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Duratec Tuning
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on March 05 2010

This page is dedicated to the Ford Duratec DHE420 engine and my attempt to install it in the Mk1 Ford Fiesta.

In August 2008 I managed to locate a low mileage engine, from a Fiesta ST (aka ST150), which is going to be the new powerplant for my Fiesta from 2008 onwards. I'm also changing the gearbox, from the B5 (or BC) to the latest IB5+ box. The IB5+ is different to the IB5 used on the Zetec, because the Duratec (which is a Mazda engine) has a different bolt pattern on bellhousing. So Ford has produced the IB5+ specifically for the Duratec engine in the Fiesta ST. I've ordered a Quaife Sequential gearbox, which is based on the IB5/IB5+, and this should be arriving in June/July 2009. If she's completed in time, the XR2's debut should be at Ford Fair in August 2009.

Looking on the WWW, there are a fair number of companies involved in tuning and producing parts for the Duratec engine. SBD, Raceline and Dunnell all sell kits and complete engines, and the costs appear to be quite high. But you are paying for quality at the end of the day, so the state of the build is once again down to the size of your wallet. Ford of course also has a large amount of information and parts for the Fiesta Sporting Trophy teams. Performance and upgrade parts have been honed over several years competition, on the tracks and in the forests, and it looks as though the support for the engine and drivetrain is improving all the time.

Pictures of the conversion
(Below) The engine being dismantled of all the parts that aren't really necessary for competition use. I've removed the Air Con compressor, power steering pump etc. I've removed 31 Kilogrammes of parts in total.

August 2008: (Below) The first time I offered up the 2.0 Duratec and IB5+ gearbox in to the Mk1 Fiesta.

This is what the standard Ford ST150 engine mount looks like (FINIS 1343434)

(Below) The M-Sport GpN engine mounting arm, available for the Fiesta Sporting Trophy competitors. This is CNC machined from a block of aluminium, and finished with a tough black anodised coating. M-Sport also supply (at extra cost) the nylon insulator, which replaces the Ford rubber insulator from the standard ST150 mount. To replace the standard insulator, you simply bend out a couple of retaining tags and press it out, and push the replacement item back in its place. Two M6 bolts are then used to hold the replacement insulator in place.

The GpN mounting arm itself bolts more securely to the engine cover, as it uses 3x M8 bolts and 2x M12 bolts (supplied with the GpN arm), whereas the standard arm just uses two M12 bolts.

(Below) The M-Sport Group N gearbox mounting bracket.

October 2008: The M-Sport gearbox mount attached to the gearbox, and my own chassis mounted bracket which I fabricated from 3mm steel plate.

December 2008: I upgraded the Jenvey throttle bodies to a set of Titan roller barrel throttle bodies, with 100mm tapered trumpets. These mount direct to the Duratec head, and as there is no throttle spindle or butterfly inside the body, when on full throttle there is nothing to restrict the air flow in to the head.

February 2009: These pictures show the Ford Duratec alternator drive belt tensioner, and the Titan fuel rail. The alternator / waterpump belt tensioner, is available from Coordsport, part number 3M5Q-6A228-AD, FINIS number 1315781. This is the tensioner for the waterpump / alternator and airconditioning pump belt on the 2004 model year Focus / CMax with a 1.8 Duratec HE engine.

February 2009: Radtec custom made polished Radiator.
The radiator looks small, but it has a larger surface area (26cm x 66cm) than the RS1800i radiator (30cm x 50cm) that the XR2 was running previously with the Zetec, and so long as I can get air to flow through it, it should keep the Duratec nice and cool. The twin fans are going to help when she's sitting in traffic.

March 2009: I've fitted the radiator to the body shell, using two aluminium plates, and M6 stainless socket head screws. I've also incorporated M5 fasteners in to the brackets to allow the front radiator grill to bolt securely to the shell. The radiator is fixed centrally to avoid the starter motor solenoid hitting the twin Spal cooling fans. So I need to plumb it all in now, and find a way of routing the water from the thermostat housing pipe back over to the swirl pot/header tank over on the nearside.

April 2009: I've made some good progress this month. Engine steady bars are now fixed in place, preventing the engine from moving fore/aft under acceleration/braking. The new DTA S80Pro ECU has also been acquired, and needs wiring in. The offside driveshaft was also removed to allow me to measure the length of the new one. I'm retaining the intermediate driveshaft on the rear of the block, because the BC gearbox flange wont fit in the side of the IB5 box, due to interference from the block. I've specified a 4.38:1 final drive in the new gearbox, because the red line of 8000rpm will give me similar gear change points to the 3.857:1 final drive I ran with the Zetec with a red line of 7200rpm. Top speed will be 130MPH+

May 2009: This month the car went up to Tony Law in Leeds, for a complete exhaust manifold and system, and I started the re-wiring of the engine management system, and I've chopped out the front slam panel.

June 2009: This month the slam panel was completed and fitted using stainless steel quick release catches. I solved the clearance issues with the oil filter housing were solved, by fitting a Eurospeed (Australia) oil filter housing plate. I also bought a set of Coil On Plug gizmos, from Coordsport. These allow me to remove the ignition coil and plug leads, as the COPS sit on top of the spark plugs. I also mounted the DTA S80Pro in the car, using M3x20 fasteners and a pair of aluminium brackets I made from the angled aluminium bought in May. Oh and I bought a set of PICO injectors, only to realise that the Duratec doesn't use PICOs. So they've been sent back for a refund.

July 2009: This month I sorted out the Throttle Position sensor, and started on the engine bay loom.

August 2009: This month I finished off the Alternator brackets, and made more progress with the engine bay wiring loom. And I identified and fitted a 4PK1260 drive belt on the engine. And I drilled and tapped the water outlet housing, to take two 1/8 NPT water temperature sensors.

September 2009: This month I finished the engine bay loom, with 45 of the 48 pins used in the ITT Canon connector.

October 2009: This month I plumbed in the oil filter housing, and modified the sandwich plate to take the oil temp, oil pressure, and low oil pressure switch sender units.

November 2009: This month I've been busy wiring the car, and the Zetecinside oil adaptor for the Duratec block, finally turned up from BR & D Engineering in W.Sussex, UK. The adapter plate was drawn in SolidWorks by Karl Hacken in the USA, according to my fag packed design, specifically for my Fiesta. If you want to get a Zetecinside oil adapter plate for yourself, I suggest you contact BR & D Engineering directly, as I couldn't afford to have a batch of them made. They feature 1/2BSP threads and I've used 1/2BSP to -10 adapters, from Earls.co.uk. They also use BS209 "Viton" O-Rings, which are available from Brammer (UK), and the O-Rings seal the adapter plate against the block.

December 2009: This month I fitted the Zetecinside Duratec oil adapter plate, with fittings, and made up the hoses to connect the block to the remote oil filter housing. I've also finished the control box which contains all the electronics that controls the relays for the ECU, and houses all the fuses for the various circuits within the car. I've used 1.8mm carbon sheet on the top of the control and isolator boxes, for that professional touch.