this is all one big blur, but good info
The Ford Zetec is a name used on many inline 4 cylinder automobile engines. All are multi-valve DOHC engines, but they are based on three distinctly different designs.
It is used in cars such as Ford Mondeo, 1995-2000 Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique, 1999-2002 Mercury Cougar, 2000-2003 Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute, 2000-2003 Ford Focus and 1998-2003 Ford Escort ZX2. It has been made in 1.25L, 1.4L, 1.6L, 1.7L, 1.8L, 2.0L and 2.3L capacities.
The Zetec is also the basis for the Formula Ford 2000 series from 2003 where it replaces the older Ford Pinto and Ford Kent.
Zetecs for Europe are built in the Bridgend, Wales and Valencia, Spain plants. North American engines are built in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico. Asian Zetecs are built in Chung Li, Taiwan. South American Zetecs come from São Paulo, Brazil, and more are built in Inonu, Turkey.
Production of the larger Zeta family of Zetec engines lasted from September, 1991 through December, 2004. Displacement ranged from 1.6 L to 2.0 L. It was replaced in most applications by the Mazda MZR-based Duratec 20, though some Zetec-SE engines were used as replacements on the lower end. Ford Power Products sells the Zeta in 1.8 L and 2.0 L versions as the MVH.
Zetec
The first Zetec engine appeared in 1992, powering the fourth generation of the European Ford Escort and Orion. It was codenamed as the "Zeta" engine before Italian car maker Lancia threatened to sue Ford for trademark infringement as it already owned the name. Ford hurriedly renamed the engine "Zetec".
Early versions of the engine (prior to mid 1998) came complete with self-adjusting hydraulic valves. This helped prevent the notorious valve tapping (on the CVH) but caused other issues. The biggest problem was that a special Ford formulation of oil was required otherwise the valves tended to stick. Similarly, failure to regularly rev the engine above 4000 rpm also led to valve sticking. For these reasons, conventional tappets with shims were introduced in 1998.
2.0
The 2.0 L Zetec shared its 84.8 mm (3.339 in) bore and 88 mm (3.465 in) stroke with its predecessor, the 2.0 L 2-valve CVH.
A high 10.2:1 compression ratio and larger valves contributed to the SVT version's much-higher output.
Applications:
1999 Ford Escort, 130 hp (97 kW) and 127 ft.lbf (172 Nm)
2000 Ford Focus, 130 hp (97 kW) and 135 ft.lbf (183 Nm)
2002 SVT Focus, 170 hp (127 kW) and 145 ft.lbf (197 Nm)
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Zetec-E
Later versions of the engine are known as the Zetec-E. The main difference is a two-piece crankcase which helps damp out noise and vibration.
DUNTON, England -- Ford Motor Co. launches the first of its new Zeta family of engines in Europe with two 1.8L 16-valve 4-cyl. variants.
This new $892.9 million world engine program will progressively replace the 10-year-old single-overhead-cam (OHC) "CVH" units in Europe over the next few months. It likely will be introduced in the North America market in the mid-1990s. The new 1.6L to 2L engine family is designed to meet Ford's requirements for the 1990s.
"This is the start of an intense program of engine changes, which will encompass the Sigma range up to 1.6L, the Zeta from 1.6L to 2L and a new all-alloy V-6 design between 2L and 3L," says Dr. Ian MacPherson, director of powertrain strategy for Ford of Europe Inc., which handled design and development the new engine family. "For our smallest models we are also working on the Orbital (Engine Corp.) 2-stroke, which will start in-vehicle fleet trials 12 months from now."
The European Zeta started coming off the assembly lines at the Bridgend plant in South Wales at the beginning of September. Production in Cologne, Germany, begins early next year, followed by assembly in Chihuahua, Mexico, in 1993 for the North American market. Ford spent $700 million retooling the Chihuahua plant for the engine. By 1994, the three facilities will be building more than a million Zeta engines a year for Europe and the U.S.
Initially, the two versions of the 1.8L will be available in the European Escort/Orion and Fiesta. The Sierra replacement (CDW 27) due out next year gets 1.6L and 2L Zeta derivatives. The U.S. series (Tempo/Topaz replacement) is due out as a '94-'95 model, and sources say it is scheduled to be the first U.S. car series to get the Zeta engine.
Ford has been planning a replacement for the CVH since the mid-1980s. "Our analysis showed that by this time we would need around 800,000 4-cyl. engines in this category per year in Europe, with a further potential volume of 400,000 in North America," says John Bendrey, Zeta program manager.
"In addition to the capability of meeting or exceeding all future projected emissions legislation, we wanted power densities of at least 70 hp/L, with the potential to develop more in the future," he says.
However, Ford insiders say the company has cut back North American Zeta production to 250,000 annually, which represents about 50% of the volume originally planned. They cite market and economic conditions, pricing and fuel efficiency as reasons, coupled with the belief that more people will want the new V-6, due out in 1994 and built in Cleveland, OH.
The Zeta has a single crankshaft throw for all three engine displacements, which have bore sizes from 76 mm to 84.8 mm. All versions feature belt-driven double-overhead-camshafts (DOHC) and closed-loop catalytic-converter systems with electronic sequential fuel injection.
Development work on gas dynamics resulted in a 130-hp high-performance derivative of the 1.8L with a remarkably flat torque curve throughout its range. Peak torque of 119.5 ft.-lbs. (162 Nm) occurs at 4,500 rpm, but it exceeds 90% of maximum torque between 2,300 rpm and 6,300 rpm.
The 105-hp version of the 1.8L develops maximum power at 5,500 rpm and 113 ft.-lbs. (153 Nm) of peak torque at 4,000 rpm. It exceeds 90% of that torque peak from 1,800 rpm to 5,300 rpm and sustains 85% of peak torque from 1,150 rpm to 5,700 rpm.
Both versions are remarkably free-revving engines that run easily and smoothly to 7,000 rpm. After that, a "soft" engine-speed limiter begins to progressively cut the fuel to each cylinder.
The natural tumbling characteristic of a 4-valve intake system, which when carefully developed and optimized, is capable of equivalent or better combustion control than the swirl system.
"The gas dynamics are so active, we found it almost impossible to optimize the spark-plug position in the chamber," says a Ford development engineer. "The engine does't seem to mind where combustion is initiated in the chamber."
Ford developed a computer model known as MANDY (manifold dynamic analysis) to work on the high-velocity tumbling action.
The system has a set of modeling programs that were used to match the total induction and camshaft system so that high turbulence could be generated at low engine speeds without significant loss of maximum-flow capacity by operating each pair of ports in parallel.
Ford chose a cast-iron thin-wall block instead of aluminum. The Zeta has an aluminum oil pan.
The crankshaft is shell-molded cast-iron, connecting rods are forged-steel and the pistons, which provide a compression ratio of 10:1, are high-silicon-content aluminum.
The cylinder head is cast from aluminum alloy, using metal external dies with conventional sand cores. In development, special attention was paid to maintaining the integrity of the bridge between the intake-valve seat inserts, which have proved extremely reliable during extended durability trials.
Valves have an included angle of 40 degrees to provide a compact pentroof combustion chamber. The camshafts are chilled-iron castings.
On the 105-hp unit, the cam lobes of each cylinder pair have different profiles and are de-phased slightly from each other by about 2 degrees to separate percussion peaks and reduce noise.
The Ford Zeta project of the late 1980s was intended to replace Ford Motor Company's two older families of small I4 engines, the SOHC Pinto and CVH. It was designed to share some parts with other Ford engine developments at the time, including the smaller Sigma I4 and Duratec V6. This engine shares its bore and stroke dimensions with the 2-valve CVH engine. Ford Power Products sells the Zeta in 1.8 L and 2.0 L versions as the MVH.
Production of the engines, now named Zetec, began at Ford's Bridgend plant in South Wales in September of 1991, with later production added at Cologne, Germany in 1992 and Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico, in 1993. The first Zetecs displaced 1.8 L, with a 2.0 L version arriving quickly afterwards. The final Zeta Zetec was produced on December 10, 2004 at the Bridgend factory with over 3,500,000 built at that location.
The engine fits the Ford T9, Cd4E and MTX-75 gearboxes using the same bell bolt pattern as the Crossflow.