YT90SC

ALL new short blocks are of the new design. That is the latest part number. If it had an earlier revision I'd be concerned, but that is the latest available.

You didn't say what year the vehicle is, but It appears to have Specialty Green in the coolant bottle so that makes it a 2009 to early 2012. So that's what I'm running with. Correct me if wrong. Does the oil appear milky at all, like it may have coolant in it? The waterpump is the timing chain idler, and it can leak internal to the engine. If it does, it can be saved as long as it runs and doesn't knock. Is the check engine light on? Does the engine operate quietly at startup and when the light is on? What type of oil filter and grade of oil are you using? It may be as simple as the oil pressure switch giving up the ghost, but I'd want to have an engine oil pressure check performed, to verify it is not the engine. The switch is a simple on/off switch, screwed into the block near the oil filter. It has a single wire. You can probably DIY a new one in. STRONGLY suggest MOTORCRAFT replacement, if you do. Your pic is the VCT solenoids. Sometimes they weep, not a huge deal as long as the solenoids are functioning ok. The other thing might be that someone missed the oil fill at some point. Typically the 3.5 leaks from valve covers and timing cover.

What year is your MKZ?

You're smelling it in the cabin? Several possibilities to check, In order. Check for missing/broken hardware on exhaust manifolds, cats, or Y pipe. Check manifolds for cracks. Soot around any pre-cat connection is also an indicator of leakage. Loose spark plugs. Fuel leaks from rail/injectors and EVAP system. Check for missing/damaged grommets, air vents and decklid seal, just as they would for CO issues in Explorer. Make sure HVAC is at latest software level- won't solve issue, but may mitigate it some.

Most of the 6F55 transmission's port plugs are in the case end cover (driver's side) and on the bottom. The lowest one in the case is the sump drain, the one slightly higher, still in the case, is the line pressure port. If I remember right, there is one more located near the rear cooler line. The end cover has several. Four, I think but don't hold me to that. But most of those will not pool on top of the trans. I've seen the cooler lines leak where they go into the case as well, but it is much rarer and usually because someone was messing with them.

Pooling on top of the transmission or the PTU? I'm a bit confused. If it is pooling on top of the PTU and it is gear oil, the PTU is done. What year and which engine does it have? I guess I just assumed it was a 3.5?

The only place gear oil is used is in the PTU and the rear axle. If it is towards the front, the PTU is generally nearing death. There are several places it could be leaking transmission fluid, and LV will discolor dark and lose its redness fairly soon, so be sure it isn't transmission fluid.. The most common 6F50/55 leak points are the port plugs loosening up and leaking over time, the linkshaft seal, and the case half joint.

As a general rule of thumb, no.

Haven't done that yet. Why start now?

Currently the parts catalog shows one piston and one rod for all 2.3L Mustang. It may not be updated though. There hasn't been an 2.3 N/A for quite some time. 2007 was the last year for Focus, 08 Escape/Mariner, 09 for Fusion/Milan and Ranger carried through till its' demise in 2011. Besides being made of metal, nearly everything is different from those. I wonder if they will cheap out and keep the same FWD timing cover. It's still funny to me to open the hood on one and see it.

We can't seem to sell any. I can see them holding back to build up demand.

MARKs and their cousins, the MN-12s were some of the finest cars Ford ever built. They were ragged on for their fat ass barely under 4000 lb curb weights, but they handled, rode and drove very well. Did a 97 T-bird with full urethane suspension and Bilstein shocks, a Mark center section (aluminum vs steel) and filled it with 3.55's and limited slip, Mark rear lower control arms (aluminum vs steel), the "260 hp" 2V Mustang cams that someone was practically giving away after a cam swap, a PI intake, elbow and throttle body, shorty direct fit headers and topped it off a full "J-Mod" to the trans and aluminum driveshaft. Cost was minimal due to mostly stock parts. Thing handled like it was on rails and seriously woke up, power and shift wise. An absolute HOOT to drive. More fun than my very lightly modded 5 speed SC, but don't tell the guy who owned the 97... MARK was FULL of performance potential. 4 valve 4.6, fantastic suspension for its day. Through some jacking around we discovered that they seriously pulled power during the shifts to keep it smooth. That was easily fixable. You had to be careful with gears on the Birds and Cougars. The long ass single piece driveshaft had a tendency to turn to spaghetti at high speed with deep gears. Most Marks got aluminum shafts or had 2 piece. I imagine the "lock out 4th" in the article was more for this reason as well as the AOD family tends to hate WOT into and in OD.

I don't have the pocketbook to buy one, so I can't speak to owning one. However, Sport should have been the halo car for third generation Fusion from the get-go. It should have been given the "SHO" moniker. Well worthy of the name. Seriously fun to drive. That being said, day to day it is a lot easier to enter/exit the Taurus, so definitely take that into consideration.

Don't seem to see as many failures, no. Water pumps and the myriad of connections on the hoses are places to look on the 1.6. Waterpumps are especially hard to catch because they will often not hit the ground. Run your finger on the inside of the pump pulley. If it is gooey, most likely needs a pump. There are a couple unnecessary heater hose connections between the engine and battery, above the transmission. They like to leak too. The nice thing is Orange coolant streaks and leaves residue when it dries.

Ford has always been "replace longblock" on the 1.6 for coolant intrusion into the cylinders. Honestly, it has been a while since I was in one and that was only for cracked heads on the early ones. They are VERY similar engines, but I can't remember for sure if they had cuts or not.

I think it SHOULD be a part of the front bumper wiring harness. Fogs, active park sensors and whatnot all go into that harness. Plugs into the main harness over in the driver's front corner.

So you INCORRECTLY did a tuneup, causing a miss bad enough to pork the cats and that is the van's fault??? And please explain how a muffler can cause a check engine light.

Batteries are under the Driver's seat anyway.

None of the wheezy old shitbox diesels you're looking fondly back at made enough power to hurt themselves. Adding emissions equipment and much higher specific power outputs, at best, modern diesel longevity is even with gas if not worse.

Take it to another dealer, or back to the shop you trust. Have it evaluated there.

I miss the sixes, and for some reason, I found the engine note very six like, so I guess I would be ok with it.

Everyone makes less money on warranty- the tech, the writer, the shop- but that is something that most service department personnel just 'suck up' and move on. The issues you are hearing about are most likely NOT "standard" warranty issues, (beyond the 3/36 B to B and the 5/60 powertain warranties) instead ESP that came free with the CPO. Under ESP, instead of relative freedom to repair the car as the technician sees fit (within the rules of the workshop and W&P manuals) WEPA gets involved if the repair will be over a certain amount. That amount varies dealership to dealership but when you reach the threshold, you're stuck. The tech has to fill out WEPA forms, price every single part and labor to the penny, send required documentation and more often than not, pictures of the failure. Then they still might send an inspector which the tech will have to spend more time showing the failure and suggested repair to. 95% of the time the tech will find himself literally arguing with WEPA to allow correct repair of the car. This can and often does add DAYS onto the repair. The tech makes no more money for all the extra footwork, paperwork and often non-diagnosis or repair related additional tear down. The majority of techs are NOT paid by the hour, but paid by labor completed. So you can see where adding hours of work to do the same job becomes an issue. Most techs hate the WEPA process for the literal distrust in their abilities/honesty that WEPA shows nearly every time within the process. All that long winded stuff being said, with the majority of dealers, this will be a seamless process to the customer, except for the additional time it takes if WEPA is involved.

Mostly early Thunderbird SC's, Cougar XR7's and FWD Continental. Of all of them, it was always the Continentals I saw the most of, besides my own SC.

19-2208 has been superceded and is for 2.0L. 19-2375 is the most up to date one for the 1.5L. It was released mid December.

Fordtech is right. Check fluid level as he said. Aftermarket converter is about a hundred bucks. Plus seal and fluid, just call it $200. Its the labor that will kill you.