Info wanted on a Escort engine

[hotrodin4me]

Looking at a 1997 Escort Wagon it has a Split Port Engine in it
is it any good or is it junk ??

[FB71]

they drop exhaust valve seats.

[rockin86ranger]

SOME of them drop valve seats, everybody says that like if you buy it the motor will selfdestruct before you pull out of your driveway.

i had one that i sold with 300,000+ on it and beat the living crap out of it and now my friend has it and has driven it for almost a year. the longest he ever drove a car before killing it was 2 weeks, the 300,000 mile escort is still going strong and has had no problems

[FB71]

Having been a Ford tech at the time they were new, nearly ALL of them dropped valve seats. Chances are, if it has made it beyond 100,000 miles, its one of the few good ones. The heads that were repaired for a loose seat (before it dropped and grenaded the engine) also seem to hold up very well.

[LittleHoe]

I have one, its in mint shape just about... only problem is the engine is shot...lol.. I have been looking for a suitable replacement engine but just don't know what engine to put in there that wont require to much work....

[rockin86ranger]

idk i tried to kill it a couple of time, i ran it 2 quarts low of oil with low coolant and redlined every shift, the stupid motor just wouldnt die. I was more afraid of having the trans come apart from redlining it like i did than i was the motor.

And i have literally been in a ford shop since i was in preschool, and spent a few years tooling around the ford tech hotline.

Maybe i have just have really good luck because i have run 2 2.9l with no coolant before and never cracked a head. I had a freeze plug pop on me on the way to school once made it 3 miles before i stopped for gas, and i drove one for 7 miles after the lower radiator hose melted on me. I also beat the snot out of a 3.8l windstar and what finally killed it was mom ran it without oil for a long time, we filled it back up and 2 weeks later it threw a rod.

[FB71]

And i have literally been in a ford shop since i was in preschool, and spent a few years tooling around the ford tech hotline.

really?! Cool! When were you there? I was an STI from '99 till '06. Philly and DC regions. I spent alot of time in Dearborn. I helped write some of STST Basic Electrical cirricuulum in '03. You didn't happen to work there while Steve DeAngelis was TSO vp, did you?

Oh, and I loved the 2.9! and I had great luck with my 3.8 T-Bird.

[rockin86ranger]

I didnt work there but i spend quite a bit of time with dad when he was there, and he worked there from 2002?-2006ish

He did a lot of the trans stuff and was pretty well involved with the something on the focus at one point

and maybe the "Junk Ford motors" are just junk for people who arent Ford people lol cause i loved my 2.9 and 3.8 but i was always worried about the heads and headgaskets because i never knew anybody that one them that didnt have trouble with them, except one of my friends grandpas has a bronco II with a 2.9l and 400k and no head issues