Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Maintenance Time to Rebuild

Its finally time to rebuild the contour. After about seven years and it reached 220,000 miles, I would say its past time. I do need some help with some parts..I need to find out where to get hydraulic lifters for the zetec and also if the one on fordpartsonline are for each side exhaust/intake or for the whole set or for just one....And where to get the best prices for the rest of the stuff for this engine rebuild ..your help and comments are needed.

Just out of curiosity, does the engine smoke, knock, tick? Has power gone down a lot and what about mpg? Are you going for a full bore or just the standard .010? Because now is the time to do a performance buildup. If not for performance maybe a good used zetec is in order. Also hows the rest of the car tranny, suspension, brakes? How many of those miles did you do and were they spirited or babied miles?

Holy [censored] 220k, that is a lot for a Contour considering they arent really that old of cars.

You've got quite a few go-fast goodies on that oldie but goodie engine. I've never seen your car, do you have a picture? I've got the same tires as you too, do you like them?

Those miles I put on it where all highway hauling ass miles. It did not smoke but it ran hot on my sister one day and the next day it would not crank. Im thinking a lot of moister in the engine or something related, anyway ,I really want to do a performance build up...I am really interested in getting at least 200hp from my zetec. I would love to get the aftermarket intake manifold seen on this site and chrome rings along with a good port and polish with some aftermarket cams and a header...but thats it. I know i will need new bearings rod bolts etc. I still havent got any ideas on where to get those lifters and if the part on fordparts online is for an entire set or not?

can somebody, or a couple of people, list all of the modifications/stuff that is done on a zetec for a rebuild?
I'm just interested in knowing, not trying to threadjack or anything. Maybe this thread can be a source of knowledge for people in the future looking to do this sort of thing.

I am curious how much is can be punched out. Probably stroking it isn't a good idea, it would add torque but sacrifice high end hp. A basic recipe is to punch it out to the biggest after market pistons available for the motor. Have the crank balanced for a smoother idle and quicker revving plus a little more power. Make sure to use higher compression pistons, but not too high unless you want to run nothing but race gas. Keep in mind you can't adjust the ignition timing without a stand alone EMS, or msd6 modules plus two tach adapters, or a custom tuned chip, so don't get to wild with the compression ratio. Use total seal rings, they work great. As for the head an extensive port and polish plus bowl work, street cams, plus gears. Also you might need valve springs depending on the cams, don't get the springs unless the cams require them because you will loose power. Get titanium retainers and valves if within budget. Definately a header is in order. I would wait on the intake until more people have tried it unless you don't mind experimenting. Anyway that should net you some gains.