Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General First Supercharged Contour mishap.

I know - but he spun a bearing within a month or two of tapping into his oiling system for the supercharger - I was curious if somehow that (and the oil cooler on the SVT models) may somehow affected his oil capacity or pressure?

I know that these systems don't hold alot of volume, but is it maybe just enough to make them more susceptible to oil starvation???

Scott, you may be on to something there if the bearings weren't riding directly in the oil splash area. I'm more thinking along the lines of the engine needing a crank scraper to elimininate oil wrap up at sustained high rpm operation. If the oil passage would hurt anything, I would have to say it would be a valve train problem which in this case it wasn't... This, of course, is my own speculation at this point until I pull the pan off.

The SC 3.0L is out of the question at this point. I need to sell the SC to pay for the new engine. I have to have the entire SC checked out and see what Vortech will charge for a chip reprogram for the future owner before I'm ready to sell... ready for the deal of the century?

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Brad Noon
'99 SE MTX, finally supercharged!!!!

http://www.bnmotorsports.com

" have always wondered why the SVT is more prone to spinning bearings / eating engines than the non-SVT. A long while
back I wondered if the oil cooler add-on on the SVT might eat up some oil volume or hinder oil flow.

Any chance that tapping into the oil gallery for the supercharger may have a similar effect or am I just HOC? "

It's an interesting theory Scott. It does make sense. I think oil capacity is borderline in the Duratec and a little extra oil hung up in the SVT oil cooler or a supercharger may make the difference in either sustained high RPMs or long right turns or both. Either the Mirko pan (increased capacity) or the Accusump would address this. Got to get me one of these.


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Dan
99SVT - Tropic Green
#554/2760
Stock - except minor intake, exhaust, & motor mount enhancements

How much??

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Garrett Stines
(sponsored by Duct Tape)
'99 SVT Silver Frost~#925-2760~01/21/99~painted Rear valance silver~18" Masitaly's~Kumho Rubber~Eibach Springs~OMP Strut Bar~Carbon Fiber sail panels~SCA CAI~K & N dual stage filter~Series 5 superchip~Bosch +4~SVO Tach~B & M Edge Short Shifter~Richbrook Knob~Pedals~Razo Dead Rest Pedal~Side Markers~lots 'o Carbon and Chrome~Boomin Tunes~and more
THE RIDE!

I'm thinking somewhere around $2500 for the entire kit with reprogrammed ECU chip included if it's not to much to get it done. If it comes out to be to much, I'll keep it and rebuild Silvie as I can afford it.





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Brad Noon
'99 SE MTX, finally supercharged!!!!

http://www.bnmotorsports.com

Brad email me at home.
bwampler@home.com

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I might be stupid, but I AM NOT crazy....

Where do you guys get the idea that the cars have a low oil capacity??? 5.8 quarts is a lot of oil for a 6 cylinder engine! I've had V-8's that only took 4 qts., and had no oil starvation problems. As for the SVT's oil cooler, I think that's why the SVT's oil capacity is listed as 5.8 qt. vs 5.5 for the regular Duratec. And even if this wasn't the case, the cooler oil would be well worth the trade-off of .3 qt less in the sump....

Just my $.02...


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Zilla
2K SVT Contour
#1441 of 2150 - D.O.B. 1/11/2000
green/tan
-= everything on it =-

I don't think it's a low oil capacity, just ineffecient. With 5.8 quarts, and oil starvation issues still lurking out there, right handed corner or not, it's the only short coming I can think of as to why I turned a bearing. As I stated earlier, the crank gets most of it's oil from the drain back holes, not the high pressure feed passages in the heads... That means oil has to be accumulating somewhere to run the return low... I'm starting to think he's onto something here... Perhaps a visit to the BAT catalog to look at oil sumps is in order... hummmmmmmmm

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Brad Noon
'99 SE MTX, finally supercharged!!!!

http://www.bnmotorsports.com

Really sorry to hear the news - I know that a lot of us have been hoping that this would pan out as a reliable route to more power. I hope you get your new engine and can keep your SC.

Out of curiosity, what RPM's were you running when the engine blew? It may be a case that with that much power the engine can't be sustained above 6k, for example, for an extended period. That in itself is valuable info.

Of course depending on what you find on tear down, this may be just as much of an issue with the 3L transplant. If the problem is that the crank/rods just can't take that much power then it doesn't matter how that power is being made. I'm hoping that it is the oiling problem that you suspect - that is at least addressable at a reasonable cost.

Eric

"Where do you guys get the idea that the cars have a low oil capacity???'

Actually, unless I am recalling incorrectly I got it from Terry H I believe he said capacity is marginal. Reason given was Duratec uses oil for cooling as well as lubrication, not true of your older V8s with small oil capacities. 2.5L BMW & Porsche sixs I think use 7 or 8 quarts I think.

And the 5.8 capacity is all post 97 Duratecs, not just SVT. Pre 98 it was 5.5. -

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Dan
99SVT - Tropic Green
#554/2760
Stock - except minor intake, exhaust, & motor mount enhancements