Maumee, Ohio – Ford will use cylinder head covers made of recycled material on its 3.0-litre Duratec engine, the first product of its kind manufactured from post-consumer recycled nylon.

The cylinder head covers are supplied by Dana Holding Corporation and will be used on the 2010 Ford Fusion and Escape, providing significant cost and environmental benefits.

The material, called EcoLon,  is made by Wellman Engineering Resins by grinding nylon carpeting into fibre and recapturing it through a proprietary process. The resulting product is a high-quality nylon resin, which is then moulded into cylinder head covers through Dana’s injection-moulding process.

“The push to go ‘green’ in the automotive arena has never been greater,” said Marty Bryant, president of light vehicle products for Dana. “The challenge is to deliver solutions that are also economical. Dana successfully met that challenge for Ford by providing an innovative cover made from recycled material and, thanks to EcoLon’s fixed raw material cost, we’re passing on substantial cost savings to the customer.”

Dana said the durable covers also provide greater fuel economy, due to weight savings of nearly 20 per cent when compared with aluminum die-cast cylinder head covers. The covers were developed, tested and manufactured at Dana’s facility in Paris, Tennessee.