Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Rod knock??

Hello All,

Iâ??m looking for some advice for my dying car.

I have a â??96 Contour SE (V6, MTX). It has about 75,600 miles on it. I bought the car about three years ago with 18,000 miles on it. The car is my daily driver. I have enjoyed driving it. Itâ??s fairly quick and handles well.

The car has started to lose oil over the past 18 months. I know that at least some of the loss has been leaks because I find oil all over the pan and part of the block. I have always done my own oil changes. I have always used synthetic oil and good filters (either Motorcraft, Mobil1, or K&N). I have never been able to completely eliminate the start-up rattle in this engine. I have been concerned about this but I thought I had done all the practical things to eliminate the noise.

Now, I have a much louder noise that varies with engine load and RPM. It occurs at almost any engine speed above about 2000 RPM. I suspect that it is caused by a failing connecting rod or bearing (I think itâ??s near the bottom of the engine, but Iâ??m not entirely sure). [I hate to admit it, but I failed to check my oil level often enough.]

I would like to repair the engine up to and including replacing it. I lack the time, equipment or space to replace the engine myself. Iâ??m wondering if anybody can estimate what this may cost me. I did an internet search for used engines and I found a 2001 Cougar engine for $1450. The SHO Shop wants $2000 for its prepped 3.0 liter block. I donâ??t know how many labor hours either of these options would consume. Can anybody help me here with an estimate?

My real dilemma in all this is the low value of my car. Edmunds values my car at about $4000 in good condition. I canâ??t really justify spending more on a repair than my car is worth.

Does anybody have any suggestions for me? I really like my car. I donâ??t really want to get rid of it.

Can any of you recommend a mechanic or shop in the Los Angeles area for at least some diagnosis?

Thanks for your time.

Mike

You've pretty much described the fatal "knock" sound that these engines develop whether it be from a spun bearing or otherwise. I sell prepped 3L blocks for about $1500 shipped. If you do the work yourself as far as pulling the engine, etc, the parts run around another $300-500 to do a complete swap over reusing your stock 2.5 parts. Total swap time is at least 20 good hours to pull, swap parts, and reinstall if everything goes well. All told if you buy a shortblock for $1500 you'll probably have another $1500-2000 in it by having a shop complete the swap. You should be able to source a complete 2.5 for about the same cost as a prepped shortblock and swap cost would be less as there is less work involved. You could probably get that swapped for $1500 or less by a shop. It really depends if you want to add performance during the swap or not.

Rick

I would love to install a 3.0 into my car. However, I don't have the time to tackle this size of job myself.

Thanks for the offer. I'll keep it in mind if I can find a shop that will do the install for me.

Regards,

Mike

Well, after making some phone calls and doing some research on the web, I had my car towed to a shop about 10 min. away from my work to have the engine "remanufactured" for about $2400.

The range of prices that I received to have the job done was pretty wide. The Ford dealer was the highest at $5800. Next was NECO Engines at $4995. The next price was at a engine remanufacturer that also does installations at about $3100. [ The guy on the phone insisted that the engine in my car was a Mazda engine. When I challenged him on this and said that the engine was pretty much the same as the DOHC engine used in the Taurus, he told me that the only two engines used in the Taurus were both pushrod engines. After hearing his insistance about this, I immediately crossed this place off of my list.] I also got a quote to replace my engine with a used engine for $1900.

Since the remanufactured engine carries a 3-year, 36,000-mile warranty, I think that the shop I decided to use would offer me the best compromise.

Thanks for the use of these forums.

Mike