Recently bought an mt 75 box with a DOHC 2.0 engine (engine £5 came as a package) came from a 92/93 sierra. As im not going to start building soon i was going to have the head off and check it all over. Are there any service tips/make sure's that i should do? I spun the engine over by hand and noticed that just after the compression stroke that the timing chain was going slack for a few degrees and then picking back up, is this because its a hydraulically operated tensioner and theres no oil pressure or something more serious?

Any help great fully rcvd.

John

John, if you do a search on this forum you will find that there has already been a lot of discussion about this engine. Personally I would save your money and put the hard earned cash that you would use stripping and re-building on a 2.0 zetec., cosworth yb, pinto or even a vauxall 2.016V.

The timing chain tensioner is hydraulic, once removed you MUST fit a new one (be aware these do have a habit of releasing before fitting & once released they are useless) these cost about £80. Further I would never refit an old set of chains to this engine as these are the weak part and if they break they write the engine off (they normally crack the front main bearing cap, not replaceable).
As for the head(s), these do have a tendency to crack (not repairable), between the valves where the alloy is thinest. Usually this occurs between on either 2 or 3 cylinder.

Also factor in that there is not a lot of tunning gear available for this lump either, yes I know there are a few souls on here who have used this engine. To you you have my respect
Personnally, I would be tempted to ebay the engine (unchecked) or weigh it in for scrap and use the money on a zetec. More power in standard form, higher revving, more tunable, slightly smaller dimensions and I believe a slightly lighter engine. Oh and it does bolt more or less straight onto the mt75 gearbox.


Enjoy.

As said Dont take it to bits just to look at it.

The rebuild parts will cost you more cash than a fresh zetec ect.

If you use the engine then just clean and fit , If it goes bang repeat the job by finding another cheap engine.

Imho

These engines are worthless when reselling.

for example, just picked up a 1.8 silvertop from a running car with 57k on it for £90 on Fleabay, pair of 2.0 litre cams and away we go!!

I'd second what jollygreengiant said, they were never a successful engine, they do look quite nice though. I bought one to go in my MG, but now have a Zetec, lighter, more powerfull, better spares / replacement availability.
Rgds.
Pete.

Presumably it would be possible to setup the 2L DOHC with bike throttle boddies and megasquirt and then if and when it stops working, re-use those bits on the new engine(zetec etc?)


Although Im guessing the intake and manifold on the DOHC are different to the zetec....Come to think of it, are they even on the same sides of the block?

Sorry John...looks like I was a bit wrong...Time to go to Twiggies

The DOHC engine does get some very bad press and to be honest, it would be alot easier putting a zetec in your car to start with as there is much more support out there for them.

Saying that though, I have a DOHC 8v in my Widebodied seven and it's quite a punchy little motor for very little cash.

It does cost more than it should though if you want to rebuild it! The chain and tensioner cost about £70 from ford, and I had one damn tensioner fire on me while fitting it which cost another £30ish.
I managed to get a manifold cheap from Robin Hood Sportscars (Although they have now changed ownership and I have no idea if they still do the manifolds for them). But that sorted the exhaust system for about £150 and for the inlet manifold I just cut a hole in the bonnet and put a scoop over the top.

If you do decide to go the 8v route let me know and I will try and help out wherever possible.

DOHC exhaust exits on the same side as the zetec.

Personally i've always thought it a bit of a false economy to fit an engine if you have any thoughts for changing it down the line. It not just swapping the engine itself but forking out for a possible new exhaust manifold, inlet manifold, replumbing all the cooling system, rewiring, moving any components that now get in the way / are in the wrong place etc etc.

The zetec is cheap enough and you can then build the car around this with the MT75 box. Manifolds are available off the shelf as are suitable engine mounts and any spares / tuning parts you require. Advice on here will also be more plentiful so maybe an influencing factor also???

cheers guys, was thinking zetec anyhoo. Took the engine because it was £5 but i think ill go with a zetec for all the reasons above. Bit more money to begin but in the long run...



[Edited on 25/8/08 by focijohn]

Post the DOHC up on the ford sierra owners club forum, someone on there might be looking for a spare/replacement.