Originally posted by mrspindlelegs:
2. Will the Contour factory exhaust manifolds bolt-up to the 3L Taurus Heads? I don't know if the bolt pattern is different or if the bank where the manifold attaches is angled slightly different such that the Y-pipe suddenly doesn't mate with the exhaust manifolds anymore.




I can answer this for you. The exhaust manifold gaskets for the 2.5L and the 3.0L Duratec are the same part. From what I understand, aide from the internal differences (and maybe a few cosmetic exterior dimensions), the heads and block are essentially the same as far as fit goes. On top of that, there are people running the 3L heads and, say, 2.5L headers with no problems, so there shouldn't be any problems in that department, even with the stock manifolds.