Friend of mine is being given his pa-in-law's old V6 probe (1995 I think), which has a knackered head (probable the cam belt went- not sure). Question is, how difficult is an engine swap on one of these (his preferred route, as opposed to headswapping)? Anyone tackled similar? He's a pretty good mechanic, but doesn't have a load of time or cash. Should he do this, have it done by someone else, or tell pa-in-law to scrap the car? Also, is there a ready(ish) supply of the Mazda V6 motor? Finally, is this car as girly as the NX100 thread over on discussion suggests?!
Ta in advance!
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Dr Alex Mears
Seat Leon Cupra
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
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Hi Alex,
My son has one of these and be sure its NOT a girly car. It a big boys toy which unfortunately is over engineered. I have had the heads off one of these beasts and its no mean feat!!! It is a 16 hour job and believe me as a technician, it does take that time. Looking at the pro\'s and con\'s of engine change, thats a major job too. I\'ve removed Truck engines easier than doing a \'Probe\'. That said, if the front head is at fault, this is the easier one to remove as you don\'t have to remove the inlet manifold completely. This is the major part of the strip & rebuild. You say that one of the heads is knackered probably because of a belt failure, but this is a safe engine and you don\'t bend the valves when the belt goes (thankfully). What exactly is wrong with said engine? has is just had a belt failure?? If so, it\'s not the major job it seems. If you do contemplate changing the head, the gasket set in VERY expensive. The Mazda V6 engine is the same unit as the Probe is a Mazda with a Ford badge.
Any more info you need, just ask
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These are the views of Robin the Technician with 35 years in the trade. I fix, therefore I am...
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Hi Robin,
Firstly, thanks so much for replying- good to hear from someone that knows their onions as it were!
I'm not sure what the problem with the engine actually is- my friends pop-in-law says it stopped one day, and has been at the local ford garage ever since, and the (hearsay) message was that both heads need replacing. As it's a 'safe' engine, this seems not down to a belt failure (as was my first suspicion)! I will pass on your advice to my friend, and I'm sure he (or I) will be back with more questions once we know what the score is!
Thanks once again,
Alex.
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Dr Alex Mears
Seat Leon Cupra
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
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Hi Alex,
Yes, I'd love to know the reason for the garage to say the heads are 'knackered'. Its easy for them today to say that the valves will be bent because the belt has failed -which I suspect it is in this case. Do please let me know what they say- i'm interested!!!
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These are the views of Robin the Technician with 35 years in the trade. I fix, therefore I am...
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Rob, Alex
Overheating perhaps?
Hugo
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Hi Alex,
Friend of mine who runs a small garage towed a Probe V6 in that had overheated because the seal on the waterpump went and lost all its coolant. According to the owner, the temp gauge went off the clock!! A new water pump was fitted, refilled with coolant and away it went. If the engine has overheated for no reason then the headgasket is suspect. As I said it is a 16 hour job and the cost of the head gasket set is circa £150 - £200. I am a technician and even I found it to be a major job. If the car is free and its probably in good condition (I've yet to se one with rust) it may be worth investing in having it done. I purchased a Haynes manual but I found it poorly written and aimed at the US market. If the option of a good secondhand engine is available at a bargain price it is certainly worth the cost of the swap.
Let me know how the garage established the heads were knackered just because it overheated. Did they establish a reson why it overheated??
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These are the views of Robin the Technician with 35 years in the trade. I fix, therefore I am...
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Yes, as another poster suggests, this is a non-contact engine, I checked on the www.contitech.co.uk/ website.
So its unlikely both heads are knackered unless it was run without coolant or oil?
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I'm the friend of apm which is being offered this car. Story goes as follows:-
He's driving along and notices that the car seems to be misfiring or 'stuttering'. Minutes late the car just stops dead. No overheating or warning lights at all.
He gets the car to a local garage. They initially diagnose that it needs a new distributor - not sure why but they do.
This doesn't work, and that garage throw in the towel.
My father-in-law then gets the car towed to a ford garage.
Ford initially cannot find whats wrong. Two months later (no joke!) they come back and diagnose that something has broken in the cam-drive (I don't know what, this is second-hand info) and they need to replace the camshaft. Another month goes by and my father-in-law then gets another call telling him that he needs to replace the heads also - estimated total cost £3000.
Faced with an uneconomical repair, I muted that I'd try to fit another engine - if he gave me the car.....
My initial guess was that the cambelt had gone and that this engine was prone to damage in that circumstance. As I now know it is a 'safe' engine, I'm as puzzled as you are.
I still fancy taking on the project. API have quoted my £995 for a complete second-hand engine with guarantee. Is that a good price?
Cheers,
Mark
Cr*ppy old golf 1.8D
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Good price for the engine,i have used API in the past,always very good service and full back up.You can always buy cheaper but API quality is very good.
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Universal Parts??
6 months warranty
Hugo
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Mark,
I used to own a Probe, probably the most horrible car I will ever own IMHO, sorry if that offends.
I had several problems with it, one exactly as you describe, it used to stop with no warning at all sorts of speeds and during any type of driving. The cause was traced back to an over-eager imobiliser. Apparently the imobiliser has several circuits, ignition, starter motor, fuel pump or whateverer. Due to engine heat one of these circuits became imobilised without any outside interference. The Ford garage couldn\'t solve the problem so they simply bypassed the offending imobilising circuit. Problem solved - engine still imobilised. Only cost was labour.
I have also had a failed distributor, it is a well know fault, it cost over £400 to fix (75% goodwill from Ford on a 4 year old car).
If you are going to swap the engine don\'t replace it with another Probe engine you will regret it I\'m sure.
My valve stem seals also went on my engine, very smokey.
Unless you are rich and don\'t mind being without a car for several weeks at a time, steer clear.
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go to www.mx6.com they will be able to assist in sourcing the required parts and prices.
Good luck
Jonathan
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Hi Mark,
Well, what a sorry tale... seems that the car has been in the hands of fitters- not mechanics!!! If the distributor has failed there is a mod costing circa £40. Don't know the details but someone on the Probe owners club will know the details. www.fpoc.co.uk. If the camgear has gone, then this is easier than removing the heads. The front one is dead easy and IMHO there is so much you can do to this engine before you condem it to the scrappy. My son's cam tensioner blot snapped off in the block and it was a major re-drill, tap and a slight modification to the set and its as right as rain.
That said, you are getting the car FOC and its well worth the £995 to change the engine. I still think its worth the stripdown before you change the engine. Certainly check out the distributor and the cam 'failure. I'd be interested to know what you find. May I suggest that if you contemplate taking the inlat manifold off, take some photo's of the relevant connections- believe me, its invaluable upon reassembly.
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These are the views of Robin the Technician with 35 years in the trade. I fix, therefore I am...
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Thank you all for your helpful comments. I spoke with my father in law last night and he is presntly trying to get the car back from Dees of Croydon. He doesn't want to pay them anything because the car is still broke - and ford are being a little difficult.
I think when he gets the car back to his house, I'll take a look and see how I feel. Probably I'll buy a copy of the Haynes Manual and give that a read.
The car must be worth repairing, but I'm just not sure if I need the hassle.
Thanks again guys!
Mark
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Hi Mark,
The car is most definitely worth repairing!!! A good condition model is worth circa 2k and they do sell despite being a gas guzzler. I drove my son's for a road test after doing a minor repair to it and its nice to drive and the power under the right foot is VERY pleasant. I'm sure if you don't want it someone out there will take it away for you- as I said, its worth the effort to repair. If you need any advice, feel free to ask and if I can help, I will.
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These are the views of Robin the Technician with 35 years in the trade. I fix, therefore I am...
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