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My build and some questions

F

FrancisPennysac

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Dec 13, 2014
Messages
502
Location
PA
OK so after hours upon hours of reading, I have came to some conclusions..

Ok first off I have decided I am going to go with a 04-05 escape/taurus motor for my 3L swap

Everything I am reading is telling me that the more B.S. i try to do to it the LESS reliable it will be... atleast that seems to be the case...

Meaning other than simple bolt on's it will be a direct 3l swap.. I plan on using MY svt upper/lower intake.. Correct me if I am wrong.. I really only need minor things for the swap..(other than things already on MY engine like starter/ alternator) All the stupid stuff coming off the 2.5 will transfer over but 90% will be replaced.. like belt/hoses/sensors.. I want it to work for YEARS to come.. SO I am NOT going to use the 2.5 heads/cam...any of it.. just a straight 3.0 swap with my SVT intake on it..


Just to make sure I am doing this all correct
04/05 ESCAPE motor... Bugzuki plates, 01 motor mount.. Can run my same fuel rail/setup Being that I am using the SVT upper/lower intake..?? I believe I read that I can..I am trying to avoid hacking the car up more then I have to.. especially a fuel rail..

Other than that it seems like a pretty straight shot.. I am probably going to pull the trans with it.. so the LSD can go in.. Anyone know of any good trans shops in Allentown PA?? I've tried contacting Terry Haines..but I haven't gotten a response.. at all.

I will be puling out my motor obviously, and then bolting all that I can to the 3.0 and drop it into the car WITH the trans attached.. THEN bolt on all the "top end" stuff... This seems to be the easiest least bull**** way of doing it... maybe more time consuming but Ill take that over breaking my knuckles every other bolt..

!!MODS!! after hours of research MOST of the post on here are missing their photos/info/broken links.. just a fyi

I am looking to build it FUN yet not breaking down every other day..so

I have a LSD diff, MSDS headers, flywheel/clutch, waiting to go in while I do all this

I have pulled V8's from trucks n such before but this is ALL new to me for the most part.. after hour upon hour of looking and searching I have decided I am going to swap my car myself.. under the hood looks a bit intimidating until you realize 90% of the crap your looking at is upper intake stuff..

I am located in Lehigh valley of PA and if ANYONE cares to help PLEASE PM ME!!!
I wont be starting this swap until probably march/april once I have EVERYTHING i need..for sure

If there is ANYTHING you guys see that I am missing PLEASE let me know.. I have researched what I feel is the MOST I can.. like try 6 months of researching here..and the archives.. reading EVERY little thing I can.. So please don't just say.. "read the archives" ... I have read them.. they were horrible to sort through 1,000's of pages of nonsense./ conflicting information.

If u guys want a suggestion.. Put all the "hybrid stuff" together, all "straight 3L stuff" together... it was WAY more confusing trying to figure how I wanna go with 10,000 combos being thrown into the mix...

Also I am looking for bugzuki plates if any of you have them :)
 
Hey FP,

One thing I think will greatly improve your reliability would be, to make sure you get your car re-tuned after the engine swap. There are many threads where guys have asked for help for problems that flow from un-tuned swaps .... it's a false economy.

On the subject of the LSD swap .... I did my own. it's not hard ... . I have done thousands of miles and had my transmission apart several times, with no ill effects. The fact that you have worked on V8's says to me that you are capable of this swap. You might have problems getting hold of a new speedo drive wheel on the diff ...remove the old one with great care as an insurance policy. You will need to carefully remove/break the bearing next to it.

I would definitely get a 65mm throttlebody...

SVT cam's will not make your motor unreliable ...... poor installation work will. It just depends where you want your power band ... low down 3l or higher up SVT. ....G.
 
Thanks, okay so I think I am confusing myself honestly, Considering I am not removing the heads on the engine, I should NOT need the bugzuki plates, as they are designed to use the 2.5 heads on the 3.0 block..which i am NOT doing, I am simply dropping in a 04/05 escape 3.0 "S VIN" motor with my SVT lower and upper intake manifold.. THAT is what I am trying to get to with the least amount o ripping and tearing beyond normal removing/installing the engine... that seems possible from what I have read.

I am going to be removing the radiator, for clearance purposes, I know i don't HAVE to but I WANT to...

So Can someone PLEASE let me know other than the porting job..(which probably will be done by a shop) what Out of the NORMAL tools will I need to get this all done.??

I assume stuff like a pickle fork, engine lift/stand.. torque wrench.. I can borrow the Fuel line disconnect...

My main questions are Other than porting the Heads to accept the SVT lower intake... Is there anything else I must do to the engine beside swapping it?? I can leave the Timing set alone???

I can't seem to find anything other thn very small stuff.. 01 cougar motor mount.. and something about braing the fuel rail but that seemed to only be needed if using the 3.0 upper intake/fuel rail n such..

What I meant to say was I will need to have the 3L heads ported to accept the SVT lower intake manifold.. short change of that I heard something about removing or "shaving down" some pig ear somewhere?? I believe alternator braket or something rather..again Hard to remember what it was exactly, after reading again and again.. Ill try to link to some stuff I might have questions on.. there is a TON of good info on here and on the archives no doubt, but its a bit much at first trying to sort it all..That being said, those are the only other changes that will have to happen in order for me to do a direct swap..


I know some questions may seems stupid to those that have done this a million times, but this is all new to me.. FWD V6 inverse mounted.

Please correct me if I am wrong..

Also Gorman, that's one of the first things that will happen, is a tune, as I will have headers/ full exhaust and wanna "tune out" the O2 so i dont have to dick with MIL eliminators..

I was gonna have the car tuned by "SPEED1 they are located near hamburg PA, near the Cabelas store somewhat..
 
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F.P. wow you come across as very excited.... ha ha

when are you getting your motor ? a lot of what you are asking will become clear when you have the motor in front of you.

You will need the bugzuki plates because the injector position on the SVT lower is to one side and the 3L injector placement is in the center of the two ports ... you'll see when you get the engine.

Correct, grinding the ear off, is for the alternator mounting bracket and you will have to grind the heads to allow the injectors to seat..... the bugzuki will show you where.

You need to decide which injectors you are going to use 19lb or 21lb or even 24lb. This is not a problem because of the re-tune

The timing is set by the ECU except the static timing, that will be fine unless you disturb it by swapping cam's. .... G.
 
Don't forget the pilot bushing needs to be cut or removed. If you don't you'll destroy your tranny. Don't forget to put in a pcv breather box for you 2.5 intake. And the coolant cross over tube between the heads.
 
Bugzuki plates are no longer made by Bugzuki. We have bunch of extras so if you need some let me know. We can sell you a set. If you stick with the SVT injectors you don't need to tune the car it will run near perfect. The SVT injectors are perfectly fine. I have run them and others in my area have run them for 10+ years on ported 3L's with zero issues. We are also running 3L cams. Some of our 3L cars have been tuned (220whp+) and they never had fuel issues.
 
Blackcoog said:
If you stick with the SVT injectors you don't need to tune the car it will run near perfect. The SVT injectors are perfectly fine. I have run them and others in my area have run them for 10+ years on ported 3L's with zero issues..
Click to expand...
.

interested in this; if he removes his lambda sensors, how does his PCM adjust the fuel trims/ injector pulsewidth with no meaningful feedback from the exhaust sensors ? ....G.
 
squeek said:
Don't forget the pilot bushing needs to be cut or removed. If you don't you'll destroy your tranny. Don't forget to put in a pcv breather box for you 2.5 intake. And the coolant cross over tube between the heads.
Click to expand...

That's what the heck it was... the pilot bushing.... Thanks for reminding me.. I knew there was something else..

ok so with regarding the "bug" plate.. from what i have read I need to snap off some "tab??" on the lower intake manifold so it will sit flush on the head..

Anyone point me in the right direction of how much material to remove from the pilot bushing?? or just complete removal??

Also I can agree with blackcoog, everything I have read says MOST 3L will run rather well on a STOCK SVT PCM... Being they are already accounted for the larger throttle botdy/injectors/etc.. BUT just to be safe The second the car is running somewhat correctly, it will be getting a tune.

So I believe I have everything else I need.. My plan is to have the 3.0 on a stand outside the car and when I get the 2.5 out.. unbolt ALL the 2.5 stuff, transfer it, then reassemble in reverse.
I will be making a check list to make sure everything is correct before I really dive into this..

Question.. Being that I have to modify the lower intake to sit correctly on the head..... Is this better done when the motor is out?? meaning... Should I actually mount the lower intake manifold to the head BEFORE i put the engine back into the car... I ask because my original game plan was to leave all the Upper engine "stuff" off until the motor was in the car...My concern is NOT being able to get it properly aligned.

That seems to be everything...I can think of right now.

Am I correct in stating my best bet is a ESCAPE/TRIBUTE 2004/2005 3.0 VIN S?????? I believe it had something to do with the baffles in the oil pan being better setup but unless I am wrong this seems to be the easiest 3.0 swap to pop into the car..
 
Just want to say my SVT is an untuned ported 3L. Seems to run fine, not too rich, not too lean (as shown when I pulled the plugs). Probably 30k miles now.
 
gorman said:
.

interested in this; if he removes his lambda sensors, how does his PCM adjust the fuel trims/ injector pulsewidth with no meaningful feedback from the exhaust sensors ? ....G.
Click to expand...

He is removing the downstream O2 sensors which are only there to detect the catalytic converter. They aren't used for fuel correction.
 
Easiest is probably dependent on who's building it. Personally knowing what i know now i'd run full 3L

To run 2.5L intake manifolds on a 3L heads....You are not modifying the lower intake, you port THE HEADS you port this with the engine out.
 
Beans said:
Easiest is probably dependent on who's building it. Personally knowing what i know now i'd run full 3L

To run 2.5L intake manifolds on a 3L heads....You are not modifying the lower intake, you port THE HEADS you port this with the engine out.
Click to expand...

Thanks beans, I knew there was something not sounding when I re-read what I wrote... but yes I must port the HEADS to match the Lower intake manifold.. I believe maybe I am better of letting a shop do the porting itself.. It just sucks as I am trying to save myself money anywhere I can, but not skimp on important stuff..

I just hate paying a labor rate for stuff I already know how to do it.. just no time/tools/shop..
 
Porting the heads isn't too hard. All I did was purchase a plug in drill, and some grinding stone thingys (I don't remember the name of them)

All you do is purchase 3 or 4 of those plates (the ones bugzuki used to sell) and install the third one. It will show you exactly where the LIM meets up with the top of the head.

My suggestion if you're doing it your self is to lay on your back with protective eyewear on, and do it with the motor upside down so there's no chance of getting any of that metal inside your engine. Also stuff paper towels down the head ports, then when your finished pull the paper towels with the motor upside down.

Another important thing that I didn't see for your swap (unless I over looked it) was this: you're going to swap over your 2.5 timing cover, when you do this you need to also take the little metal thing that's on the front side of your crank and FLIP IT. This is what one of your timing sensors reads and if you don't do this your car will not start or run.

I did the exact same build as you on my contour about a year ago. I made a pretty detailed post of everything I did. I'll try to send you the link. Hope this helps. Also I'm sure more people can explain a little better what that timing thing is called lol
 
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I just recently swapped my first motor into a contour, instead of removing the radiator, remove the oil filter and the front motor mount from the motor not the subframe, remove the coil pack on the valve cover and the battery trey and you're good to go. Just watch for the brake booster. The swap went alot easier then it's made out to be.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
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