Monterey Family

Monterey+Family

A Look at the Mercury Monterey and Mountaineer Engine

If you're into family vans and mid-size SUVs, you'll want to take a look at the engines of the Mercury Monterey and the Mountaineer and what makes them a hit with satisfied owners.

The Monterey minivan was launched in 2004 to replace the Mercury Villager, derived from the Ford Freestar with added features. It held its own as a versatile family van with good safety and luxury features.

The Mercury Monterey engine is a 4.2-liter V6 Essex, putting out 201 horses and 252 lb•ft (342 N•m) of torque with a 96.5 mm bore, 95 mm stroke and 9.3 compression ratio. This engine is standard equipment on all models marketed in Mexico and Canada.

Ford stopped producing the 4.2-liter V6 after 2008, drawing the curtains on the engine, but not before it had proven its worth as replacement in the 1997 model year for the Ford 300 straight six (used by the F-150), which was beginning to show its age.

The Mercury Monterey engine sports a sturdy cylinder head design that addressed the problem of cracked heads. It also has hydraulic roller lifters that required lower maintenance than previous designs that were prone to oil contamination and tended to require early replacement.

This pushrod OHV was produced until 2000 and was used in the Ford Explorer, Ford Aerostar, Mazda B4000 and Ford Ranger, as well, making it a worthy workhorse for many and not just a Mercury Monterey engine.

The Mountaineer, a good choice offering generous space for families who go for occasional off-road driving, has two engine choices: The Cologne, a 210-horsepower 4.0-liter V6 and the Modular, a 292-hp 4.6-liter V8.

The standard Mercury Mountaineer engine is a V6 that packs 254 lb-ft of torque with a hefty towing capacity of 5,305 lbs, while the 3-valve SOHC V8 delivers 315 lb-ft to two up to 7,040 lbs.

The Modular has an interesting history. It belongs to Ford Motor Company's overhead camshaft (OHC) V8 and V10 gasoline engine family, which gradually replaced the Windsor small-block and 385 big-block engines over several years in the mid-1990s.

This Mercury Mountaineer engine was initially produced in the company's plant in Romeo, Michigan, and then additional capacity was ramped up by the plant situated in Windsor, Ontario.

There is an interesting sidelight to the Mercury Mountaineer engine. Contrary to initial belief, the Modular's name was not derived from the way it was designed or shares parts with other members of the engine family, but it was named that way in honor of a manufacturing plant protocol, where the facility's layout and tooling infrastructure could be switched out in a jiffy to turn out differing versions of the engine's family.

If you are in the market for a Mercury Monterey engine, you should deal with a shop or supplier who is accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). This is because BBB certification indicates that you will be getting your engine from a business outfit that follows ethical standards for customer service and satisfaction.

About: The same is true for the Mercury Mountaineer engine . And for that finishing touch, ask for a six-month warranty or longer, like a year, for complete confidence on your purchase and your ride.