TigerFL

Correct! Unfortunately, you lose the catalytic converter. I had a MIL eliminator installed for the downpipe O2 sensor and added a bullet CAT to stay 'legal', since my daughter drove the car mostly.

WTH is wrong with everybody?? This mod is available for the bottom half of the pice point. Only 4 takers when 50 expressed interest !!!!! You can pick up the valve covers & COPs for next to nothing at LKQ. Even the COPs were INCLUDED with my 3L engine from LKQ for NOTHIN! They'll practically give them away if you buy the valve covers for a reasonable price. Hell, just get a quote for the valve covers and ask them to leave the COPs bolted on - less work for them!

This seems like a great option for those who do the 3L conversion themselves. My LKQ motor came with all the COPs in place. All I'd need is the harness from DOM. I hope this gets off the ground 'cause I think it's a great functional improvement for the ignition system. Replacing wires every few years seems like throwin' money away to me, and for less than the cost of the wires you get this upgraded harness. I'm sure you can pick up some good COP units from a bone yard for next to nothin' since there are TONS of them out there. Proof of that is the freebies I got with my motor. If LKQ put any significant value on them they would have stripped them off the motor. Dom, soon as I get the time for my 3L I'll be callin' on ya for a set of these. Note: I've been off line for a while and missed out on this. Frankly, I'm stunned as hell that people aren't all over this mod! Freaky!

Been watching with great interest & put in my vote. My 3L build is still a few weeks away, but I hope something comes of the COP system soon. I have the COP units & plugs from the 3L doner car, I just need to nab or build a harness and get a wiring diagram. I'd prefer to buy a plug 'n play setup 'cause I'd be mighty concerned about making a mistake and baking my PCM or flaming my motor.

'Bout a month ago I replaced the alternator in my Mystique with a parts store reman. It lasted 2 days. They got a NEW alternator for me to install. It lasted 2 days. Installed a Motorcraft remanufactured unit from the dealer and it's working fine now.

Most Escapes are FWD - like the one I have available at work. The AWD setup is an extra. The base transaxle is the CD4E and I was unsure if there were any significant configuration or electronics changes that might prevent it from being used in the CDW27 platform. I guess I've got a little research to do.

I've got a 3L build in the planning stages & was concerned about my high mileage (140K) CD4E. Mine is working fine and I was going to pick up a Sable motor, but if I could get hold of a newer CD4E from an Escape along with the engine so much the better. So I'm wondering if the Escape CD4E would be compatible with my Mystique, and what potential snags I might run into.

Dom, that was not the situation in this case. Mike's post was not a big issue, it was the 'title' he put on it. The title of the post appeared to be (to me & to the mods as well) an unjustified, unprovoked personal attack on another member. He got a warning. Instead of taking it in stride or taking it up with the mods, he started posting about it & quoted the warning that was PM'd to him. IMHO it was totally uncalled for on his part & shows a serious lack of judgement & character. Posting on here about his mis-adventures is further evidence of that. Just let it go, Mike. Now as far as being opinionated, there appears to be some considerable bitterness & hostility that bleeds into the open on this site. Kinda turns me off to FCO. I don't see that much over there. Sure, they've got the spelling nazi & search nazi types, but I don't see a whole lot of hostility.

Been away for a while, sorry for the delay in follow up. The manual does not specifically say NOT to use other oil, so it's not a problem. The manual does specifically say not to use MerconV. I've gotta think there is a good reason for that... I'd like to see that TSB, do you have a number or link? Be good to upgrade to MerconV, but before I take the plunge I'd like to have some backup data that says it'd be OK. That I'm going to look into. I've seen some good reviews on Royal Purple. Thanks for the idea.

Under low rpm load conditions, like taking off from a stop sign or gently accelerating from 1500 rpm cruising on the street, the valve train on my Zetec chatters sup'm awful. Mid rpm everything is just fine, idle seems normal & smooth, and highway cruising is a joy. But 'round town driving the low rpm valve noise drives me nutz. There are two conditions existing that you should know about, I don't know if they will have an effect on this problem: First is an extra quart of oil in the engine. Second a P0171 code. I'm still in the process of tracking this down, I have not been able to find any air leaks so the electrical connections & wiring to the O2 sensor will be checked. My guess is VCT solenoid or cam position sensor. Thanks in advance for your help!

Doesn't the manual specifically say that you should NOT use mercon V fluid as it may result in damage to the tranny?? <=== ( gets manual from car ) Hmm... Yes, here it is. Page 218 of the 1999 Contour manual, Fluids & capacities: "Use only Mercon approved transmission/transaxle fluid. Use of any fluid approved and/or labeled for Mercon V may cause internal transaxle damage."

Thanks. I'll be sure to look out for that as well. The Zetec OBD-II system is relatively new to me. I've had my V-6 for nearly two years now. For general information purposes, here is the run-down on the P0171 code: P0171 System Too Lean - Bank No. 1.

QUOTE(dre1010 @ Nov 22 2004, 11:33 AM) class='quotemain'>1996 zetec <{POST_SNAPBACK}> /> P0171 is a lean mixture code I thought. Considering the cooling trend as we approach the winter solstice, I'd first suspect a vacuum/ air leak of some kind. I've got one of those codes on my daughters Zetec right now & I'll be checking the intake piping and connections this weekend.

Alias, your initial post suggests you don't want to hear this, but I STRONGLY suggest that you try a different set of plugs. Let me back my statement with a few experiences. 1. Some time ago a fellow Contour Zetec owner had hideous problems with his car after a plug/wire tuneup. He went for a few months with the car in that condition. Finally, he ditched the Autolites & went to the Ford dealer for some Motorcraft plugs - problem solved. 2. Two weeks ago I did a plug & wire change on my daughters Zetec engine. I remembered the above event, but the Duratec guys swear by the Autolite brand, and I have used them with great success in my car, so I bought Autolites (easier to find too). MISFIRES. I then re-installed the original Motorcraft plugs with 75k miles on them, car ran fine. Returned the Autolites, installed new Motorcraft, now the car runs great. The Zetec seems to be a bit sensitive when it comes to plugs. If you have your old ones, re-install them. If you don't have the originals, return the Autolites & get new Motorcraft. Will cost you next to nothing to try.

My time & labor is certainly of considerable value. It just costs me nothing out of pocket...

'Bout $500 for a late model, low mileage 3L. $1700 for a fully prepped 3L replacement... I could see spending a couple hundred to tinker with the engine, but I'm not doing this for a living. I have very few mods & squeezing extra horsepower is not so critical that I can justify that kind of expense. If tuning cars was a passion or a career, I'd spend that without hesitation. I guess I'll keep my interest focused on the dyno comparisons, since that is about as sophisticated as I plan to get. Be good info for everybody to have too.

GASP!! (Grabs chest, eyes roll back in head. Body collapses to the floor.)

Your statement is true. I just wanted the dyno comparison to see if the Dynojet was, in fact, tuning rich. Knowing that would prove useful for any future runs on a Dynojet, eliminating the need for multiple tunes. It would also allow a rough correction of the Dynojet A/F for those who do not own a stand alone unit. [since you mension a stand alone, what stand alone units are available for our application & at what price range - generally?] Never mind, I'll search like a good nOOb.

All driving conditions & cycles is not really what I'm after. The computer controls the vast majority of that just fine for me. The WOT and A/F ratio under accelleration loads is the big variable I'm interested in. As stated previous posts, a typical Dynojet tuning seems to have the subject cars running rich on the street. A proper WOT A/F adjustment wouldn't do that, I would think. I'm simply trying to determine which of the typically utilized dyno or other tuning hardware solutions is going to offer me the best results under these limited conditions. Further, the comparison I proposed will highlight the differences between the two methods, & offer a better understanding of the methodologies. This will, in turn, give us information needed to adjust the proceedures & obtain a tune that is closer to the desired result than what is currently offered. If I were utilizing a Dynojet, I'd want to know that it typically tunes rich & ask the tuner to adjust my mixture x amount to get closer to an ideal final product. Seems like an instant and easily obtainable advantage when I hit the street or track. Now, how flawed is my thinking? I'm new at this stuff, so please feel free to straighten me out if I am way off base here. Hell, straighten me out if I'm just a little bit off base, I don't care. It's all good & I'm here to learn & share.

I'm puttin' my money where my mouth is - $20 is on the table for the runs. Who else will kick in $20 or so? C'mon!! Pony up!! BuckeyeSVT, you willing to make the runs, or know somebody who will take on this project? You mensioned you're planning to do an Eddy Current tune soon, so I nominate you because that'll cut costs to the donations pool in half. Maybe even a bit left to help cover your EC tune...

Ya know what I'd like to see. Proof of what we're talkin' about. that could be done like this: 1. Get a tune on a Dynojet with an appropriate graph. 2. Get a tune on an Eddy Current dyno with a graph. 3. Go back to the Dynojet & make a run to graph the new Eddy Current power curve. If the final run on the Dynojet produces numbers significantly higher than the Dynojet tune, and/or it shows the car running lean compared to the Eddy Current tune, then we'll have some hard data to back the theories. I'd kick in a few bucks to make it happen, so then we could all see for certain - once & for all.

Hey Dom, I'll be handing you over $100 on Friday. You're 1/3 the way there. I call dibs on the first outside use of his new wideband since I helped finance it! Seriously, this is an interesting discussion, & I have long suspected that dynos in general are not terribly accurate for measuring HP much less tuning. My doubts have been based on the fact that I have seen more than one "dyno tuned" car put up slower ETs in 1/4 mile runs at Moroso. Additionally, discrepancies from one "calibrated" dyno machine to the next always raised a red flag, so I never found a shop I considered trustworthy enough to hook my car up - much less tune it. I also noticed that many dyno tuned cars do run very rich on the street, but I never really plugged that into the dyno. I guess I just assumed that was the way an engine behaves when it's tuned for maximum HP. Now that the A/F ratio under load argument has been brought to light, I'm just gonna save my dyno money & buy that wideband and PDA or laptop. I had missed an opportunity to do my first dyno ever a few weeks ago, now I'm glad I didn't spend the cash.