spridget

Look for Centerline Storm rims. I have these on my SVTC. They are 17s though.

Not my car, but same wheel. Lightweight and not too "fast and furious."

You have a vacuum leak somewhere downstream from the MAF. Check for loose connections on the intake or broken hoses.

Welcome to the site!

Where are you located?

I believe you are referring to the intake air temp sensor (IAT).

Is the check engine light illuminated?

Several guesses... vacuum leak, cam/crank sensor, fuel system problem.

I haven't seen Rotas available for a while. BAT Inc used to list them on their website, but they are no longer in the catalog.

Make sure the gray single wire to alt is firmly seated. The clip on the wire in my '99 is broken so I occasionally need to crawl under and push it back into place.

In addition to the differences you listed above (throttle body, intake manifolds, cams, flywheel), the SVT block also has higher compression pistons and larger injectors.

That said, you could swap a complete standard 2.5L engine (Contour, Mystique, and '98-02 Cougar all the same) and the car would run fine. The more aggressive tuning in the SVT computer will wake up the base engine.

It's highly likely that the heads suffered damage when the pistons shattered. You may end up spending as much or more rebuilding the SVT heads and installing them on a standard 2.5L short block, on top of all the labor.

Another option would be a 3L swap. Cost can range from $1000-3000 but the performance improvement is worth it.

4 gauge. 6 would probably be sufficient but I had extra from an amp install in another vehicle.

Possibly a poor or dirty connection which caused excessive heat. If the fuse block isn't damaged too much, clean out any corrosion, apply dielectric grease to the terminals of a new relay and plug it in. Check the battery, ground, and starter cable for dirty or poor connections and fix as needed.

My Mercedes was doing the same thing. The rear end would side step over bumps. The left rear shock was dead. Replaced both sides and car drives fine now.

TruBendz makes a good off the shelf exhaust kit. MagnaFlow muffler is a bit louder than Borla.

I've had good experience with the Felpro and Corteco branded gasket kits.

Nice. Looks like a better alternative than the tubular LCAs. Are these Focus parts or designed for the Contour / Cougar?

Considering the low mileage, the LIM is probably gunked up pretty bad. The manifold gaskets lose their seal. I would remove the manifolds, clean the secondaries and EGR passage, replace the gaskets. Check the IMRC linkage bushings for cracking. Might also replace the plugs since they are accessible.

The poor fit of the rear bumper was common on the SVT. Mine has a gap on each side. It's never been off or bumped. I remember seeing a how-to write up years ago on a personal website.

The SVT box/tubing will work with the different angle of the 3.0 throttle body?

I cut the tabs off the bottom and rotated the box to match the angle. MAF and IAT wiring had enough slack to reach. Air box still fits in the fender port. Also, I used the flex hose from a '99 Taurus Duratec.

Check the fluid and bleed the slave and throw out. Fluid is shared from the brake master cylinder. The throw out bleeder is located on top of the trans underneath the battery. You'll see it surrounded by a 2" square black rubber seal. The vehicle must be on level surface when bleeding.

What manifold are you using?

I prefer the stock SVT box with a K&N filter. No need to buy anything, looks stock, flows as well as anything, and draws cool air from the fender port.

4cyl or V6?

One time I spun out at the race track. Car would not start afterward. Embarrassingly I had to be towed from turn 2 all the way back to the pits. We first checked fuel shutoff first. Car would fire and immediately die. After an hour of head scratching I found the PCV hose had popped off from the underside of the intake manifold creating a huge vacuum leak. Pushed the hose back on and problem solved.

Check for a big vacuum leak. Also check to make sure the engine wiring harness connections near the passenger fender and firewall weren't damaged.

You've changed so many parts, it may be worth swapping the starter from the donor car. Check the power cables from the battery to the starter. Check the hot wires from the power distribution box. Sounds more like an electrical issue than mechanical.

Where are you located? These parts are becoming impossible to find. Check eBay, contour.org classifieds, or get lucky at a salvage yard. Check the "CSVT came back" thread in the Northwest chapter for their recent find.

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/pts/4870975400.html

 

 

somebody strip this.. I bet we could all use parts.

Look for a bolt (10mm) or bolt hole (missing bolt) on the upper engine bracket on the passenger side. Also check other body grounds on the drivers side, firewall at the PCM near the power steering reservoir, and near the radiator above the serpentine belt. Inspect the battery cables for corrosion. Check the main ground from the battery to the engine block.

It should be in a black plastic case mounted just underneath the coil pack. The cables are very rigid and don't bend or flex easily. In my '97 I rerouted the cable with new cable across the radiator and a 175A fuse breaker. There's really no easy access, especially if it's already been moved to a lower point.

The tube is metal but the hose connections are rubber. I don't know why Ford used this rubber that likes to dry rot. I have an engine from a late '80s Honda sitting in my barn, when they had 1000 vacuum hoses running everywhere, and the original hoses still look great.