This sounds like what should be a helpful topic.

As im changing my engine soon. In the next 3 months if its as easy as im beggining to think it is,then im after some help to do it,not physical help as your over 3 hours away and i have mates up here who can undo bolts where i tell them to do so etc...

Im after a guide,as brief or as detailed as you guys can on pulling a 1.6 90PS ZETEC out of a 96 Escort and putting in a 1.8 115PS ZETEC from the same age/shape car

• What do i need (toolwise and lifting apparatus)?
  What do i need (parts wise)?
  How long should it take?
  How many people are needed to do it?

As well as them i have some questions related to the 2 engines

• Are the radiators different in size?
  Do the catalytic convertors end in the same place under the car?(so i can get a de-cat after the 1.8 manifold and mate it to the 1.6 mid section)(tempory as 1.8 exhaust is dead after the cat)
  Are the looms the same?

...wheres Dazza

I know he'll give me(us) all the info i(we) need so that as of next week we can all run bigger engines lol

lol @ Stuymac
Scoop, I will write you a in-depth guide using my knowledge including what tools etc - It wont be pinched off any websites so may take awhile to write it for you, Am going out now so will do it 2nite

Cheers bud.Off to leuchars now to a)fettle the white beast and b) reconnect the battery,ECU and MAF to the 1.8 and turn her over.See how shes doin

engine changes...eugh *shudders*

never again

LOL meesh. U were unlucky dude,didnt know the history of the 75BHP beast. U know u want to do it again

not really lol

Love 'em the one in the jeep's done so much for me, proved to be a fantastic choice. Ultimate aim for the civic is a B18 engine like Sanchez's, but not before I can afford the insurance lol.

I am in the middle of writing this guide mate, It will be up v soon

Meesh, engine swaps are always worth while if done correctly with suitable engine/parts

Ok its finished - Hardwork too!
Tools needed: Fullsocket sets and spanner sets
Mainly 13mm, 15mm, 17mm, 19mm

Start by removing/Disconnecting battery,
Remove front bumber – Headlights – Bonnet and grill for easy and to aid lighting,
Safely support car on axle stands and remove wheels,
Remove Bottomhose off radiator and drain the system (remove headercap to prevent a vacuum),
Remove Headertank and all coolent pipes connected to the engine (Located on the thermostat housing),
Remove Radiator (Check sensors listings),
Remove Airfilter and all ducting,
Remove startermotor – Held on woth three 13mm bolts but wiring is connect with two 10mm nuts and one 8mm nut,
Remove and drain the powersteering header,
Remove the downpipe from the exhaust manifold via two 18mm bolts,
Remove subframe by the four 19mm bolts (Tip – Exhaust lays above it),
Remove Brake servo pipe (Disconnect by pulling out of the brake servo, remember there’s a vacuum there),
On the back of the manifold there are two vacuum pipes remove but remember which way they go around,
Disconnect the fuel supply, two pipes located on the right of the inlet (Tip – Catch the
drips!),

Sensors Listings/Locations
Look around the enginebay and remove all plugs connected to the engine but the majority of them are located around the bulk and near gearbox – Below is a list of plugs/locations
MAF sensor – On airfilter/ducting
Throttle positive sensor – Left of the throttlebody (TB) opening
Oil pressure switch – On the back of the engine block a tiny thin wire
Injector rail plug – At the back of the engine underneath the manifold, by removing this you do not need to touch the injectorplug (Less chance of confusion)
Inlet plug – Located at the back of the inlet
Pulsecontrol unit – Right handside of the rockercover, The HT leads come out of it but also confused as a ‘coil’ pack or ignition pack
Heater plug – On top of the thermostat (Radiator top hoses comes out of the thermostat)
Crank position switch – On the front of the black closest to the gearbox
Radiator sensor – Lefthand side of the radiator
Reverse light sensor – On the front of the gearbox
Fan sender – Located on the fan

Suspension/Braking components:
Remove splitpin from driveshaft end in the hub and remove 30mm driveshaft nut (Tip – To stop the shaft spinning get somebody to press the brakes),
Remove pinchbolt from the wishbone it’s a 17mm and a torx40 once done use a balljoint splitter to ‘pop’ the balljoint out of the hub,
Remove the steering rack by removing the splitpin and undoing the 17mm nut then follow removal as above ^,
Push droveshaft threw the hub and remove from gearbox end via prising between the shaft and the box.


Gearbox removal
Remove the bellhousing bolts on the gearbox that connect it to the engine – They are 13mm and 15mm,
Remove the gearbox crable (two 19mm bolts either end)
Remove both front and back gearbox mounts,
Remove clutch cable and speedo cable from top of gearbox,
Prise gearbox inbetween that and the engine amd remove

Use enginelift to support the weight of the engine and undo the left hand enginemount (Its three 19mm bolts) and also remove the back enginemount (May only be on a fiesta),
Engine should be ready to lift out but check around once lifting that nothing is still connected especially around the bulkhead area.

Repeat in reverse order to complete – Obviously swap the required bits over

Thats a mouthful. Though very helpful. Cud the engine and box come out as a oner?

Ideally no, its too big as one - Not hard to split it tho. Hope thats helpful cos it took me awhile to write it - had me scratching my head abit too with were the sensors were!

Why only a 1.8 ? what about a 2.0 as this is a much bigger bhp jump than a 1.6 -1.8 . grizz

Few reasons Grizzy dude. 1.8 Is cheaper to insure.I have a 1.8 in my possesion from a mate who spanked it up.I know how to modify the 1.8 to crucify the 2.0 and it doesnt involve many actual aftermarket parts.

1.8=115BHP
2.0=136BHP

1.8 can be modified to 130BHP for under 150 quid
1.8 can be taken to over 150BHP for less than 800

Dont know what you can get for the 2.0 with 800 quid but will it get it much more power than 800 quid on a 1.8

U can fit many Ford 2.0 parts on the 1.8 to make it run better,what can u fit to a 2.0 to make it more powerful from ford?u will have to go aftermarket.

Main difference between 1.8 and 2.0 except the extra BHP is the torque, Ford engines are very torquey lowdown in the rev range - This alone would personally sway me, infact it has hence why I have one sitting under the bonnet of the fiesta and also my old escort.

THe golden rule 'Theres no replacement for displacment' comes into play, your right in saying you can use the '2.0 package' but that doesnt give it 2.0 power.

If you have £800 to modify you engine you will obviously get bigger gains but having a more powerful engine to start off with, the usual airfilter/exhaust and a set of cams should see you to 150bhp - Kent/Piper cams are £500 on the zetec so save money and get yours reprofiled for £150.

Only thing is once you get to about 170bhp then you need some serious mods done, the next step is a set of throttle bodies and custom engine management - this is where the price raises alot, for example Omex management and a set of TBs recently got sold for £1200 and that was cheap!

Good thing with the 2.0 is they have bigger valves and airways so take to cylinderhead work better. Am not knocking the 1.8 by all means and if you have the engine and parts at hand and for low cost its a good improvement over the 1.6

It all depends on certain factors, i bought my 2.0 for £120 (Granted I got it cheap as a favor) and that had covered no more than 80k - then you obviously need all your fluids etc for the price goes up, i was lucky in my case as some major components didnt need to be replaced as they had not long been done - All in my engine conversion has cost me about £200 or there abouts

New idea

The 1.8 escorts front end is now stripped of headlight grille bonnet bumper etc and its time to remove the engine,so i apparently have 2 options

Do i,
a)Remove engine and gearbox and radiator+hoses as described above
or do i
b)Take it all out as 1,and i mean everything subframe+struts+hubs(all bolted together) etc..

Apparently as its all bolted to the subframe it can all come out as 1,this would be good as i could fit the Gmax suspension to the hubs while theyre off and then bolt the whole lot into the white beast.Lowering it and changing the engine at the same time.

Is this subframe removal thing as easy as it sounds

No do as I have suggested.

Its not all bolted to the subframe and wont come out as one - Mondeos it is but not escorts

The escorts subframe is only a 'cradle' held on by 4 bolts, the only thing connected to it is two of the gearbox mounts

Cheers bud, ill be dismantling the 1.8s coolant system and intake/exhaust stuff this weeek.

What is the wierd bar infront of the radiator? its like an oval shaped black bar that attaches to hoses , does it flow water?air?hyd fluid?

Not too sure what you mean?
On the fiesta theres piping that goes infront of the rad, that goes in a loop and has cooling fins on it - Its a cooler for the powersteering.

Yeah its like that,a hard pipe that goes across then back on itself.I thought i may have been a heating element to melt potential ice in the rad after sitting overnight lol. Does power steerting fluid get hot then?

AY it does, now I think of it am sure the escort doesnt have it.

Give me a shout if you get stuck, and iv seen some nice bits and bobs for the 1.8 recently such as P&P head. Depends on what money you have

im thinkin 1 thing. is it really worth it??

yes dikky,yes it is, its costing me less than 50 quid.and im gettin 25 BHP more jsut like that. Then another 15BHP by gettin the XR3 spec cams,TB,MAF,then another 10BHP through exhaust chip air filter (AT LEAST 140BHP there then)

Don't forget to change the , cam belt & ALL the idler wheels , water pump & clutch before you you refit the new engine . Trust me it's a must ........

Why is it a must?the belt is less than 5k old,and the clutch less than 30k. I know the engiens history as it was a mates

Ignore the mechanic. I mean, what would he know?

I aint ignoring him,i know this is a sensible thing to do but the belt and clutch have got an awful lot of life left. Im not wastin 160 quid on a clutch when the current one will last another 4 years at the least. And the belt will last another 50000 miles at least. And ill be damned if im messin with one of them when i dont have to

I see 1 a week that has had the belt go as a result of the idler pullies failing , most people only change the belt & not the idlers as they will cost £40 more , but compared to £400 for a head job ! ! The water pump & cluch are only cheep but as the engine is on the floor it's the ideal time to change them ....only trying to help ..

1800 is coming out of its shell this weekend,the troops are rallied,the tools present and correct and we're gonna see a challenge

gud luk. u will need it. id b surprised if u do get any desent performance benefits. not worth all the fuss if u ask me. i mean 1.8 zetec- 1.6 zetec its tomatoe, tomato

what should i do then dicky to get an extra 25BHP (with the potential of an extra 20+ ontop of that) for under 100 pound????????? Id love to know

why bother wid 25bhp? if ur gonna do a job it may aswell b worth ur time!!!! whoop woop 25bhp

100 quid,3 days work MYSELF,good experience,why not??? I aint happy with a 1.6 90PS engine. a 130+BHP 1.8 would be muchos nice tho sub 8.8 to 60. Cant want much more really.Leave modern 1.8s standing

It may only be a satandard 25 bhp increase but gives allot more potential for increase.

You carnt beat adding CC's for power gains, much more reliable and only costing £4.00 per BHP for the increase, now thats a bargain in my opinion.

Not forgetting the invaluable experiance Scoop will gain whilst doing the conversion.

Make sure to keep the camera handy Scoop and get step by step pics so we can see the progress matey :cheers:

Started today,Should see what weve done to that poor Red 5 door. KNocked it on the head at 2 but we coulda easily finished by sunset. alls thats left to do is take the driveshafts out then the engine and box mounts then itll come out,get this, as a 1'er,straight forward. The car has no front end at all. The slam panel was removed with ease thanks to a mahooosive set of bolt croppers.Its actually an easy task to do if you have good understanding of how it all goes.All hoses were on stupid tight tho,and i cant get the exhaust off the car as its pinned at the rear axle,a bit of work tomorrow and ill get the mid section,cat and downpipe to fit to mine.

Thanks Dazza,thjat guide was spot on,

1.8 to be out donor car fully by tomorrow-Fitting into my car in the next 4 weeks hopefully

No worries
Might get my wrists slapped but check out www.teamford.co.uk - May help you abit more

If you wanted, you could cut through the hoses for ease as there the same on your car anyway.

All hoses are undone now mate,1 or 2 are still atatched to the rad and a few are left on the block,save time when i come to pluggin em back in, gonna clean the whole lot up while its out and polish all the black bits and fit my rocker cover, and stainless plug cover (gettin from Ebay b4 new year)

Are the radiators the same size?

Maybe ill let u grace ur site with my car once ive got it lookin tidy

Radiators should be the same, try and compare them - IF they are fit the 'newest' looking one. The original rad will be fine in anycase for it.

Same goes for the fan, am certain there the same size but if not fit the bigger one

Its out, Swish!!

Only took another 3 hours.Ccant get the exhaust out from under the car for the life of me so ill have to run a 1.6 exhaust,may take the tailpipe off the green one and fit it to my backbox just to give me a nice shaped exit til i get my magnex.

We removed way too much stuff but at least we will know what not to remove next time

nice one scoop hope to see the pics soon

not sayin u cant beat ccs peps but when dazzas dun the 2.0 zetec conv dun 2 his dunnit make it pointless doin 1.8????? i duno maybee im stupid or somat. id check into leavin ur 1.6 exhaust on as may sapp sum o that extra 25bhp away

what just cos some1s done a better conversion i shouldnt do mine?i dont see your idea mate? a 1.8 is quick enough and its built for the car,the 1.6 exhaust will sap power but im gettin a magnex system in a couple of months so ill get all the power with that,Also doing a custom ram air intake.Itll all be good,jsut u watch

While the engines out i hope to fit under piston oil sprays,2.0TB and MAF,maybe a new cambelt,2.0 rocker cover and S/S spark plug cover and rocker bolts

Piston oil sprays? That means you need an early 2.0 to rip the pistons out of. Too much hard work id imagine for the sprays.

2.0 rocker cover? Same as what you have now bud

Piston oil sprays=Available from ford for about a fiver each and just plug into the oilways in the bottom end,easily done

Rocker cover=The one ive had painted

Engine 2 seconds before we began gettin it out

That rocker cover could do with a bit of a polish?!!!

got a new one for it anyway mate,painted one

nice work. can't wait to the 1.8 in! i used to have a 1994 escort, i did and engine swap to that only thing was i was putting a 1.6 back in! the escort is a good car to learn from, most of it is straight forward. i take it you have the 1.8 ecu? or are you going for a 2.0 one? anyway best to get it from a car in the scrappy and you also need the ignition barrel and key for that car aswell otherwise yours won't be going anywhere! keep us posted.

You wont need the ignitionbarrel and key for the fact that the ECU being ised will be compatable.
Iv not bothered doing a 1.6->1.8 swap but everytime Iv done a 2.0 iv made sure the ECUs are, if the lock set did need to be swapped as a result of the ECU change then the car wouldnt start anyway due to Internal/External EDIS.

EDIS can be managed seperately from the ECU via an EDIS module or can be managed within the ECU. Am pretty sure all/most Escort ECUs are the same so only a straight swap is needed.

If you did need to swap your ignition module and key, used have to rewire ECU plug connectors as you ovbiously have the wrong type of ECU but I very much doubt that this will be needed on an Escort.

this is what im doing:-

My key pattern is being kept,however im having 2 blank new keys made as mine are worn and horrible,
im puttin the 1.8 ECU in (which requests the code for the 1.8s keys)
im puttin the chip from one of the 1.8 keys next to one of my 1.6 keys and will go through the process of programming blank keys with the code for the 1.8 ECU,however all keys will be the correct shape to fit my current locks

Spent half my day in work today working on the 1.8 lump.Done the following


Cleaned under rocker cover
Removed spark plugs and cleaned theyre mounting faces
Removed inlet manifold,cleaned mating surfaces
Fitted blue Throttle body(supposed to be 2.0 but appears ive been had on E-bay,theyre the same
Fitted blue rocker cover
Hand turned engine to check for correct valve operation,nothings siezed up
Cleaned ISCV (and possibly refitted the wrong way round!)

The engine looks bootiful now.Gonna be well tidy in my engine bay soon

still don't understand this ecu business, tried putting an si ecu in my lx 1.6 and it didn't work! even though i put the ecu was meant for the engine! could it be the 4 letter code you have to match up? i.e mine were different one said edge and the other something else.

Yes - Certain ECUs run different EDIS, you need one thats the same as yours.

Find out the code of yours mate and try and match it up - What car do you have?

depending on the age/type of car the security system may be built into the ECU,or may be in a seperate box,in the case of the late escorts 95- the security (PATS) is inside the ECU,and the keys. What happens when u put the key in the doors/ignition is the key communicated with the ECU and the code must be accepted by the ECU,or the alarm will go off/engine wont start. The chip inside the key is coded to the ECU,so when u get a scrapper ECU,try and get the keys to match it,so u can get the chip.

What im doin with my 1.8 is puttin the 1.8 ECU in,along with the engine,and using my current keys,with the 1.8 chip inserted into the back of it,to communicate with the ECU,comprende

This varies from age/car. IE, older fords have the chip communicating with an seperate box,not the ECU

got it now! used to have a '94 1.6 escort till i crashed it!

started this today. 1.6 out,1.8 in and on its mounts,1 driveshaft in,thats all for now