MAmisano.com

The transmission in the Tribute failed on us last week, on our way back from dropping off the Contour to its new owner, lol. The band for 2nd and OD broke due to excessively high line pressure which means I was only able to drive with 1st and 3rd gears. This appears to be a common problem with this automatic transmission which has been used in other Ford products such as the Contour, Cougar, Mazda 626 and of course Escape. $1900 later and the transmission has been rebuilt… looks like I sold the Contour just in time to get money for this It’s also a good thing this didn’t happen when we drove to and from South Carolina 2 weeks ago for my Cousin Sandy’s wedding!

After 11+ years of ownership, I decided to sell my 1998 SVT Contour E1. I had grand plans (listed in previous posts) for the car but with the arrival of Alexander my priorities have shifted. We picked up a used 2001 Mazda Tribute (twin of the Ford Escape) earlier this year as a family vehicle and we also have the 2004 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V. The need for an older car like the Contour diminished as did the desire to spend time and money on modifying it. Last month I mentioned it was for sale to my friends and a few weeks later it was sold to someone who could really use and enjoy it. The sale was definitely difficult since I have owned the car for 1/3  of my life and it was purchased just after meeting Michelle. I take great joy in the fact that the new owner really enjoys the car and will get practical use out of it for the foreseeable future.

Well, after 5+ years and 51,000 miles I have finally added a performance part to our Nissan Sentra SE-R SpecV. The first modification I made was replacing the stock exhaust manifold with an XS Power 4-1 Header. Everything else is stock with the exception of a short-shifter installed 2 years ago. Performance of mid to upper rpm range is noticeably increased versus stock with a definite improved pull to redline. The unfortunate side-effect of the new header is a definite rasp from the exhaust under hard acceleration. I guess a cat-back exhaust will be needed sometime in the near future

Stock exhaust manifold versus XS-Power header

XS Power 4-1 Header for Sentra SpecV

Well, I finished up the work on the Contour last Sunday (11/23) but not without some drama. It turns out I needed to shim the new Focus SVT Calipers with a 3mm washer to clear the rotor. I remembered that AFTER I pulled the car out of the garage and subsequently gouged the new rotors. Damage is nothing really, but annoying none the less. Here is what I ended up having to do to the car just to repair the driver’s side wheel bearing:

• Replace Bearing ($35 part + $35 labor)
• Upgraded rotors, pads, calipers to SVT Focus parts ($330 parts)
• Replace driver’s side axle shaft. I accidentally melted the CV joint boot with torch trying to remove ball joint pinch bolt ($135 for 2 new axles, only replaced 1)
• Change transmission fluid which leaked out with shaft removed ($38 Royal Purple Synchromax)
• Repair shift cable end linkage. Bushing was almost gone and clip was missing! ($0, some rubber hose and a c-clip I had lying around)

So, I drove the car to the Hospital on Tuesday morning and it was running great, no wheel bearing noise and the brakes worked great. Later that night, I noticed the wheel bearing noise was back but was too tired to care. After some investigation, it turns out that the passenger side bearing is now shot! So, back into the garage with the Contour for more frustrating work.

Some pictures of the new parts installed on the car:

Well, the Front drivers-side wheel bearing decided to bite the bullet (again) so the Contour is out of action for a bit.

I had a heck of a time disassembling the hub, everything was frozed on. Unfortunately while using a torch to heat up the parts for removal I ended up melting the outer CV boot. The boot WAS in fine condition so that is just more work for me. I tried to install a new boot but it was impossible and I gave up. I ended up ordering 2 new axles for $140 shipped… not bad at all.

Along with the bearing replacement I am upgrading the brakes. The rotors are all rusted up and I needed to remove one with a lump hammer. After some research, here is what I ended up purchasing:

• Ford Focus SVT Brake upgrade kit with the following components ($302.50):
  • 
  • OEM Focus SVT 12″ Front Rotors
  • OEM Focus SVT Calipers with Pads
  • OEM Focus SVT rubber brake lines
  • Mounting hardware
• Ford Focus ST Shift Knob ($38.20). My stock SVT knob has seen better days. The leather started to tear around the shift-pattern symbol.
  • 
• Total was $375 shipped to my door

I started porting the second head earlier this week. Today, I spent a lot of time finishing up the intake ports and the results are below.
Next up are the exhaust ports, bowl work and some tweaking of the combustion chamber.

Well, I think I am finally done porting the first of the two heads. I spent time the past few days working on the following:

• Gasket matching the exhaust ports
• Minor exhaust bowl blending
• Unshrouding the intake valves
• Blending the JB Weld in the intake ports

Here are some new pictures of my head porting – specifically these are of the intake bowl porting.

Hey all, here are some pictures of the heads I’ve been working on. I’ve been porting the 3.0 heads to work with my SVT intake using the Bugzuki plates and a rotary tool.

I used JBWeld Stick to create a full split port as I plan on keeping the IMRC plates.

The ports still need to be cleaned up