Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Performance New User with Questions

Hello, my name is Troy. I am a new user, this is my 1st post. I have a 98 Mercury Mystique with the 2.5 V6 Duratec. I have many questions to ask. I use other websites for my other vehicle projects also, so I am used to the " search " answer. I am a very accomplished Ford engine builder. But its mainly with the old school stuff.
I do autocross my baby......which is an 87 Toyota Supra Turbo. So I am familur with Toyota EFI, but not Fords.
Is there any books currently out, to help with the mods? I have been reading the Tech articles on here. Some things are very clear, others are vague. I am glad people on here are selling used parts! seems the SVT stuff is almost as high as my Toyoyta's.
This is my wife's car, but she like her dose of speed as well. It has the Auto tranny and I know thats a downfall. Has anyone ever changed over to a 5-speed? I know that the Supercharger Kit will not work with an Auto set-up. Also the 3L conversion, Can you use a 5-speed or automatic with that? And does all the heads and intake fit on those? I take it these are the Taruas 3L motors only?
I realize I will probably need to just sit and watch this website for a few months to get used to the lingo and spec info. We have had this car 2 years now and its out of its warranty. So I want to start playing with it. I have already bought the BAT intake, thats it. I want to try a Flowmaster Delta 50 single in/dual out. Anybody done those? Or is it to raspy. With Ford making so many changes on their cars I am not sure what will interchange and what will not. Any help is much appreciated.

Well you've got alot of questions and some are easier to answer than others.

As far as books out to research the Haynes Manual and a shop manual are about your only options.

Parts are exspensive but searching car-parts.com, fordpartsonline.com, and Bill Jenkins will find you some cheaper ones.

Changing over to a 5 speed would require all new Subframe, Engine Wiring, Pedel setup, Computer, Axles, Motor Mounts, and shifting tower. It's easier to trade a car. Or swap the drivetrain from another car.

The Turbo Kit that is in the works by Chris Hightower will work with an Automatic. Also Level 10 rebuilds Automatic Transmissions for higher perfomance and better shifting. The 3.0 Taurus Duratec engine will swap over to Either an Auto or Manual Transmission. The 3.0 from the Jag X-type, S-type, Lincoln LS, Mazda Tribute, Ford Escape will swap over with the proper preparation done.

Also Search really is a great resource for finding information. It's how I figured most of this out.

what is the proper preparation? Will the 3L cams fit into a 2.5? Is the other kit a supercharger or turbocharger? I would prefer Turbo over super.
So, no books on Ford EFI above 96 OBD II data stuff , huh. This site doesn't have as many Tech articles as I would have thought.
So the stock TB on a 2.5 Duratec is 54mm? So If I went with a 4.6 mustang TB , is that to big? I will have the BAT intake and a better high flow muffler, maybe cat and "Y" pipe. Or am I jumping the gun. Seems like most of the mods on this car will be Bolt on only as the internal mods are gonna be very costly.
Whats with the lower intake / upper intake stuff. And all the SVT switching. Sorry I am SOOOO used to my Toyota. The lingo is a little different. Just give me a good ol Holley Carburetor anyday. Is there a list of interchangeing parts from year to years. Isn't 95's still OBD I and everything else is OBD II's?
Are the SVT intakes that much better? everyone wants the best bang for there buck. I don't wana buy an SVT upper/lower intake for hardly any noticable gain. Seems like mods like that are not very noticable unless machine work is ALSO involved. What is this CSVT people are talking about?
As you can see , I've got to much time on my hands, and alot of questions.

Vortech makes a Supercharger kit for the Duratec V6. There is a Turbocharger in development right now.

CSVT stants for Contour SVT. It was a limited production version of the Ford Contour modified by SVT from 98 - 00.

There are some good books on Ford EFI and OBD-II. Probably a simple google search for EEC-V (aka OBD-II Powertrain Control Module - PCM) will turn them up - I personally don't have any. Looked in my school library for some, and nada.

If you go with a bigger TB, you are going to want something to control air/fuel. Back in the prehistoric days before we discovered air/fuel controls that worked well, somebody dyno tested a bigger TB and lost power with the stock electronics. There are a few A/F controllers we use around here: Pro-M MAF Optimizer (analog controls at 2 throttle points), Apex-i S-AFC (digital control with interpolation), SHM MAFterburner (another digital one I know little about), Greddy e-manage (higher tech digital control that a CEGer has developed/is developing an add on to let us use its spark control). EEC Tuners have been on the verge of coming out with an application for us for a while it seems (would have spark control). Of course, there are chips as well: Diablo and Supechips. Can get off the shelf programs depending on your PCM code, or if you are lucky enough somebody local can dyno tune, which really is the best way to do it. MAF trickery (which is how many of the A/F controllers work) has its downside i.e. affects spark in ways you might not want it to.

A good start with bolt ons is an open intake, y pipe, and cat-back or better mufflers. Beware though, the stock y-pipe has a heat shield to keep the exhaust from heating the oil pan and we haven't really found a way to shield the oil pan well on aftermarket y pipes yet. Oil cooler is the best way to battle that, but it's a pretty involved installation for a good one.

The Duratec has a two piece intake manifold. What you see when you lift the hood is the upper intake, and below that is the lower which has the fuel rail and injectors attached to it as well as the Intake Manifold Runner Control. IMRC stays closed at low RPM for better low end torque and opens at high RPM (above ~3500-4000) for high end hp. The SVT upper is Extrude Honed from the factory, so it flows significantly better than the internally rough non-SVT. The SVT lower would have bigger ports than your 98 most likely. You'd need to use your current fuel rail and injectors as the later Duratecs (99+ or so) have a returnless fuel system, where the fuel pump controls pressure. Your 98 most likely has a vacuum regulated rising rate fuel pressure regulator. Not sure when the actual switch was made. The SVT lower also comes with larger capacity injectors (returnless use only), so it would throw the stock electronics off and throw a Check Engine Light (CEL) for running too rich, if for some reason you used them with a returnless system not set up for them.

I have a 3L (obviously) and I used all my SVT upper parts (heads, intake manifolds, etc.) with a 2001 Taurus Duratec 3L (VIN Code S - there is also a pushrod 3.0 in the Taurus), but the block required modification. Here is a primer on all that. The 3L cams would work fine with a 98 Duratec, with one caveat. The 2.5 drives the water pump with a pulley running off one of the cams (intake I think?), and the 3.0 did not use the same WP drive until 2001. Also makes some 3L heads not compatible with a 2.5/3.0 swap, etc, etc. I forget if they actually are different cams; I think the exhaust cams have longer duration than the 2.5 exhaust cams but I'm not sure. bnoon and/or warmonger and/or Terry Haines might come along and give you the low down on that as I'm pretty sure they know. Maybe a search in the 3.0 Duratec or Performance forums) will bring up some of their old posts on this issue. We are pretty much SOL on aftermarket cams unless you got a junkyard set off a wrecked SVT (good luck parting an SVT motor!), but in reality the valvetrain setup won't handle much more aggressive of a grind anyway.

Phew! Hope this all helps. Welcome aboard. Read up - there is a lot of good info on here (don't forget the main page), depending on what you are looking for. If you need Ford OEM parts, but them from Bill Jenkins - most of us do. He works at a dealership in Las Vegas (just started this week at a new place, used to be in Boston) and we get a 25% or so discount. He also has a clue (unlike many Ford parts counters) and is an all around good guy.