For those of you that do not know, i currently drive and Modify a 2002 Ford Escort ZX-2 5speed. It shares the 2.0L DOHC Zetec I4 with the Contour/Cougar Focus. Well, I consider myself highly modified:

The Go: Ported and Polished head with 5 angle valve job, Brembo Ventilated Front Rotors, with Protech pads and shoes in rear, Steel Headgasket, 11:1 compression ratio (increased from 9.5:1), Gutted Cat, Removed Resonator, custom exhaust piping, 4-2-1 Header, Superchip, Ajdustable Cam Gears.

The Show: JL Audio 10W3v2.4 10" D4 Subwoofer, Elemental Designs slot-ported Enclosure, Kenwood KAC-7202 Amplifier, Kenwood KDC-1028 HU, 2 Apline Type S Co-ax 6.5's in front, 4 Alpine Type S Co-ax 5x7's in rear, Llumar High Performance Window Tint, 5% rear, 20% front, Falken Ziex ZE512's, 4300K HID kit by HIDtronix

Well now, im adding 3 more mods to the list...and they are big.


Last saturday, i came around the corner to pull into the parking lot of my apartment complex, downshifted from 5th to 2nd (i usually use 5th at speeds 35 and above to save gas). I had nothing. I shifted out of 5th, into netural and i couldnt go into any other gear. the stick literally would not go in. so myself being a dumbass pushed as hard as i could. i couldnt get into any gear except 5th, so i left the clutch down in 5th gear and coasted into my parking space. (in case i couldnt get going again, at least i was parked). I put it in reverse, got a slight grind, and then the shifter went in, but as i let out on the clutch, i got a real bad shudder and grinding, almost like it was halfway in gear. I brought the gear shift out of reverse, and SLAMMED it back in. this fixed the problem, i went aroudn the parking lot in a couple of circles, and all seemed well, though i never left second (fairly large lot). so i parked and when on about my night. Well about 10 pm or so, I come back out, and start the car. all seems well, shift from 1-2 at 10mph...2-3 at 20...3-4 at 30...4-5 at 35 and CRUNCH. the gears grind with a quick grind as the selector slid into 5th.

Ordinarily, i would do this repair myself, but when i purchased the car, I also purchased a 4 year, 48,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. (SMART ME). So I took the car to the dealer this morning...and the diagnosis is, a bad 5th gear/Reverse Synchro and Shift fork.

Here is the suprising part. For the part and the labor, the total was going to be less than $450. The tech said the transaxle didnt have to be taken out for the repair, which is true, there is an access panel in the top of the transaxle, 4 bolts and your in, and the Synchros are an 8mm wrench and an allen key and they are off.

At any rate, I faxed my warranty paperwork over to the dealer and they called my warranty company. My warranty company has no issues at all paying for this, BUT, they wanted my authorization for the dealer to pull the transaxle out and do a complete inspection, to check and make sure nothing else has gone wrong, and at no additional expense to me (I hope). So that in case something else is wrong, we can replace it now, under one go round, saving the warranty company money. Understandable. now, here is where the mods come in.

Because They are going to have the transaxle out, and the car has 70,000 miles on it, there is no sense in pulling the transaxle and NOT replacing the clutch. So a CenterForce Clutch, good for $500 HP goes in . Also, at the cost of another hours labor ($65) and the price of the part, a Fidanza Aluminum Flywheel will be installed. and for FREE (because i had it in my contour, AND I KEPT IT AGAINST THE ADVICE OF MY FATHER), A Quaife Limited Slip Differential is going in too.

So, i am DEFINATELY prepped for a turbo now. I even have one off of a humvee...but its entirely to large to put in my car...so i will search EBAY for a T3 when i return from Iraq. then we will get this party started.

and FTWAC (For those who are curious), I am putting somewhere around 200HP to the flywheel, in a car that has a transaxle rated to handle 150 MAX. thats why it blew...I hammered the hell out of it. Unmodded and driven normally, these trasnaxles last 300-400K miles no problem.

You're a nut, you know that, right? :D

j/k - I was wondering though, you said the warranty was 4/48 bumper to bumper then you said the car has 70 on it so why was it covered again? :uh:

Anyway, cool mods - your car must be a blast in that arctic northern NY snow. :p

You're a nut, you know that, right? :D

j/k - I was wondering though, you said the warranty was 4/48 bumper to bumper then you said the car has 70 on it so why was it covered again? :uh:

Anyway, cool mods - your car must be a blast in that arctic northern NY snow. :p


4/48 after purchase. its an aftermarket warranty. I purchased the car with 61,475, and thought that with that high of mileage and alot of young military men in the area, it would probably be a good idea to purchase a warranty.

and its covered until like 109,000. :D

see im not as stupid as i look LOL.

and yes i know i am a nut. and you would think in an NY winter, there would be snow...but funny thing...THERES NOT! :p

Nice upgrades man.
Keep us updated on this "project" :thumbup:

Will do bro.

Looking like i will get the car back wednesday.

OK...got the car back today folks. Once again the mods installed were:


Polyurethane Tranny Mounts
Fidanza Aluminium Flywheel
Centerforce Clutch (good for 500HP)
Quaife Limited Slip Differential.

Total mod parts cost: $550 (give or take, the quaife not included, came out of my contour).
Total Mod Labor Cost: $150 (they had to remove/rebuild trans anyways)

Total Warranty Coverage...$2,795.43. OUCH. Glad i had a warranty, paid for itself twice. I had no deductible, since the repair was done at dealer of purchase. I know the service tech, so mod install labor was listed on a separate invoice than the one that went to the warranty company.


Now, the driving difference.


WOW, Where did all this power come from?

These mods have made so much more effective use out of the power. I can now effectively (that being the keyword) put down all 200 of my horsies. The LSD Helps in the snow, the Flywheel helps the engine rev faster and the Clutch, well, its just wicked cool LOL. makes for a really fast shift. The Stage II Clutch is not any harder to drive than the old one, pedal feel is only slightly lighter...yet more direct, its quite hard to describe but a very cool feeling. There is ZERO play in the pedal, yet it is refined and forgiving if you arent perfect with a stick.

The LSD makes MUCH more effective use of my engines power. In fact, before i had it, back when pavement was still abound, i borrowed my friends BF Goodrich Drag Radial T/A's (minimum tread design) and i broke those loose on takeoff. 2 very long skid marks, a break (shift) and 2 shorter ones then another break and a short one...

thats how long it used to take me to hook up on regular tires (goodyear eagle RS-A's), the drag radials were better, but not all that great either. I got the falkens right before winter hit, havent broken them in yet. they are doing ok in the snow though. at any rate, now with the LSD, i take off and with wheelspin in first gear and second gear if i floor it, it spins left, right, left, right, left, so on and so forth. but i think the only reason its slipping...is because there is ice on the road (DUH). Its alot like traction control...but it controls the slip mechanically instead of electronically. The LSD also makes winter driving MUCH easier. I get going so much faster in the snow now than i could before its crazy.

And finally, we have the flywheel. and...well, what can i say? It does what its supposed to do, it makes the engine rev faster and drop revs faster. the torque is a little less at low RPM, but alot better across the board.

And as for the tranny, it has never felt better, shifts are smooth and tight, no loose linkage, no slop in the shifter, nothing. smooth as a baby's ass.