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My very own hesitation/bucking thread

*****UPDATE******

So I gave up and took the contour to the shop. They put it up on the dyno and were able to repeat the problem that I said:

cruise in 3rd gear at 1500RPM. Give it light throttle, observe car's reaction.

They could see the engine physically moving between 2 and 3 inches while the car bucked. They said all 4 mounts, (2 motor mounts, 2 transmission mounts) need to be replaced.

See guys, I told you it wasn't plugs and wires! (I say that now but its not fixed yet ;)). How difficult is it to replace the engine/tranny mounts?
 
Great!

I've reduced a similar stutter a lot by replacing the front three mounts, drives almost normally now except still under some load conditions some sort of miss.

The thing that gave me, a new CEGer an initial clue was how much replacing the LF fender motor mount reduced vibration at idle.

But I'm still going to replace the coil and back plugs and see if it gets better. I can't see any sparks at night but I hear a little spark jumping from the back coil area.

Mike
 
hmm let's see here...
rollinstylee said:
Sorry Tony I'm taking the reward on this one...it's the roll restrictors. Take a look at them, they're probably worn out and loose as ****. I had the EXACT same problem, precisely as you described it, and I just replaced the rear with an 80A poly-filled, which made it a lot better. I just ordered an Energy Suspension insert for the front, should have it on Tuesday and then hopefully it'll be totally gone.
Click to expand...

rollinstylee said:
No man, trust me it's the roll restrictors. My symptoms are literally what you described to a T. Right down to the RPM descriptions (approximately). The rear roll restrictor is at the back of the engine hanging down, it's circular and if stock, has a rubber insert with a bunch of holes in it that are probably cracked and all kinds of distorted. Just look under the car, you can't miss it. 4 easy bolts to get out, piece of cake. The front roll restrictor is behind the cooling fan and is a little harder to get to...
Click to expand...

rollinstylee said:
...and btw, I got the energy suspension insert in the front along with the poly rear and my bucking is GREATLY reduced...
Click to expand...
but what do I know? :crazy:
 
rollinstylee said:
Sorry Tony I'm taking the reward on this one...it's the roll restrictors. Take a look at them, they're probably worn out and loose as ****. I had the EXACT same problem, precisely as you described it, and I just replaced the rear with an 80A poly-filled, which made it a lot better. I just ordered an Energy Suspension insert for the front, should have it on Tuesday and then hopefully it'll be totally gone.
Click to expand...

I finally got my roll restrictors replaced this weekend (with help from turbo_fox). You were right, it fixed the problem. As promised, PM me your address and I'll mail you something nice.
 
Bummer.

Sorry rollinstylee, but I have to renege. Turns out its not fixed. I got excited a little prematurely I guess. The bucking/hesitation is still there. I guess with the added vibration caused by the new roll restrictors I ignored it. But with that added vibration comes with the knowledge that my car idles low and rough. If I tap the gas while idling it will jump up to a more adequate idling level, but after a few seconds goes back to a low idle.

What I've decided is perhaps I am not describing the problem correctly. So I invite a knowledgeable person to drive my car and tell me if I'm stupid and the problem is me, or if there is in fact a problem. I'll be cross posting this request in the local New England group as well as the Carlisle thread in the Northeast group. The prize is still on the table for the one that fixes it.
 
damn....:blackeye:

What does it idle at? Normal is around 750 without A/C on, a little higher with it on. Continue updating this thread, I'm interested in seeing what this elusive problem is.
 
will do.

It barely hovers over 500 until I tap the gas. Then it idles at 750 for a few seconds before coming back down.

I checked compression tonight and all cylinders were between 180-195 PSI, so that's reassuring.

Next I'm going to check the injectors. Supposedly some autozones have noid lights to borrow.
 
iBrent,

You are one of the most determined persons. Most would have given long time ago...

Keep it up and update every incident, this thread will be a great learning experience...
I am really curious to see what it comes down to...
 
I can't remember and I'm too lazy to reread through the 10 pages this has become, so have you investigated the IAC valve? I wonder if that isn't acting funky and messing with your idle and acceleration...

*EDIT* I see you have. Have you ever had any EGR codes? A sticky valve (or some foreign debris caught in the diaphragm) could cause a stumble and/or weird idle.
 
Are you saying they want a core charge on engine mounts now??
 
rollinstylee said:
*EDIT* I see you have. Have you ever had any EGR codes? A sticky valve (or some foreign debris caught in the diaphragm) could cause a stumble and/or weird idle.
Click to expand...

No codes whatsoever. A few times I ran with the EGR disconnected (by removing the green vacuum line from the top). It didn't really change the drivability. After a week or so, the code would come, but then I would reconnect it and it would go away.
 
Right...but I'm saying that if there's something stuck in the valve, it might not be seating all the way and closing off the exhaust flow into the intake, which wouldn't be affected by disconnecting the hose since the vacuum at the hose would just open the valve more. Just a thought.
 
true...very true. any way to check it? I tried removing the EGR once but couldn't because I couldn't disconnect it from the exhaust. I don't have many tools right now.
 
Usually to test the EGR valve you'd remove the hose and put your own hose on the top and suck the end, and if the idle drops and the car wants to die the valve works...however that assumes that the valve is already seated and idle is ok normally. In this case since you want to see if the valve is CLOSED, as opposed to testing if it's able to open, I'd take the valve off and try to blow through one of the ports and see if any air comes out the other. If it does, the diaphragm isn't closed. I just cleaned an EGR valve on my '81 Town Car which had probably never been done before and the plunger that closes off the port had a solid couple millimeters of lumpy carbon built up on it.

I have not had a problem disconnecting the valve on my car, but lots of people do. Spray PB Blaster on the tube connection first, let it soak for an hour or so, then go at it with an open ended wrench (don't know the exact size, I just use a large adjustable). Probably will still need to strike it with a mallet to break it loose the first time, then use anti-seize on the threads before you reconnect it. After the tube connection is loose you can remove the two bolts that hold the valve to the UIM (10mm I believe). Oh, and in order to get the wrench on the EGR tube you might need to remove the IAC as well, which is really easy as I think you know, just another couple 10mm bolts. This sounds like a lot of work but if you can get the EGR tube broken loose it would really only take about 15 minutes to pull the valve, check, and put it back.
 
I think it's larger than that, like over an inch, since I didn't have a fixed size wrench large enough. I could be remembering wrong though.
 
Finally running correctly

Finally running correctly

I've been following this thread and pulling my hair out over this problem. I purchased a 2000 Contour used. Got a great price due to this problem. I checked and replaced a lot of parts ( They were bad). Here's the list : DPFE sensor, Throttle position sensor, MAF, 3rd set of plugs and wires. These were replaced in this order. After every part it ran a little better. Finally did the third set of plugs and wires and now it runs great. I used Autolite copper core plugs and Autozone wires (with alot of Dilelectric grease). Thanks to all for your suggestions and comments in this thread. Now I need to cruise the performance upgrade section.

Bill
 
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