Newb debating on his first CSVT, advice?

Welcome Scaryfast

welcome.

Unless the Vortech is the revised kit or has the KnuKoncepts aftermarket jackshaft, it carries a 100% failure rate.

Really? Do you have any supporting docs? How would i find out if its a revised kit, or what does the revised kit have over the original? Why do they fail 100%? Thanks!!!
-L

they fail because of how the jackshaft meets the blower, Stock they dont align properly putting stress on the teeth which sheer off.

Ill buy it off that car and you wont have to worry about it

Originally posted by Pudmunkie:
they fail because of how the jackshaft meets the blower, Stock they dont align properly putting stress on the teeth which sheer off.

Ill buy it off that car and you wont have to worry about it

You greedy man you. Then i guess if you get the SuperCharger. You won't need the headers from stazi's huh he he

Oh yeah, i still gotta go pick those up lmao.

What can I say,

I want it all.

Originally posted by scaryfast:

Originally posted by Big Daddy Kane:
I'm going to start off and give you advice like they're giving me on the Nissan boards about an SE-R Spec V I'm looking at...

Not gonna give you any reasons on why, even though I asked for reasons.

Seriously, though... I don't know how a Probe is, but a Contour is a finicky car that needs TLC, or it will bite you...

And no, my car doesn't burn oil! It leaks it, though

...however, that's caused by a previous mod... which was the Vortec S/C that is now gone.

So how does the advice Nissan guys give you apply to me? I'm a bit confused without any reasons.

Any car can be finiky, but you can also have reliable boosted transportation without drivablity issues. As long as you dont tip scales and push limits and do everything with quality in mind you'll be ok. I had a Probe GT with a Grand National turbo (non intercooled) pushing 268 to the wheels (7.5 psi) getting 25mpg as a daily driver with NO cels...then it got popped by a navigator.

Thanks for your advice tho..just dont see any reason in it.
-L

Oh and Plance1....i have not purchased anything yet! Have a link?

Negative... it just seems like they either
1) Don't wanna talk to me b/c I own a 'domestic' car
2) Don't know what they're talking about (like I'm assuming that they expect their 'factory performance car' to not have any quirks and be as reliable as their old 95 Camry)

However, the Duratec is a very reliable motor... I have never been stranded due a motor issue.

Now the tranny on the other hand... Being S/C, it should have a limited slip diff (LSD) installed... but if it doesn't, Your stock diff is going to die!

So you have 2 things to check out... if the car has the original jackshaft for the S/C, and if it has the stock diff.

Other than those, if the car has been taken care of, you have nothing to worry about.

Oh, and watch out on sharp right hand turns (think cloverleaf interstate exits) at high RPM... there is an 'issue' with the 2.5L heads that can starve the engine of oil. Pretty much it will collect in the head and not drain down, so the pump is only sucking air. Fix for this is to run 6.5L of oil.

...But don't treat it as a 95 Camry that went 200,000 miles with no maintainance...

Quote:

However, the Duratec is a very reliable motor... I have never been stranded due a motor issue.

Now the tranny on the other hand... Being S/C, it should have a limited slip diff (LSD) installed... but if it doesn't, Your stock diff is going to die!

So you have 2 things to check out... if the car has the original jackshaft for the S/C, and if it has the stock diff.

Other than those, if the car has been taken care of, you have nothing to worry about.

Oh, and watch out on sharp right hand turns (think cloverleaf interstate exits) at high RPM... there is an 'issue' with the 2.5L heads that can starve the engine of oil. Pretty much it will collect in the head and not drain down, so the pump is only sucking air. Fix for this is to run 6.5L of oil.

...But don't treat it as a 95 Camry that went 200,000 miles with no maintainance...

Ah ha! You guys are so resourcefull!Thank you so much! So do you fit a different oil filter on the car to use 6.5L? I do that on my probe and have a corvette zr1 filter, the integra filters allow a bigger capacity as well.

It has the stock diff, not a lsd. The s/c has been on there for 6K miles, i'm not sure what kind of a meter that could be used for as far as failure goes (miles vs failure)

I will take very good care of the car if i do get it. My pgt has 175K and counting, if you only saw pics. Its so clean and doesnt burn any oil, this car would be kept up just as well, waxed 2 times a month and detailed on a weekly basis. (only premium gas and synthetic oil!)
-L

The stock diff has a tendancy to break with stock power, so with FI it is definitely recommended. You WILL need it and most likey a new clutch depending on mileage, so if you buy that car plan on spending at least $1000-$1500 in parts not including labor. Also, the upgraded jackshaft was a service offered by a member on this site and not Vortech. If it does not have this upgrade it is HIGHLY likely to fail in a short amount of time. This is why if you browse the FI forum you will notice that a huge majority of the FI CSVTs use the ADC turbo kit.

Originally posted by scaryfast:
Ah ha! You guys are so resourcefull!Thank you so much! So do you fit a different oil filter on the car to use 6.5L? I do that on my probe and have a corvette zr1 filter, the integra filters allow a bigger capacity as well.

It has the stock diff, not a lsd. The s/c has been on there for 6K miles, i'm not sure what kind of a meter that could be used for as far as failure goes (miles vs failure)

only premium gas

No special filter... just overfill it by 0.5L (or quarts, whatever...) to have the extra oil in the pan.

Pop the clutch a few times and the stock diff will implode...

Premium is your only choice anyway... On a lot of high end cars, they "recommend" premium (hence the fuel guage will say "Premium Fuel Recommended." On an SVT, you will see "PREMIUM FUEL ONLY" printed on there... for a reason!

And there is another important resource for you to check out: FCO. Terry Haines is who you want to get in contact with to get an LSD put in that tranny... pronto!

Oh, and you will become friendly with the 99-02 Cougar guys/gals as well since the cars are nearly 100% mechanically identical... However, they never got an "SVT" model, but the rest applies.

And you can start setting people straight (if you haven't done so already) that the 2.5L Mazda KL is not the same as a 2.5L Ford Duratec... I'm sure you've seen it time to time, we get it here also!

Specs on the 2 engines:

2.5L Duratec (except the slightly smaller 2000 version):

2544cc

82.4mm x 79.5mm (bore x stroke)

2.5L KL

2497cc

84.5mm x 74.2mm (bore x stroke)

We did get that a few times on the probe boards but its obvious by a longshot which is what. That KL engine is a champ tho, i love it! I've been a long time fan of the cougs and the contours, just about time i can get into one that i like. My mom used to have a 97 SE and my friend has a cougar, and i dig em both! I remember sitting at my local ford dealer when the SVT contours firt came out...from the second i caught that new car smell i was in love. Thanks also for all the info on the lsd, i'll have to crunch some numbers and see what i can do!
-L

Originally posted by Big Daddy Kane:
I'm going to start off and give you advice like they're giving me on the Nissan boards about an SE-R Spec V I'm looking at...

Were those from the 91' to 94' SE-R purists?

My advice, try and find a clean/unmolested SVT and drive the hell out of. Be warned it likes attention in the form of basic maintenance and it's tight spaces making working on it harder.

Originally posted by captainoblivious:

Originally posted by Big Daddy Kane:
I'm going to start off and give you advice like they're giving me on the Nissan boards about an SE-R Spec V I'm looking at...

Were those from the 91' to 94' SE-R purists?

I don't even know... the one guy that said his car consumed tons of oil and only booked for $8000 with 43k miles had an 02 SE-R Spec V, so that means the 03 I'm looking at with 60k miles isn't worth it...

Booked his car with 43000 in Iowa (cars seem to be worth less there), and it came up to $10,200... Leads me to believe he's full of s**t! Note the 03 I'm looking at books at (with 60k miles) at $13,500.

Other guy didn't have a car listed in his sig IIRC...

So i have another meeting to see the SVT. Is there ANYthing else i need to watch out for besides the jackshaft and the lsd? Thanks!
-L

MAJOR:

Like was posted earlier, if you can test drive it, look for grinding between shifts (fast paced/rushed/redline shifts), ESPECIALLY between 2nd and 3rd.

Worn synchros, requiring a new transmission (or at LEAST updated synchros... but you may as WELL get an LSD in there while its down, etc)

Listen for ticking, or knocking (would be HARD to miss) if the bearings have spun, etc. Its LOUD.

Waterpump (if the car is an early 98, especially). It SHOULD NOT HAVE a black impellar. You can't physically see it without removing it, but see if there is a history of replacing the waterpump, or a receipt with part number. The black ones shatter with hot coolant (get brittle) and overheat your engine. warped heads, etc.

Minor:
Hazy headlights (about $200 for new ones, or CAN be sanded for an 85-90% appearance improvement *for a time*)

bumper sag in the rear (seperating/hanging lower than the trunk, where it originally was supposed to meet up with.
Can be fixed with a couple of tennis balls, actually, lol.
but still something to point out for the price wanted, etc.

sun roof operation/clicking, not opening, etc. $55 gear fixes it.

alignment on these cars are PICKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me think some more.

Originally posted by Ray:
MAJOR:

Waterpump (if the car is an early 98, especially). It SHOULD NOT HAVE a black impellar. You can't physically see it without removing it, but see if there is a history of replacing the waterpump, or a receipt with part number. The black ones shatter with hot coolant (get brittle) and overheat your engine. warped heads, etc.

Oh yeah... the 'other' Duratec issue besides the oiling problem.

Supposedly the "white" impeller is the updated one, but also (IIRC) Napa, and maybe a few others, sell a metal impeller pump.

However, the metal impeller pump isn't a 'cure all' since it has a tendancy to leak out of the weep hole... and a few white impeller ones have shattered also.

...But both of those don't have the near 100% failure rate of the original black impeller.

Your symptoms will be overheating engine combined with a 'broken' heater (which is actually just the coolant not being able to get to the heater core).

Dont forget the horror of the warped dashes. Make shure it hasn't started its shifting at the front window and the gage bezel.

bumper sag in the rear (seperating/hanging lower than the trunk, where it originally was supposed to meet up with.
Can be fixed with a couple of tennis balls, actually, lol.

^ any further details as to where the balls should be placed ! ( picture possible ? )

mine is not sagging but may be a little loose on 1 side , so wouldn't mind putting the tennis balls in to prevent any major sag that could occur !

i have 2 words of advice since i just bought one....BUY IT!!!

its an AMAZING CAR!!!

u will love it