adam42481

hi,
im new to this forum and i need some help. i have a 97 ford contour 2.0 l that has a blown engine. (timing belt slipped). i am wondering what engine years i can replace my broken one with. i found a 99 2.0l with low miles would this work. any help or idea would be great. thanks

adam42481

no one has any ideas?

backlash1

Hi mate
Love to help, but we don't get Contours imported down here. Nevertheless, I understand these cars are basically Mondeos, so I'd guess anything build around the same year would be compatible. But, before you go that far and replace the whole engine, pull the cylinder head off and see how much internal damage the engine suffered. I've repaired a few of these 2.0L engines after the timing belt slipped (or snapped) and all that was damaged were the valves. Maybe you could save yourself a few bucks ?

adam42481

yeah, i was thinking about that. im just wondering if i could pick up a head for less then $300. i have found a 99 contour engine with 107k for $300 at the local junk yard. is it easier to replace the head then to pull the motor. the estimated time is 10 hrs for the head and 14 for engine. do you think that is correct. thanks for the help.

backlash1

Well, my "guesstimate" will be that 10 hours to do a head seems a bit excessive, more like 6 to 8 and for the whole engine IF you're using a hoist and drop the whole subframe with the engine and gearbox and the lot, 14 sounds close enough. The easiest way is to pull the head off is with the inlet and exhaust manifolds, injectors, etc still attached to it, then dismantle it on the bench. Likewise when putting the new one back on the car. Saves you from loosing skin off your hands and lots of swearing :)
Don't forget to get the surface of the "new" head checked to see if it's flat and if possible give it a light surface machining to avoid problems in the future with head gasket leaks and so on. Good luck
marc