The alternator may be in the way, but it is not hard to get it out of the way. As for the O2 sensor, all you need to do is get a box end of a wrench on that thing and take it out. (if there is room to move the wrench. They do make O2 sensor sockets that are cheap to buy, 10 bucks or so) If you get an O2 made for the car (ford replacement or have autozone order the correct one) then you will not have to cut wires, simply unplug the sensor's pigtail (wire harness out of the sensor) It goes about 8 inches from the plug where you just have to release the catch on the plug and pull apart. Typicall plug stuff.
Also unplug the sensor before removing it otherwise the wire will spin up and make it hard to take out.
Install the correct one and plug it in. It will be a lot less hassel to do it this way than to cut wires, plus you won't have to worry about bad connections. And it will take you 30 minutes total. I recommend just going to Ford and getting the sensor, that way it is their stuff in their and not someone elses and you know it was designed to fit. Sort of like Porsche and VW's older engines. Sure they looked similar but they performed totally different.

Brian

 

alright ill run to the Ford dealer and see what i can come up with. THanks alot for the help!

 

what type of plug wires would you alll suggest getting and how much will they be? I dont want to get cheap ones.

 

Ford, because they fit correctly and will have the correct boots on them to keep water out of the plug wells.
I do not know how much yours will be, but my 1.8L tracer was 120 bucks from ford because of the boots on the head and that it was dual overhead cam. Yours should be half that.

My Dad ran a set of parts store wires on his Crown Vic with a 4.6L and the thing still had a weird miss, he put Ford ones on and all better and they fit the motor and coil packs better.

Brian

 

Don't be afraid to change the plugs and wires on Escorts/Tracers. I and my friends and family have owned more Escorts/Tracers than I care to mention. I just tuned up my sis-in-laws Escort (plugs, wires, air filter, fuel filter, PCV valve) in about 20 minutes. Since you are replacing the wires, just grab the one behind the alternator and PULL. If the boot stays on the plug, get a pair of needle nose pliers and reach in there and pull it off. I have done that many times. Once the wire is out of the way, you can put a long socket extender on your wrench and it will fit right onto the plug without even moving the alternator.