motor swap

[untoldtruth05]

hey i have a 2000 cougar with the 2.5 v6 in it and the motor blew im in the process of swapping it out with another stock 2.5 v6 and i was wondering if anyone has done this swap before who may be able to give me some helpful hints or tips on this

[kustomcougar]

check the 2.5 or 3L performance section, there is more than plenty of info on this, if you dont have a clue how to do it, pay someone to do it or you'll prolly screw something up

[papatedroach]

Get a Haynes or Chilton Repair Manuel. I have a Haynes I got for $5 off another memeber. It has detailed step by step and pictures on how to pull and install the motor.

Also you can try to pm blackcougar or aircougar1, they both have done many motor swaps. Usualy swaping in a 3L, but they still have alot of experience with pulling and installing motors.

[AndrewM6097]

This was very helpful to me when i had to pull mine for the first time


Ahh...let's see. I may miss a few things, but I'll type out the basics. I remove engines from the top, and transaxles from the bottom.




Remove intake, unbolt the TB bracket with cables and move it aside, and remove the battery, battery tray, and the hood to make it easier.

Jack up the car and put it on jackstands.

Remove both front wheels.

Drain coolant (draincock is on the passenger's side, at the bottom, facing back), engine oil, and transaxle fluid.

Remove exhaust Y-pipe.

Unbolt the caliper brackets on both sides, along with the line holder on the strut, pull caliper/bracket assembly from knuckle and hang in wheel well (never let it dangle by the brake line).

Now remove the rotors.

Unbolt tie rods, sway bar links, and ABS sensors (if equipped) from knuckle.

Remove axle nuts (32mm) .

Remove ball joint pinch bolt, and use a long pry bar or your jack handle in the lower control arm to pry down and pop the ball joint out of the spindle. You can use a fork style ball joint separator if you have to (and you may if it's never been apart), but you will probably ruin the ball joint.

At this point the strut/knuckle assembly should only be held at the top. Thread one of the axle nuts backwards on to the end of the axle, and tap it out of the spindle, hitting on the end of the nut. DON'T just hit the end of the axle, as you will ruin the threads and end up having to either re-thread them or buy new ones.

Once the axle is out of the spindle, take off the top nut holding the strut assembly in, and remove the strut/spindle from the car as one piece. Don't **** around trying to get the knuckle off the strut...there is no reason to.

Remove the two smaller splash shields on the passenger's side (not the big fender one) and using a long extention, remove the two nuts holding the jackshaft to the bracket on the back of the block. You can see them looking in along the axle/jackshaft assembly. Once you've removed those two nuts, remove the passenger's side axle/jackshaft as one piece. There is no need to separate them.

Stick a long, thin screwdriver in the hole in the differential that you just pulled that jackshaft out of, and tap until the driver's side axle comes out. Don't just pull on it...you'll separate the CV joint. It will help if you have a friend supporting it. Look in there with a light...there is a rod that goes across...you'll either need to be above or below it.

Now remove both front and rear roll resistors.

From the drivers side wheelwell, you'll be able see the shift cables. Unbolt the bracket holding them from the transaxle case, and pop the cable ends off the shift tower.

Unbolt the ground wire from the top transaxle bolt (under the water pump)

Remove the serpentine belt, and unbolt the AC pump from the front of the block (3 bolts I think) hang it from the subframe. No reason to lose your coolant.

Remove the wiring harness from the starter, and follow the cable around to the megafuse at the back of the block. You'll need to remove the nut closest to the driver's side of the car, I think it's a 13mm. This is a ***** to get to.

Remove the fuel lines (1 or 2, depending on your fuel system type). This will require a set of fuel line disconnect tools.

Unbolt the wiring harness at the ECU (under the PS reservoir), and over on the other side by the brake booster. I believe the electric fans also have to be disconnected, but most all of the other wiring should be able to stay intact.

Unbolt the power steering line from the pump (by the top engine mount on the timing cover side), and pull the coolant hoses and the coolant tube on the front of the engine.

At this point everything should be pretty much removed...You can also pull the UIM, coilpack, and plug wires just to give yourself a little more room to see...it only takes a minute.

Connect your hoist and unbolt the main engine mount on the passenger's side, and the top transaxle mount and you should be good to go!




Feel free to chime in if I missed anything, but I think I got most of it. Some people pull the radiator, but I don't see the need to...it slides right by, even with the thicker SVT radiator in. I don't even remove the fans.

You'll need two new axle nuts (as you aren't supposed to re-use them), as well as oil, oil filter, coolant, transaxle fluid (Ford Honey is great), and power steering fluid.

I replaced my engine back in August, and pull all new gaskets in the engine I got from the yard. I put on the baffled updated oil pan with a new gasket, new valve cover, and timing cover gaskets. You could also replace the front and rear main seals while it's out. I'm glad I did that...I took this picture last night. 3 months later, and no leaks!

http://www.extremesoundonline.com/cougar/dryengine.jpg




Good luck man. Let me know if you have any questions. I'll be glad to help out if I can.