Height of Zetec in engine bay?
 

I got my Zetec sitting in the engine bay today on self fabricated mounts. The measurements for these mounts were taken with the engine on the floor and the base of the chassis 34mm from the floor. The book only recomended 25mm but I thought that would leave the engine a little to high in the car. I was right! Even at 34mm the engine still sticks out a little from where the bonnet will be - see photos:





As it stands I would have to put a large 'scoop' style raise in my bonnet (either blanked out front or open with a grill) and I don't have a problem with that, in fact I'm quite fond of that idea from a styling point of view.

However, would anyone recomend I lower the engine a little more - is it worth it to get better handling??

Cheers
Josh

Someone feel free to prove me wrong, however i think even with the zetec you need to shorten the sump for the engine to fit with reasonable ground clearance.. a quick search brought up this thread.

Hi, have you shortened your sump at all?

Nope the sump has not be shortened at this moment in time. So the most it sticks out underneath the bottom of the chassis is 34mm...

I managed to get my Zetec sump just about flush with the bottom chassis rails (i.e. not protruding at all ) by shortening it to about 6" deep. You can do this without really losing any capacity as the bottom of the sump is angled & very thick, at least mine was, but there are different sumps on different engines.
This also let me just fit the engine under the bonnet without a scoop but I`ll probably fit one later if only to help with cooling etc.

Dennis.

you should be able to lover it so that it fits under the bonnet without a bulge. call andy at saturn and he will tell you how he did his

Hi Josh,

I would say that you should really shorten the sump, 34mm below the bottom rails when the car only runs 125mm from the tarmac and speed humps doesn't leave much. If you can get hold of a steel 1.8 CVH sump you can shorten this and extend the bottom to keep the capacity, just make sure you get the pick up pipe as close the the bottom as poss. Also fit an oil pressure gauge just for peace of mind.

You can get the sump just above the bellhousing and get the rocker cover level with the bonnet. I've attached a pdf of the bonnet profile drawn by David Murray, this may help in checking the scoop position.

Regards...AndyH

All noted, I'll lower the engine until it just sits below the bonnet line then set about making a modded sump.

On a side note will an exhaust manifold from a Ford Focus ST170 fit to my 2.0L Silvertop Zetec??

Cheers
Josh

Yes it will Josh you just need to cut a piece out and turn the exit bend so that it exits along the side of the car instead of underneath the engine as it would in a fwd focus. The ST170 is badged as a Duratec but is really just a souped up Zetec in disguise.

Can post some pics if you're stuck.....AndyH

Hi Spud, could I take you up on your offer of some pics please??! Cheers :cool: