High performance engine swap?

[Hoatso]

I have a 2016 Ecoboost 1.6 and the engine sometimes blows a big cloud of what I think is coolant smoke on startup

in the morning. 
 

I’m thinking of swapping in an engine that has more power and better reliability (no head/block cracking).

 

Would a Ford Performance “EcoBeast” engine work? The Mustang version is not designed for transverse and the Focus version’s ECU is designed for manual transmission. 
 

Are there long blocks available that have around 400hp?

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[Don Ridley]

Oh man, that's bad news. You seem to have found the information on the dreaded block failures on some Ecoboost engines.

 

Swapping engines and multiple ECUs (PCM, BCM etc) seems too complicated to be worth the effort. Plus you may have registration and emissions issues (depending on your State, Country etc). The Focus is a better match to the TC. But good luck finding a solid Focus ST or RS motor.

 

There is still hope that you only have a bad head gasket. Probably not ☹️

 

[windguy]

6 hours ago, Hoatso said:

I’m thinking of swapping in an engine that has more power and better reliability (no head/block cracking).

 

 

Sorry to hear that. 

How about a more conventional approach and use the TC 2.5L engine. Assuming they are easy to source from a salvage yard?

Considering it's a van, the 2.5L, which is what I have in my 2015, has decent power with okay fuel economy.

I personally wouldn't want to sacrifice fuel economy for a bigger engine. Wrong direction for me.

I'm not a gearhead but I'm assuming a higher output engine would require a matching transmission and more to handle the extra load. Mission creep.

Good luck! Please keep us posted.

 

[Fifty150]

A project like that will go the way of installing a manual transmission.  At least one person has tried.  I don't see the happy ending.