Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Synthetic oil, does it blow SVT engines?

jj here is what I posted in a previous thread in revelance to what this thread and your questions are aimed at:

posted April 15, 2001 11:49 PM
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I addressed (sp?) this issue in a post a week ago. I know I drive 'hard' and I know some of the reason for my engine failure was due to the fact that I drive 'aggressive' but damn; I don't want to pamper the car. ( maybe I need to get a 'strict' sports car) i.e. GT stang, SS camaro, Toyota Supra TT) or a car with a higher tolerance for 'slight' punishment Who knows? All I know is I still love the car or I wouldn't be replacing the engine in it. I will get a extended warranty and drive just as I did before. And no I don't "abuse" the car. But I do drive it like with an appreciation for the engineering put into it. I just drive like that on more occasions than most. In no means is the style of driving I have 'reckless' or daredevilish. But hell I love the handling, performance, and overall 'feel' of the car. I guess what I really need to do is get into 'autocrossing'
I am a true 'sports-car' enthusiast. when I am older I know my driving preference will have changed. I will probably want a luxury car who knows. For now I love driving a car thats a "SLEEPER" and can maneuver, and handle similar to cars that cost MUCH MUCH more MONEY :-)
anyone else?

Hey guys.. I run Mobil One 10W30 synthetic.. 5W is a little too thin for my tastes especially when warm (Due to synthetics very pure base and almost no viscosity gain in colder temperatures).. And at 54K still no problems.. Do I stress my engine, Sure! Shift at 6500rpm..Sure! Why not? If it's going to blow.. then it will do so! And it'll get replaced with my 3.0l... But anyhow - I doubt that I will have a problem - But it's my daily driver for the summer so we'll see.

Three summers counting and still going strong! Damn if I didn't travel so many miles !!!

Dom

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Nicky (Cardoctor@neo.rr.com)
1998 Contour SVT E0 (Dark Toreador Red - Midnight Blue int.)
#3544 of 6535
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[This message has been edited by Cardoctor (edited April 24, 2001).]

Two things:

1. Officer Cartman is correct about the owner's manual. My '98 manual says synthetics are "not recommended." The Ford website said the same thing up until about a year ago, when they switched their terminology. Oddly enough, they stopped recommending against synth at about the same time they introduced a Ford-branded synth oil. Hmmmm.

2. I disagree that we should expect our engines to fail after hard driving. Of course, if I'm running around at redline all day, I'll expect something to happen. However, if I'm at an occasional drivers' school, I expect my engine to hold together, just like the VW's and Hondas that are at the school with me.

If Ford doesn't think the engines can handle a little hard driving, they should put a 4000 RPM limiter on them.

I feel like this. If you 'punish' your drivetrain no matter how many times you cjange your fluid you are asking for failure of some type in the future. I read a post that stated a good point.

"Even guys that drive in NASCAR suffers engine failures of all sorts, and their cars are 'built' specifically for racing using all racing components."

We occasionally ride our cars hard so you would expect that the more you 'push' your car to its limits the faster something is gonna break.

Holla

Folks,

I don't think anyone out here is racing their cars at extreme temperatures and pressures for a straight 4-5 hours like we see in the automotive races. When I bought my CSVT it was because of the thrill it gave me to listen to that V6 sing up until redline and the handling performance that it demonstrated. I don't think any of us expected to purchase this car and then drive it like it was an Escort or something. Knock on wood, but I have over 80K miles on my engine with no problems and I guarantee that each and every day I'm running it up to 6000 or 6500k. Now if everyone is saying that that is abuse, then how are we suppose to drive what is considered to be a sports sedan ? a car that is designed for and performance oriented??? If I wanted a car that I could just cruise in than I could have purchased a Taurus or something. Perhaps after spending less than $22k for this sports sedan, I should have expect a car that was basically all show and the go that it was capable of would only lead to its own demise and failure since many of the components weren?t capable of handling the added performance. Perhaps too, this is a lesson learned for all of us which is you get what you pay for. I guess we should expect our engines and transmission to fail under hard acceleration and cornering that the car was obviously capable of doing and designed for is some respects because Ford new the expense that it would have cost to harden the transmission and refine the engine further would have been too costly and therefore driven up the price of the CSVT. They cut corners??? Probably or maybe they did what most companies do and take a chance that the likely hood of these kinds of problems happening wasn?t worth the investment to insure it wasn?t going to happen. I guess that all of this is telling me that I shouldn?t purchase a product like this in the future and not expect these kinds of problems. I just wonder how many Acura Integra Type R?s engine are blowing up from what has been labeled here as abuse???

I think I may have found something that could save your engine in a low oil pressure situation!
Summit Racing sells this pressure switch that you screw into your block (oil gallery)and in the event of your oil pressure dropping below 7psi, it'll switch off the engine instantly and thus prevent you from destroying it. and the good thing is that it costs only $13!
Check it out:
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=11103
Any thoughts????

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Regards,
Anastazi sarigia@aam.com

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I don't think anyone out here is racing their cars at extreme temperatures and pressures for a straight 4-5 hours like we see in the automotive races.

Maybe we aren't but some of us drive it hard enough to cause failures to occur.

When I bought my CSVT it was because of the thrill it gave me to listen to that V6 sing up until redline and the handling performance that it demonstrated. I don't think any of us expected to purchase this car and then drive it like it was an Escort or something.

My sentiments exactly.

Knock on wood, but I have over 80K miles on my engine with no problems and I guarantee that each and every day I'm running it up to 6000 or 6500k.

Lucky you I only made it to 63,000 under similar driving styles.

If I wanted a car that I could just cruise in than I could have purchased a Taurus or something.

Hey Hey now! I had a 1997 Taurus SHO (nice car) just to much money to spend for a car that doesn't even hold a stick to the CSVT


Perhaps after spending less than $22k for this sports sedan, I should have expect a car that was basically all show and the go that it was capable of would only lead to its own demise and failure since many of the components weren?t capable of handling the added performance.

I wish I didn't have to look at it this way but I think the entire drivetrain on the CSVT wasn't torture tested. I totally agree that FORD put this car into the "SVT" platform as a 'gamble' and didn't properly outfit it for the style of driving we 'enthusiast' tamper with on a daily basis.

Perhaps too, this is a lesson learned for all of us which is you get what you pay for.

I think we got our money's worth all things being equal. I just think the ball was dropped on the durability of the drivetrain.

I guess we should expect our engines and transmission to fail under hard acceleration and cornering that the car was obviously capable of doing and designed for.

I really don't know what FORD designed the car for. It never had much publicity nor was it something they took seriously or it wouldn't have been abandoned so easily.


They cut corners??? Probably or maybe they did what most companies do and take a chance that the likely hood of these kinds of problems happening wasn?t worth the investment to insure it wasn?t going to happen.

Like I said in my opinion the CSVT was a gamble (one I am glad they took) and seeing as we have the CEG now we can stick together and weather the storms of these engineering faults. pissing on FORD won't accomplish anything.


I guess that all of this is telling me that I shouldn?t purchase a product like this in the future and not expect these kinds of problems.

Hey the car is still one of the best handling and fun to drive cars around ( plus it has 4-doors :-) Besides I said it once I'll say it again: "Anything man made has the ability to fail"


I just wonder how many Acura Integra Type R?s engine are blowing up from what has been labeled here as abuse???

They probably have a website search for it and go peek in their and see what you can dig up :-)

had to dig up an old Kit Car magazine for this one (no comments...)

"Oil frothing is a problem in a high performance engine, so a large finned C.B. oil separator was installed in the right rear fender. This turns the foam into liquid again and returns it to the sump."

Of course, this was on a vw based kit with a turbo, but food for thought nonetheless.

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Marco Tatta
98.5 SE MTX, Duratec
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