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New To Group, New to Contours, and have 2 questions

ok im new with working on car obviously. how do i do a compression check? im getting the manual in about a week from todras will that tell me?
 
dyaballikl said:
pretty good stats. very nice that your compressions are all within 3 psi. if you're having visibility problems with the glass, just do what i do and smash it out! :D
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Well, I had a reply go thru, but some how it got lost... Anywho, nah, can't smash the glass, my guy on the truck would never warrant it!!! Compression check is easy, ESPECIALLY on this engine. Pull the wires, pull the plugs, pull the wires that feed to the ignition coils, screw in your tester, crank the engine.

Now there's a school of thought out there about not testing the compressoin by cranking the engine via the key, as the ignition will fire the injectors. I did it using the key, as I've always done, without any problems. But, that's just me. I'm certainly NOT gonna go fishing around in THAT engine compartment looking for attachment points for my remote-starter.

I like to perform the test twice on each cylinder. Readings should be within 10% of each other. Mine were great, yes, but what you should really be concerned with is if you have one low cylinder, or, two low readings on adjacent cylinders which would more than likely indicate a bad head gasket.

If you're gonna do all your heater hoses, you should prepare the job site - remove spouse, girl/boy friends, signifigant others, nosey neighbors, and bring in others familiar with your situation; a dozen master techs, maybe a parts guy, a lawyer (in case you get pissed and throw a wrench at someone) and someone to provide beer. You will definately polish your vocabulary as you combine 4, 6, 7 and nine letter words in ways not possibly thought of before....

All the funny business aside, you guys have been a great help here. Didnt even need to post on the tire issue, found plenty of info there.

Watch for my post on the automatic door locks that are REALLY pi**ing me off...

Thanks again
Rick
 
96_ContourGuy said:
Well, I had a reply go thru, but some how it got lost... Anywho, nah, can't smash the glass, my guy on the truck would never warrant it!!! Compression check is easy, ESPECIALLY on this engine. Pull the wires, pull the plugs, pull the wires that feed to the ignition coils, screw in your tester, crank the engine.

Now there's a school of thought out there about not testing the compressoin by cranking the engine via the key, as the ignition will fire the injectors. I did it using the key, as I've always done, without any problems. But, that's just me. I'm certainly NOT gonna go fishing around in THAT engine compartment looking for attachment points for my remote-starter.

I like to perform the test twice on each cylinder. Readings should be within 10% of each other. Mine were great, yes, but what you should really be concerned with is if you have one low cylinder, or, two low readings on adjacent cylinders which would more than likely indicate a bad head gasket.

If you're gonna do all your heater hoses, you should prepare the job site - remove spouse, girl/boy friends, signifigant others, nosey neighbors, and bring in others familiar with your situation; a dozen master techs, maybe a parts guy, a lawyer (in case you get pissed and throw a wrench at someone) and someone to provide beer. You will definately polish your vocabulary as you combine 4, 6, 7 and nine letter words in ways not possibly thought of before....

All the funny business aside, you guys have been a great help here. Didnt even need to post on the tire issue, found plenty of info there.

Watch for my post on the automatic door locks that are REALLY pi**ing me off...

Thanks again
Rick
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first off, great humor!

second, Where and how much is a tester?

3rd. Is it really that hard to change all the hoses or were you just being funny? Im really new to cars, but i figure all the problems with this old one will teach me pretty quick.
 
Devanmc,
You can pick up a tester at your local Sears store for under 40 bucks. Make sure it comes with all the adapters. I have to ask, why do you feel a compression test is necessary? I checked mine for a few reasons; my coolant looked REALLY ratty and I wanted to make sure it wasn't working the head gasket, and, I had a curiosity as to the condition of the engine, the mileage is extremely high, and I don't know the history of the car.

If you were blowing white smoke, seeing a coolant and/or oil leak, or infiltration of coolant into the crankcase, then you might want to test to confirm a head gasket instead of a cracked block, etc.

As far as replacing your heater hoses, I have to ask also, why do you need to replace them? If they're not leaking, or not dry-rotted, and otherwise look ok, why in God's name would you put yourself, family, friends, neighbors, pets, etc., thru that much anguish? LOL These hoses are a bit tough to do - as they're crammed in there really good. I've seen easier, and I've seen harder.

Far be it from me to tell anyone what to do, or not to do with their car, but, I'd hate to see ya bust hump for nothing....

Good luck
Rick
 
I want to test the compression on the car because i just got it and do not know what kind of condition it is in, as it has alot of miles on it.

As for the hoses. They are starting to bulg at the ends so i want to do it before winter comes and i blow a heater hose or before any of the others blow.
 
Yeah, get to them soon... Had lower rad hose go out on me like that one time. I learned my lesson about preventative maint. real quick.
Good Luck
 
next week or 2 max, should be fun.

Ill tell you who is suing me when im done.
 
Glad to hear your operating temp issue is all ok. Sounds like you're doing the right thing, catching up on all the maintenance.
 
Thanks mcgarvey... Yeah, this is a decent little car. I have to replace the front rotors as they're warped. Now - about those rear brakes. I will find the ONE individual who designed them, and deal with them accordingly. What kinda crazy-a**sed setup is THAT????? :laugh:
 
Heh, I don't think my drums have been off in 40k miles. All I remember is that there's some spring tensioner in there.

Honestly, I think the front disc/rear drums on this car provide more than adequate stopping power for any normal driving. And however rediculous the rears are, and I don't remember exactly, the good thing is they hardly wear at all. I had to replace a wheel cylinder at like 55k miles and the shoes looked like they had maybe 85%. Now I'm going on 100k with the factory shoes and I don't expect to have to replace them anytime soon.
 
The rears are good, I just wondered who did the 20 hits of acid before they sat down to the design table... lol My wife and 17 year old daughter drive this car, which means it'll need brakes 3 times a year, and a tranny or two every six months....:laugh::laugh::laugh:
Rick
 
i've done shoe changes on probably 6 or 7 different cars in the past, and they do tend to last a very long time, extremely long when compared to the front pads, because the shoes tend to have a much larger surface area, and do a helluva lot less stopping of the car.

however, i recently volunteered to change the rear shoes on a friend's tour, having not hit up my own yet, you guys have me concerned, is it rediculously worse than normal drums? drums in general take a bit of practice and knowledge, especially over disc systems, but they're not too bad once you get used to them.
 
96_ContourGuy said:
The rears are good, I just wondered who did the 20 hits of acid before they sat down to the design table... lol My wife and 17 year old daughter drive this car, which means it'll need brakes 3 times a year, and a tranny or two every six months....:laugh::laugh::laugh:
Rick
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Haha! Make sure they are careful braking when getting off the highway. I have issues with warping rotors to be honest...But maybe that's because of my braking from uhh...high speeds? :crazy: Bought the car with 59k and probably original rotors, and I had them warped within a year and a half. Got new rotors put on in around April of this year, and they are already showing signs of warping. I've only got 8k on them :(. Yes, 8k since April :cool:.
 
zorrex said:
Haha! Make sure they are careful braking when getting off the highway. I have issues with warping rotors to be honest...But maybe that's because of my braking from uhh...high speeds? :crazy: Bought the car with 59k and probably original rotors, and I had them warped within a year and a half. Got new rotors put on in around April of this year, and they are already showing signs of warping. I've only got 8k on them :(. Yes, 8k since April :cool:.
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I'm not sure, but I think it's just the stock rotors just wanting to warp. I had mine turned and just a few months later I was already getting the wobble and I don't beat on my breaks. :shrug:
 
if you're having problems with warping rotors, just get some slotted ones online. you don't have to go too high end to get some decent ones. around $100 should fix your problem.
 
It's funny, women are bad for cars. Since I bought a new car in February and my Contour became my girl's daily driver, it's had all sorts of problems. She'll start it up and drive right away, even on the coldest days, make no effort to avoid bumps and potholes, and I can promise you it will never get washed or waxed ever again. It looks and smells like a dumpster inside, and somehow, she even managed to make a little bit of rust appear on the rocker panel...

I couldn't beat it worse if I tried.

But as anyone else in my situation knows, it's easier to just see the car get beat up than try to intervene, that's a recipe for trouble. I'm a mechanic so she probably knows more about cars than most but I guess destroying cars is just a female trait. They take no pride in keeping them nice looking, maintained, or as anything more than transportation from point A to B.

But anyway, enough woman-bashing-- Rotors can be had pretty cheap for our cars. The cheap ones from Autozone (Valucraft/Duralast) are around $25 and are as good as any. When you have rotors resurfaced, it removes metal mass that would previously absorb heat, so they'll just warp again in time.
 
dyaballikl said:
if you're having problems with warping rotors, just get some slotted ones online. you don't have to go too high end to get some decent ones. around $100 should fix your problem.
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Well thats the thing. I know I can get rotors cheap, but mine seem to warp just a tad and never really get much worse. :shrug: I used to be able to get them machined for free, so never needed to buy new ones.
 
so im getting my hoses tomorrow, autozone had to order them. I have found the upper and lower hoses, they were easy. But where are the blasted heater hoses?
 
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