Engine Transplant Into Mk4 Fiesta

[bigant1986]

Hi, my first post!

I have had my fiesta mk4 1.3 encore (endura engine) for over 2 years now, many times i have thought i am outgrowing this car and i need something more powerful, but, it is my first car and i'm having problems letting go of it!

so one day recently i decided that i was going to do it up big style

aside from the styling the obvious other area is the engine

now i was thinking about a 2L Zetec/Duratec or ST170 engine??

obviously i would need to upgrade MANY things (gearbox, clutch, brakes, driveshafts etc) but what kinda cost would i be looking at for the labour??

i've seen some engines complete on ebay with just about everything you'd need to transplant, maybe the chassis would need reinforcing with some extra welds?

i dunno, you guys seem to know your stuff so i hope you can help me out

thanks

 

[obi_waynne]

I Know exactly what you mean about parting with your first car but loyalty to a car costs a great deal of money. You get to the point where you've spent £700 and theres another bill of £300 looming and you reason "ah welll I've spent £700 on it and this should be the last bill! Then another one comes along at £400 and you reason "Gulp I've spent £1k already so I'd best keep going cos I've practically rebuilt the thing" And on it goes like that.

You will never recoup the cost spend on major work like this and it is also harder to sell the car because people can't always get insurance.

Costs can vary wildly between garages - there's one down our way with an £85 per hour rate!! Your best bet is a quick trip to the local industial area and look for a smallish trader - make sure the guy is qualified as he will need to know a little more than being able to service a car. The labour for my engine removal and reinstall was about £700 including parts and oil but there is as you say more involved in a transplant to another engine. You also need to uprate the suspension. I would budget on about £1500 for the labout and parts and hope to come about £300 shy of that the cost of the engine is on top of this and you really want to buy an engine with a warrantee. When an engine is out of the car it is worth getting it stripped and rebuilt so it becomes a good base for tuning.

Good luck and please keep us posted with whatever you decide to do?

 

[bigant1986]

has anyone on here transplanted into a MK4 fiesta before and would like to pass some advice? work involved? costs? etc....

 

[obi_waynne]

A friend of mine got his XR2 converted to a 2.0 Zetec about 3 years ago and it cost him £450 labour. There is a little more needed for the 1.3 engine as some of his components fitted the Zetec.

The actual conversion will take about 1-2 weeks typically.

You should find this shopping list a good starting point:-

Suspension
Sump
Air Pipes
Filters
Engine Bay Loom
Fuel Tank
Fuel Pump
Tensioners
Engine Mounts
Full Exhaust
Throttle Body
Oil Pickup
Fuel Lines
Sensors
Air Box
Cam Belt
Water Pipes
Water Pump
HT Leads
Clutch & Flywheel
Radiator
Gearbox
ECU
Exhaust Manifold
Inlet Manifold
Spark Plugs
Gearbox Mounts may need replacing check for wear.
Alternator Brackets
Power Steering Pump (You might get away with a 1.6 PS pump)
Auxiliary Drive Belt
Gaskets

Hope this helps.

 

[obi_waynne]

You may get away with using a 1.6 or 1.8 Zetec Gearbox. When choosing suspension get a set up suitable for the 1.8 at least - uprated springs for a 1.3 will be wrong.

 

[bigant1986]

thanks for that, my mums mate's son who i used to hang around with when i was younger (havent seen him much recently tho) is a time served mechanic and his mum was round at mine the other day, she said i should give him a ring and see what he can do as he mite b able 2 do a guvvy at work after hours and on weekends etc

non the less, i will keep you all informed if i make an interesting progress

 

[obi_waynne]

Please do. We are very interested in engine swaps and major conversions. Take lots of photos during the build - it might prove an interesting article on the main site.

 

[thexav]

Mate of mine took his 1.6 XR2 engine and added a fuel injection and electronic ignition to it - it really flew!

 

[marcoscharf2009]

hi mate, im doing the same thing at the moment, and the main thing is the engine mounts problem, the top mount would have to be a custom made one, i go trouble finding a company that will make me one to fit a 1.8 zetec in the mk4 fiesta, i cam across a company who makes a mount for the ford ka 2l zetec conversion,they said they were 99%sure their mountings would fit the mk4 fiesta as the engine bays are the same, try them mate but theyre expensive, heres the link http://www.trackdesigns.co.uk/ford-ka-parts.htm hope this helps

 

[obi_waynne]

Good find Marcoscharf.

 

[J0K3R]

I'm looking at sticking a 2.5 Zetec in my Mk5 Escort at the moment. 1100cc more than I got at the moment. Going to be very fun.

 

[obi_waynne]

Good luck with the project.

 

[2donskoy2]

A company i've found very usefull with my conversion i did a puma engine into my mk4 and the results from the garage are amazing they supply and fit everything the same day and have a few engines they put in a mk4 fiesta, and they are really switched on with it, have a look at the website http://www.pumaspeed.co.uk/ hope it helps a little