or rattle, got louder and I was losing power. I checked my guages and all was well but I knew something was up. Should I take the 10th street exit or try to make it to McLaughlin? Traffic was moderate so I opted for McLaughlin as I moved toward the right lane. Suddenly.......BANG! Clackity clack boing clunk! Something blew up and parts were trailing behind me on the road with a little smoke. Arrrrrgh! I hit my emergency flashers and pulled over to the shoulder. My oil lamp was on and the engine was silent. Curses! At least I was not in an accident and was in a great spot for a tow truck. I call AAA to come and get me while I surveyed the damage. Oil oil oil everywhere under her. Not good! So, someting blew up and I lost my oil pan and all the oil. I'm sure the engine seized consequently. What a shame! So, there she sits in front of my house for the time being while I decide just what to do with her.

I bought her brand new in September of 1998. At the time I planned to keep her for 10 years or 100 thousand miles. Well, it has been almost 11 years and the odometer reads 128,305. She met my expectation and has been a lot of fun. I don't know what I will do with her because I am unemployed and jobs are very hard to find here in the Silicon Valley. Sigh! I figure at the very least she will need a new engine, but the tranny might be shot also. I don't even have the money for a diagnostic at this point in time. Woe is me!

So me and my "Meridian Falcon" as I loved to call her are probably gonna part ways unless I hit the lottery. I'll check my options this coming week and will make a decision pending the outcome; you know, weigh my options. But, not many viable options when you have no job. Anyway, adios amigos!
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Funny thing was the same thing happened to me about two weeks ago. I was lucky since I was planning on doing a 3L swap, so I already had the engine, a built tranny from Terry Haines, and pretty much everything needed to do the job. I had around 138,000 miles on my engine at the time, and I drove it really hard, so I'm happy with how long it ended up lasting. I even overheated it and ran really low on oil twice, down 4L, and it still ran for a long time.
 
Checked my driveway just now after letting the car sit overnight. No leaks or drips found. Gonna take her out for a bath, then a nice drive in the foothills. I'm so happy to have my steed back! It has been seven long weeks! Oh yeah!
 
Heywood said:
You are supposed to notify the DMV an pay a fee. There's a form on the website. Most people don't cause they won't approve a 3l swap. The only reason would be if you want to sell it and not have any worries. If you're going to keep it I wouldn't bother.
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Most of my working life I was a technician, service adviser, or service manager mostly in Ford dealerships in Southern California.

Never once when we installed replacement engines did it get reported to the DMV. Unless something has changed in the last five years since I left dealership, this is just plain wrong in California.

Installing a different engine may be a different story though because of complications with smog laws.
 
ValCor,

Congratulations on getting your car finished. I'm a little like you. I bought mine new in August of 1997. My goal is to keep it until it has 300,000 miles on it and then see if I still like it. I have over 250,000 miles on it now. No major problems. Original engine, trans, and clutch. I drive less per year than I used to, so the last 50,000 miles may take a while. The only thing I see it needing before then is paint, and that may end up being the deal breaker. Still, it would be cheaper to paint than to replace. Ford hasn't had anything that really interested me as a replacement since dropping the Contour until they finally put a 3.5 V6 in the Fusion. I still like my Contour SVT though.
 
Big Jim said:
ValCor,

Congratulations on getting your car finished. I'm a little like you. I bought mine new in August of 1997. My goal is to keep it until it has 300,000 miles on it and then see if I still like it. I have over 250,000 miles on it now. No major problems. Original engine, trans, and clutch. I drive less per year than I used to, so the last 50,000 miles may take a while. The only thing I see it needing before then is paint, and that may end up being the deal breaker. Still, it would be cheaper to paint than to replace. Ford hasn't had anything that really interested me as a replacement since dropping the Contour until they finally put a 3.5 V6 in the Fusion. I still like my Contour SVT though.
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I looked at the 2010 Taurus SHO with the twin turbo. Nice car, but I hate the body styling. 300k? On a Ford? LOL! I"ll bet your friends think you are crazy! 250K is quite a milestone, especially with the original drivetrain. Way to go! I'll be very happy to make it to 200K with my replacement engine. My paint is holding up very well for a car that has never seen a garage in 11 years. Good luck with your car and may you indeed see 300K miles on it.
 
I sort of like the Taurus SHO but there are things that bother me. It is too big, it is only available with AWD, and it is too expensive.

Put that engine in a Fusion and . . . . and . . . well, I'd rather not say.
 
Big Jim said:
I sort of like the Taurus SHO but there are things that bother me. It is too big, it is only available with AWD, and it is too expensive.

Put that engine in a Fusion and . . . . and . . . well, I'd rather not say.
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SVT Fusion? That just might fly. I saw a very rare SVT Focus today. LOL!
 
Big Jim said:
ValCor,

Congratulations on getting your car finished. I'm a little like you. I bought mine new in August of 1997. My goal is to keep it until it has 300,000 miles on it and then see if I still like it. I have over 250,000 miles on it now. No major problems. Original engine, trans, and clutch. I drive less per year than I used to, so the last 50,000 miles may take a while. The only thing I see it needing before then is paint, and that may end up being the deal breaker. Still, it would be cheaper to paint than to replace. Ford hasn't had anything that really interested me as a replacement since dropping the Contour until they finally put a 3.5 V6 in the Fusion. I still like my Contour SVT though.
Click to expand...

They have the 3.5L V6 in 2010 the Fusion, it's not the turbo one they have in the SHO Taurus, but a N/A 263hp & 249tq version.
 
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