Ehhhh that's what the ford dealership told me too. There ended up there was nothing wrong with the motor on mine but if ur paying somebody to do the work it's hard to say. It was 3k just for the new motor and u would prolly have less labor in replacing the tensioner. If u get a used motor u never know what ur gonna get. I would think hard about just fixing the tensioner or buying a new motor.
Nathan
Nrdewalt@gmail.com

 

I think I would be checking on other shops for rates. Over $1k for chains and tensioners? I believe the job can be done while the engine is still in the vehicle. May be that he is quoting based on pulling the engine/transmission.
If he's going to pull it, check for local Duratec 3.0 engines from Tauri/Sable/... with low mileage. You'd need to change the passenger mount{head removal required}, and the crank position sensor to make them work, but they go for a lot less than the 'truck' version.
Locally, even Escape v6, complete, can be had for ~$600, mileage varies.
tom

 

Yup. We left the engine in it when we changed the tensioner. Was a pain but definitely faster.
Nathan