Are there Ford parts in the 6?

[mtnbiker26]

I have a P5 so I've been on the board for a while and a close friend of mine is thinking about getting a 6 but she said that she is leary about it because it has some Ford parts in it. Is this true and what parts specifically? I know that Mazda and Ford have a relationship especially with their pick-up trucks, so what's the deal?

[ARunto]

its probably got some Ford parts in it. I know in the MSP the ECU has a little Ford emblem stamped on it.

-Alan

[rocketspeed]

Um, yes. The V6 motor.

[mtnbiker26]

The whole motor? Crazy. I was hoping that it was just odds and ends. I feel depressed now.

[Dexter]

the block is Ford and the head is Mazda.

i think the Duratec V6 isn't a problematic motor or anything, but maybe im wrong

[Necessity]

The whole motor isn't ford by a longshot. It's a ford block but the buck stops there. The internals and heads are mazda.

It's got VVT and 20 more ponies just to start.

The i4 in the states is also based off the smaller ford duratec.

Not that I'm a huge ford fan, but why would you consider the duratec a poor engine? It puts out repsectible power, it's proven to be reliable, and it's already got a huge backing from it's previously used other vehicles. Rangers, counters, cougers, taurus, etc.

Go here for just about all the info possible on the unleaded and diesel atenza line engines.
http://www.carseverything.com/content/article/1346.3/

[Captain KRM P5]

the duratec is a very tough engine. i think the 6, pound for pound, is the best overall midsize sedan out there (yes, even better than the Accord). A clone called the Futura will be replacing the Taurus in the Ford lineup soon.

the only problem i have heard with the 6 has been small rust spots inside the door frame.

[1sty]

My mothers Jaguar has the same duratec block (Type S 3.0L) The engine has been bullit proof. To bad the tranny is shit.

[White 6s]

as mentioned total ford shortblock.....mazda heads...

friends dad (mazda master tech 25+ yrs now working corporate) said the 6s heads are the best that mazda ever produced in a regular production vehicle

[Sdrotary2]

The duratech 3.0l block was originally designed by Yamaha for Ford to power the 1st SHO Taurus. As much as I bash ford this was a good move and it has proven itself well and agreed about the heads. It only weighs in ~3200lbs with V-6 too which isnt bad, plus ~$24,000 LOADED for a 2004 isnt too bad either. 5 star crash rating, i gotta stop now... tell her to go for it.

[augimatic]

well, you've heard of people dropping a Ford 5.0 in a Miata haven't you? That's not such a bad ride....=)

[mtnbiker26]

She drives like a nut so all her passengers are going to appreciate the 5 star crash rating.

A V8 in a Miata? You're joking right?

[alexlitov]

where have you been for the past 10 years?

[mtnbiker26]

I knew that people souped up Miatas, but a V8? Where do you put it?

[Necessity]

There's surprisngly more room under that hood then you'd expect! Specially when you remove the ac.

[Captain KRM P5]

you see the ones sprout up on ebay with 5.0s under the bonnet and bmw z3 fakery pasted to the exterior.

[augimatic]

I've seen it done in the past, it's actually a pretty old project, they have to obviously change the rear end and strut assembly but the ford 5.0 fits, I think they had to move the dash back a bit, do a search, car and driver had an article on it like 7 or 8 years ago. There is a company in Michigan that specializes in it.

[mtnbiker26]

Well, she wound up getting the four door 3 in the "S" version. It pretty much came down to money because she just moved out of her folks house and NEEDED a new car all at once. Thanks for all your input.

[Horse]

The duratech 3.0l block was originally designed by Yamaha for Ford to power the 1st SHO Taurus. As much as I bash ford this was a good move and it has proven itself well and agreed about the heads. It only weighs in ~3200lbs with V-6 too which isnt bad, plus ~$24,000 LOADED for a 2004 isnt too bad either. 5 star crash rating, i gotta stop now... tell her to go for it.


Do you know how full of shat you are??

The duratec was actually a Cosworth/Porsche design -
The SHO Yamaha motor is TOTALLY different.

If you dont know dont say anything- and no the heads are not Mazda secific parts - they are all the same - 3L duratec heads-

The platform is also a CD__ based platform which is also the basis for the X-type, Mondeo, Escape/Tribute.

If you need more clarification let me know - or go to www.contour.org for some real info- (pissed)

[Da 6]

the only problem i have heard with the 6 has been small rust spots inside the door frame. Yep every 6 has that...recall for it. I beleve if there is an ounce of ford in the car....well later see it in a recall form for years

[Necessity]

If you dont know dont say anything- and no the heads are not Mazda secific parts - they are all the same - 3L duratec heads-
New cylinder heads with vvt
Mazda's variable-length induction runners
Roller-finger cam followers with hydraulic tappets
Magnesium valve covers

It's not exactly "all the same" ;)

[Horse]

New cylinder heads with vvt
Mazda's variable-length induction runners
Roller-finger cam followers with hydraulic tappets
Magnesium valve covers

It's not exactly "all the same" ;)

the HEADS are the same- the Valvetrain is different yes- Duratecs also run an even nicer setup on the Lincoln 3.0 V6- but the HEADS are the same. (freak)My SVT Contour had all of that except the VVT - but the Lincoln has all of that right now and 232hp-

[PR5Matt]

Engine for sure. They are also made here on the same line that the 2005 Mustang is going to be made on. They will share some basic nuts and bolts hardware. A lot of Mazdas are made on Ford assembly lines here in the Americas.

[AZDriftR]

well i dont know much about the engine being all mazda... but i know when i saw the sticker on the new 6's it said like 60% jap and 40% US/CAN...and says the motor is made in US...also it says on the I4 6 that the motor is made in Mexico..hehe

[Da 6]

yep i4 is meheecoo(cheers2) Only thing I found funny was a few american cars engines are from mexico too.

[Horse]

yep i4 is meheecoo(cheers2) Only thing I found funny was a few american cars engines are from mexico too.
Half of Dodges Whole line up is Mexico built- More than half of the Rams are Mexican! (used to work at a dodge dealer)

[SVTJayC]

Wow, the ignorance....

The Duratec block and all internals are Ford. The heads are supposedly Mazda, though the LS and Jag also have VVT so i wonderhow exclusively Mazda they are. And for all Mazda's great design work, they managed to squeeze 20hp (overrated at that) and less torque than the non VVT version in the Taurus.

As for the Duratec itself, it is a very strong motor. Plenty of them out there in Taurus/Contour with over 100K on them and even some with over 200k It was NOT the engine designed by Yamaha, although it shares some of the same characteristics and design cues. The 2.5 litre Duratec V6 was actually designed by Porsche and Cosworth. Ford shortened the motor by a couple inches so it would fit in the Contour. This makes the engine slightly more suseptible to crank whip becasue it is slightly out of balance, however the new versions (including that in the 6) come with a dual mode crank dampener to help fight this. The 3.0 Duratec is nothing more than a stroked 2.5 The blocks are identical (with the exception of slight difference between models, oil ports and such).

The 2.3 motor was a joint effort from top to bottom. Financed entirely by Ford, and designed / manufactured in the US, by Mazda at Ford plants. It is a great motor, as is it's 2.0 counterpart.

[ashutoshsm]

Wow, the ignorance....

The 2.3 motor was a joint effort from top to bottom. Financed entirely by Ford, and designed / manufactured in the US, by Mazda at Ford plants. It is a great motor, as is it's 2.0 counterpart.

Wow - some good info overall. And I love the 2.3 motor in the i :)

If its good enough for the Asia and Euro spec Atenza, its good enough for me!

I believe there's also a minor difference in how/when VVT is set up in the 2.3 and the 3.0, like one has only variable intake, and one has infinitely variable intake timings, or somethig of that sort. I believe there's an article on mazda6tech that has more details.

[Dragon6s]

I had a 92 ford taurus with well over 150k on that engin still ran great I absolutly pounded and pounded that car too a great beating... the transmission went once, power steering, distributor, little crap here and there but that motor ran and ran... Never leaked oil anything I never cleaned it either was as shiny as the day I bought it! I thought for sure the used car dealership cleaned it up... but after putting 100k on it and it was still spot less and ran well there was no way that motor ever leaked anything... I took it to the junk yard after I cracked it up and the power steering went and a few other little thing but I be that engin is still running somewhere. I should have pulled it and kept it! I'm definatly not a ford fan but I'd drive a taurus any day... damn thing just won't die. Built like the name a freakin bull!

[wongpres]

I wrote a sticky titled 'Mazda/Ford relationship & Mazda3 parts sharing thread' in the Mazda3 board. While it's geared to the Mazda3, what I wrote on the 2.3l engine applies to the Mazda6 (for N. America, the Mazda6 2.3l engine is assembled in Mexico).