Focus transmission swap?

[Nignik187]

Ive got a 2011 tc and its got 260k. Im looking for an engine, trans donor now while its still working. no one has really specified if a focus engine / trans will be a straightforward swap. Ive gone through alot of the posts and haven't found anything solid. Surly someone has gone through it all and knows. Ive got access to tons of wrecked focus' with well less then 100k miles. It sounds like same tranny / engine but surly something's will be different. Anyone help me? Thanks

[Beta Don]

95% chance the electronics will be different and maybe gear rations and other things too.  If you get the ECM from the Focus and can transplant that into your van, you might have a chance of making everything work

 

We did have one member here who did this with a Gen2 van and a newer Focus because he wanted a manual transmission.  He bought the van specifically to do the swap and then bought a Focus specifically to do the swap and had both both cars shipped to a shop who said they could do the work.  He posted updates here for 6 or 8 months, detailing every incompatibility they ran into (there were many) and how they solved them . . . . and then we never heard from him again.  I sure hope he ended up with a running van with a manual transmission because there's no telling how much money he spent but it was a ton  -  Labor alone must have been thousands

 

With all the electronics in modern cars, the days of hoisting a different engine/trans into your car using the limb of a shade tree are long gone  -  Everything is 20X more complicated than it used to be, where all we had to do was weld up a new motor mount or two, bolt it in and drive it away.  Engine swaps from other vehicles are all *interesting projects* these days!

 

Don

[Nignik187]

On 2/27/2020 at 8:51 AM, Beta Don said:

95% chance the electronics will be different and maybe gear rations and other things too.  If you get the ECM from the Focus and can transplant that into your van, you might have a chance of making everything work

 

We did have one member here who did this with a Gen2 van and a newer Focus because he wanted a manual transmission.  He bought the van specifically to do the swap and then bought a Focus specifically to do the swap and had both both cars shipped to a shop who said they could do the work.  He posted updates here for 6 or 8 months, detailing every incompatibility they ran into (there were many) and how they solved them . . . . and then we never heard from him again.  I sure hope he ended up with a running van with a manual transmission because there's no telling how much money he spent but it was a ton  -  Labor alone must have been thousands

 

With all the electronics in modern cars, the days of hoisting a different engine/trans into your car using the limb of a shade tree are long gone  -  Everything is 20X more complicated than it used to be, where all we had to do was weld up a new motor mount or two, bolt it in and drive it away.  Engine swaps from other vehicles are all *interesting projects* these days!

 

Don

Thank you for the info.  That's a real bummer.  Focus' are a dime a dozen.  I'd be fine with gear ratios, but the electronics is a road block for sure.  I can't understand why a manufacturer would make that many differences when ther are sooo many similarities. What a waste of money.  

 

What about the focus engine alone? Same story?  And yes i could have entire car available,  ecu and all. 

[mrtn]

I don't think Ford did too much modding to Focus drive gear just for the three year run of the Gen1 in US market. I suppose its just dropped in the Connect body.

Edited February 28, 2020 by mrtn

[G B L]

7 hours ago, Nignik187 said:

What about the focus engine alone? Same story?  And yes i could have entire car available,  ecu and all.

If you go to ford. com you can download an owners Manual for both cars and see what the transmission ratios are between the Focus and the TC.

Let Us Know what you find.

[mrtn]

The ratios may be off. Even my 2006 came with two different ratios (MT) for different engine configurations and when my original transmission was on its way out I swapped to a 1st Gen Focus transmission with a third variant of the ratio (a really sweet one, made driving fun), bolted right up. The speedo gear was in the transmission.

[G B L]

You EU guys are  fortunate that both your TC's and Focus"s are available with standard trans missions.  That alone would make the swap much easier. 

I think that the swap could be done here if all the electronics on the in car unit were installed on the power plant to be installed .

[Fifty150]

On 2/27/2020 at 8:51 AM, Beta Don said:

 . . . . and then we never heard from him again. 

 

 

I don't think that project worked out.  Odds are, that he ran out of funding, then realized how much he spent already, and decided to give up.  

 

Return on investment is emotional.  You feel good.  But it's not worth the money, if you are thinking about adding value to the car.  Very few cars can be modded, or restomodded, to increase value.  No financial advisor would endorse it.

[G B L]

3 hours ago, Fifty150 said:

Return on investment is emotional.  You feel good.  But it's not worth the money, if you are thinking about adding value to the car.  Very few cars can be modded, or restomodded, to increase value.  No financial advisor would endorse it

We are way past the money in most of the car projects!!

Edited March 2, 2020 by G B L