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greasemonkey1489

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Apr 14, 2008
Messages
1,568
Location
Bloomington/Normal, IL
I have a 95 Contour SE MTX that I was given last year. It had a blown motor in it so I bought one with about 90000 miles on it and swapped. The motor starts and runs and the car moves but the idle will not stop surging. I have looked into a few things but I do not have the time to go further. I'm trying to get an idea of how hard it would be to get rid of this car or if I should just buckle down and finish it. It has a new engine wire harness (minus the injector harness), new clutch set and all new gaskets(UIM, throttle body, egr, injector o rings, oil pan, exhaust manifold gaskets etc), belts, newer hoses. The car has 129xxx miles on the body, decent shape, no major dents/dings, bumper covers are a little scuffed, teal blue color. Would this interest anyone as a "tow-away" project car or does anyone have any insight to my surging issue?? Thanks
 
greasemonkey1489 said:
I have a 95 Contour SE MTX that I was given last year. It had a blown motor in it so I bought one with about 90000 miles on it and swapped. The motor starts and runs and the car moves but the idle will not stop surging. I have looked into a few things but I do not have the time to go further. I'm trying to get an idea of how hard it would be to get rid of this car or if I should just buckle down and finish it. It has a new engine wire harness (minus the injector harness), new clutch set and all new gaskets(UIM, throttle body, egr, injector o rings, oil pan, exhaust manifold gaskets etc), belts, newer hoses. The car has 129xxx miles on the body, decent shape, no major dents/dings, bumper covers are a little scuffed, teal blue color. Would this interest anyone as a "tow-away" project car or does anyone have any insight to my surging issue?? Thanks
Click to expand...

Please exlain when does this surge occur??

Tell me from the moment you start the car till when ever it ends. Please give alot of details, and take your time typing this out. The more we know the more we can help you.
 
1. Located in central Illinois.
2. The surge happens right when I start the vehicle. When I start the car, the car idles at about 2500 rpm and keeps steady at that speed. Then after a few minutes the car will begin to surge. It will slow to 2000 rpm but only for a second and then it's back to 2500 rpm. The idle goes up and down, over and over. If I tap the gas pedal, the idle will increase a little then surge again. I have looked for vacuum leaks and have found nothing.
 
greasemonkey1489 said:
1. Located in central Illinois.
2. The surge happens right when I start the vehicle. When I start the car, the car idles at about 2500 rpm and keeps steady at that speed. Then after a few minutes the car will begin to surge. It will slow to 2000 rpm but only for a second and then it's back to 2500 rpm. The idle goes up and down, over and over. If I tap the gas pedal, the idle will increase a little then surge again. I have looked for vacuum leaks and have found nothing.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's just me, but that seems like a really high idle. Mine idles around 750 I would say. Unfortunently I don't have any suggestions for a fix though
 
i almost guarantee that you have a vacuum leak somewhere. spray carb cleaner around your intake gaskets and see if the idle changes.
 
I have checked out the IAC valve. I tested the resistance of the IAC motor itself and it tested fine. I replaced the UIM gaskets and throttle body gaskets but have not done the carb cleaner test. Any other suggestions?
 
greasemonkey1489 said:
I have checked out the IAC valve. I tested the resistance of the IAC motor itself and it tested fine. I replaced the UIM gaskets and throttle body gaskets but have not done the carb cleaner test. Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...
A pretty quick test would be to pull off the IAC and plug the ports, make sure the throttle body is closed, then start it. If it starts and runs, you have a large vacuum leak. If it wont start, you have other issues, but this is a quick check. Be careful what you plug the IAC ports with, I've seen them suck duct tape right through the engine. There is a lot of vacuum there!
Are there any trouble codes? That would also be a good place to start. I know it sounds stupid, but I'm just covering all the bases. Is the engine you took out the same as the one you put in? This engine should be non-VVT. If you somehow swapped in a VVT engine, there will be issues!
 
What year was the "new" engine? Did you all the wiring harness connectors fit into the "new" engine harness connectors?
 
Toddio said:
A pretty quick test would be to pull off the IAC and plug the ports, make sure the throttle body is closed, then start it. If it starts and runs, you have a large vacuum leak. If it wont start, you have other issues, but this is a quick check. Be careful what you plug the IAC ports with, I've seen them suck duct tape right through the engine. There is a lot of vacuum there!
Are there any trouble codes? That would also be a good place to start. I know it sounds stupid, but I'm just covering all the bases. Is the engine you took out the same as the one you put in? This engine should be non-VVT. If you somehow swapped in a VVT engine, there will be issues!
Click to expand...


95-97 SE's never had a 4 cyl.

Anywho check the small colored hardlines that run around the back of the UIM. Also the lines out of the valve covers. Replace the little rubber hose that runs from the brass tube under the TB to the PCV. Another ribbed line that runs out of the PCV can sometimes touch the EGR tube and melt. Something is broken or the UIM/LIM gaskets are not done properly. The LIM can get disturbed if the UIM was moved. If you did not due the lowers then do them.
 
All of the harness connectors work with the engine i swapped in. I still feel like it's something other than a vacuum leak though.. I've seen vacuum leaks on engines and the engine will just idle high, but not surge (unless the vacuum leak is throwing off the MAF reading).
 
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