Originally posted by DemonSVT:
So they "did" change the front cover and FEAD design to match the 2.5L on the "new" 3L Duratecs then??? All previous 3L's had both a different cover and FEAD. (Hence why swapping the front cover & pulley on a hybrid was necessary)



Well, sorta. The Taurus still soldiers on today with the unique FEAD setup it's had since '96. The Lincoln LS & Jags have their own setup. But the 3.0L Escape, Mondeo ST220, and Mazda MPV all have the familiar "2.5L style" FEAD. In fact, they all share the same front cover with the 2001+ 2.5Ls.
The Mazda 6 is a little bit of a hybrid. It doesn't have the power steering mount in the valley, so it has a unique FC which also contains the VCT. And they moved the water pump drive to the LH exhaust cam instead of the LH intake cam.