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[96Mystique]

Hello all! My name is Jeremiah. I've been looking for a Contour/Mystique forum since I bought my car. I drive a 1996 Mercury Mystique GS. I picked it up for $300. It's had it's problems, but I've been tryin' to fix them as we go. The car was a complete disaster when I bought it. Dirt/dust all over. There was duct tape cover the air intake... (I'm buying a new intake once I get the money for it.) It has the 2.0L Zetec. Anyway, nice to meet you all!

[cnewton44]

Where do you live?

[96Mystique]

I live in southern Missouri. There's a few things I've been looking to do to my car, just haven't found a Mystique crowd so I can ask about it. Now that I have, I'll be upgrading it more frequently.

My Current upgrades :

Drilled/Slotted Rotors
Rear disc brakes (Haven't had the time to install yet, should have done it today, but didn't feel like rippin' it all apart.)

Stereo Upgrades :
Big 3 done with 2 runs of Knu 4 gauge (I had extra 4 gauge layin' around, so I used it.)
All KnuKonceptz wiring
JVC KDG-321 (Great unit!)
Hypnotic HV5 5.25" Components (Custom baffles made)
100SqFt sound deadener (Not installed yet)
Digital Designs 1008a 8" subwoofers
MTX TE1501D Amplifier (Not installed yet, waiting on it to get to me.)

I will be building my new sub box into the rear dash area, similar to an IB setup, but not an IB setup.

[icysvt]

welcome!

[LUCA]

Nice to meet you too Jeremiah. Welcome!

Sounds like you are making good progress with your car, cleaning it up and taking care of the issues that need to be addressed.

If you haven't already, make sure to do some reading in the Zetec forums. You will find a TON of information that will be helpful to you.

I see you have some plans on upgrading the stereo, nice. Just make sure to do the preventive maintenance too.
Check out the timing belt! Hopefully it has already been replaced. Take a look/see at the coolant and change it, etc.

Feel free to use the search feature (it will become your friend, or it should) and ask questions if you don't understand something. We're here to help.

[96Mystique]

Nice to meet you too Jeremiah. Welcome!

Sounds like you are making good progress with your car, cleaning it up and taking care of the issues that need to be addressed.

If you haven't already, make sure to do some reading in the Zetec forums. You will find a TON of information that will be helpful to you.

I see you have some plans on upgrading the stereo, nice. Just make sure to do the preventive maintenance too.
Check out the timing belt! Hopefully it has already been replaced. Take a look/see at the coolant and change it, etc.

Feel free to use the search feature (it will become your friend, or it should) and ask questions if you don't understand something. We're here to help.

Is that a big issue with the Zetec engines? Running hot, that is. My car will do great when I'm at 60+ MPH, but in city traffic, it'll get up really hot. (About at the 'L' in Normal on the temp. gauge.) I've flushed the radiator, and there's a new water pump. I have yet to change the thermostat. There is a slight smell of coolant after about 15 minutes of driver (getting to about driving temp.) There is no leaks, the pressure is(was) reading great. I haven't checked it in about 2 months. The coolant level is staying the same? I'm not completely sure if the timing belt was changed or not. The car is sitting right around 69,000 on the odometer (Not completely accurate, as the speedo/odometer were not working for about a year, but it was sitting for most of that year. I just ordered a few things for it. The CAI (Which I still need to know a few things about, but I can't post in the Zetec performance area, for some reason?) A new Holley muffler (Going to try it out, and see if it sounds decent.) I've been working on my rear brakes today, but I'm not able to use the rear brake setup that I had bought, so I'm stuck with drums for now.

[LUCA]

The zetec's do tend to run hot. I have heard of some running that hot but me personally, that would make me uneasy.

The thermostat isn't that expensive so you might want to replace that.
Also check to see when the cooling fans turn on. Where is the temp gauge reading when they turn on?

Even thought you can't post in any other forum, you can search the forums for "zetec running hot" or a variation of those words. I know this has been posted before as many zetec owners have encountered this issue. You can also do a search for cold air intake.

When my daughter had her zetec it would run in the "MAL" range. It used to freak her out when it hit the "L" so she'd turn the heat on for a minute so the fans would come on and drop the temp.

I would still check the condition of the timing belt since you said the car had been sitting and the speedo didn't work for a while. Can't hurt to check it out.

You will be set free from this forum soon but in the mean time, search around for the issues that you need answers too. If you find what you are looking for but don't understand something, post and ask us. We will help you.

[96Mystique]

The fans usually kick on around the 'A' and the 'L'. I'm not too uneasy about it running hot, 'cause I barely drive it in the city. I ordered new hoses for it, 'cause it's an 11 year old car, so they may have deteriorated. I'll look into everything noted. Thanks!

[AliasJerk]

be prepared to have one hell of a project with the rear disc conversion, I did it on my contour and without air tools its a HUGE pain in the ass. If you have any questions about the disc conversion shoot me a PM or message on AIM, I would be happy to answer any questions you have.

I ended up having to redo my whole suspension when I was working on the conversion, my rear springs were broken, I couldnt justify putting it all back together then having to pull it apart again to put a new suspension in.

As for your temperature issue, its normal on the pre98. If you plug in an OBD scanner you will find that when the temp gauge registers up to the "L" its acutally only hitting about 210 degrees, which isnt really that high, Ford fixed this on the 98+ models by putting a less sensitive Coolant temperature sensor in, You only need to start worrying about an overheat if your temp gauge passes "L" without the fans turning on. Basically just religiously watch your temp gauge.

[96Mystique]

Can you PM me, on aim? My username is BlacGrandAm (My very first car, thought I bought, R.I.P.) I have a kit, that's suppose to be for my car, but I'm a little confused, 'cause it looks nothing like my current (Yes, I know disc and drum brakes are totally different, but there's still a little similarities/should be some?) What's the best (when I say best, I mean best performance for the lowest price), suspension to get? I like have a stiffer suspension, but that's not a necessity.