ford cougar 2.5 v6
Discussion
hi all, im in the market for a v6 cougar and just wondered if there is anything i should look out for imparticular. i believe these duratec engines are pretty much bomb proof? any info would be gratefully received, also are then any tweeks that can be done to squeeze a couple more ponies out of the engine?
regards dave
regards dave
Mixed opinions on here on the Cougar.
I had one for 6 years and loved it. Never spent a penny on engine issues although the little box under the plastic engine cover gave a few problems. The cogs in the box sometimes stick which prevents the secondary injectors kicking in at 3100ish rpm. Makes it a sluggish 12 valve engine so you'll know when it is sticking.
I just lubricated with graphite - worked well.
Best get a black one - the other colours have not aged so well.
D.
I had one for 6 years and loved it. Never spent a penny on engine issues although the little box under the plastic engine cover gave a few problems. The cogs in the box sometimes stick which prevents the secondary injectors kicking in at 3100ish rpm. Makes it a sluggish 12 valve engine so you'll know when it is sticking.
I just lubricated with graphite - worked well.
Best get a black one - the other colours have not aged so well.
D.
localloon said:
hi all, im in the market for a v6 cougar and just wondered if there is anything i should look out for imparticular. i believe these duratec engines are pretty much bomb proof? any info would be gratefully received, also are then any tweeks that can be done to squeeze a couple more ponies out of the engine?
regards dave
Hi Dave,regards dave
(first of all, I know I'm supposed to try to sell cards in the forum, but just trying to help the guy out)
If you are still looking, and want to find one close to home; I took a px of one of these yesterday (I'm not a dealer, it was against my private sale). It's a Melina Blue, V6, ok condition, just serviced, new back tyres, 55K indicated miles - MOT December. I'm only over in Mansfield, so drop me a line through my profile - I can send you some pics.
Cheers
Richard
Dave,
If you do a search for ST200 or ST24 you'll get a lot of info on these motors and the ancillaries.
Mines an ST24 but its the same engine, although in a Cougar, the bodywork that surrounds it is a lot nicer I think.
Engines are virtually bullet proof and like to rev. Its the bits that are nailed on to them that can fail. Water pumps used to be an issue. Early V6's had a pump which had a plastic impeller pushed on to the pump shaft. The plastic impellor used to crack, with the cracks radiating from the mounting hole in the middle and then loosen on the shaft. So whilst the pump shaft was spinning merrily away, the impellor wasnt. Resulant damage varied from nothing, to new heads depending on how much the engine had cooked. I think (but am prepared to be shouted down on this), that the later cars came with a metal impellor pump that cured this problem. If this isnt the case, you can buy these all metal pumps now anyway and they are a doddle to fit. My previous MK1 Mondeo 24V had a plastic impellor pump that failed, but my current 2000yr ST24 has the original pump in it.
Another usual cause of swearing is the failure of the IMRC unit which sits on top of the front cylinder bank. This electrical box of tricks controls the secondary inlet butterflies and when it fails, you get no acceleration punch above 3250rpm. Ive just had to replace mine a couple of weeks back - but it had done 90,000 miles over 11 years, so I cant really complain. Other people have had these fail at much lower mileages though so its something to ask about if you go to look at one.
One good point about the V6 is that the cams are chain driven via the crank, so you dont need to worry about cam belts.
Not sure if this is a Cougar problem, but the Mondeos especially the V6 engined versions can go through front lower wishbones. You can get new bushes for the existing arms or you can get whole arms with new bushes already pressed in for £30 - £40 each side so as far as Im concerned, its not worth the grief of trying to hack out old bushes.
If you want more go there are a number of things you can do. If you're handy with the spanners and can get hold of an ST200 motor, then its a possible swap. An easier job for a few less horses is to get hold of the ST200 inlet system - throttle body, upper inlet manifold and lower inlet manifold and swap the standard items for these.
Ditching either the pre-cats in the exhaust manifolds, or the main cat underneath the car is also a popular mod and this also helps to let the engine breathe easer. Just make sure you have some form of cat come MOT time. You may need to consider changing to ST200 injectors or fitting an adjustable fuel pressure reguator if you do all the intake mods though as you might start to run it a bit lean.
Hope this helps. Good luck with your search.
Cheers
Marty
If you do a search for ST200 or ST24 you'll get a lot of info on these motors and the ancillaries.
Mines an ST24 but its the same engine, although in a Cougar, the bodywork that surrounds it is a lot nicer I think.
Engines are virtually bullet proof and like to rev. Its the bits that are nailed on to them that can fail. Water pumps used to be an issue. Early V6's had a pump which had a plastic impeller pushed on to the pump shaft. The plastic impellor used to crack, with the cracks radiating from the mounting hole in the middle and then loosen on the shaft. So whilst the pump shaft was spinning merrily away, the impellor wasnt. Resulant damage varied from nothing, to new heads depending on how much the engine had cooked. I think (but am prepared to be shouted down on this), that the later cars came with a metal impellor pump that cured this problem. If this isnt the case, you can buy these all metal pumps now anyway and they are a doddle to fit. My previous MK1 Mondeo 24V had a plastic impellor pump that failed, but my current 2000yr ST24 has the original pump in it.
Another usual cause of swearing is the failure of the IMRC unit which sits on top of the front cylinder bank. This electrical box of tricks controls the secondary inlet butterflies and when it fails, you get no acceleration punch above 3250rpm. Ive just had to replace mine a couple of weeks back - but it had done 90,000 miles over 11 years, so I cant really complain. Other people have had these fail at much lower mileages though so its something to ask about if you go to look at one.
One good point about the V6 is that the cams are chain driven via the crank, so you dont need to worry about cam belts.
Not sure if this is a Cougar problem, but the Mondeos especially the V6 engined versions can go through front lower wishbones. You can get new bushes for the existing arms or you can get whole arms with new bushes already pressed in for £30 - £40 each side so as far as Im concerned, its not worth the grief of trying to hack out old bushes.
If you want more go there are a number of things you can do. If you're handy with the spanners and can get hold of an ST200 motor, then its a possible swap. An easier job for a few less horses is to get hold of the ST200 inlet system - throttle body, upper inlet manifold and lower inlet manifold and swap the standard items for these.
Ditching either the pre-cats in the exhaust manifolds, or the main cat underneath the car is also a popular mod and this also helps to let the engine breathe easer. Just make sure you have some form of cat come MOT time. You may need to consider changing to ST200 injectors or fitting an adjustable fuel pressure reguator if you do all the intake mods though as you might start to run it a bit lean.
Hope this helps. Good luck with your search.
Cheers
Marty
Edited by Marty V8 on Wednesday 23 March 00:28
Dave_ST220 said:
/\ The Cougar has differnt front arms to the ST24, less prone to the problems I believe.
Mine made it to 100K under my ownership and then 140K when owned by a mate with no problems other than consumables (brake pipes/discs etc) and a new A/C clutch at one point.The problem with the box of tricks which makes the secondaries come in at 3100rpm ish was sorted by
(1) removing plastic cover on the front bank to improve cooling to the box
(2) periodic opening of the box and lubricating the gears inside.
I found it a very good car indeed and would have it back if my mate hadn't chopped it in on scrappage for a frikking Fiat 500.
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