99 SVT New to Forum - CEG Archives

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I am the proud owner of a 99 Ford Contour Sport SVT V6 24 Valve Duratec, 5 speed and all that jazz. I love this car the way it looks the way it drives etc. It has about 97K miles on it and still runs like a scalded dog, decent gas mileage too. Thing is I have been thinking of a new car and am having a hard time trying to decide whether this car will hang in there for me a while longer (year or two) or whether I would be better off to trade it now. I havent had any trouble to speak of aside from the recall stuff and that is fixed. Its been well taken care of from the start and still is..looks great runs great. Give me some input some of you who have great experience with this car. Am I looking at it nickel diming me to death or can I depend on it a while longer.

Welcome to the boards

If you really like this car and you keep taking good car of it then it will last a long time. But if you want to trade it or are looking for a new car a lot of the cars people having getting after leaving the SVT are WRX,EVO 8, S4, Mazda 6's. I was like you at one point considering getting rid of the tour but I decided to start modding it. That is just my 2 cents.

I previously owned a 95 tour, an automatic...the tranny went out on it big time...it was the worst of the worst...got lucky and tinkered a bit and when I drove it on to the lot to buy the one I have now it was purring like a kitten I think they thought they had a jewel...for once I walked away feeling like I had burnt them instead of the other...I was hesitant in buying this one but got it with 19K on it and it has been an awesome car...Are there little things I should be replacing or doing to keep it running tops? Is there a timing belt or chain and when does it need to be changed? It now has 97K on it.

yeah, if that's the original timing chain, would be a good idea to change it soon...

Originally posted by Kane:
yeah, if that's the original timing chain, would be a good idea to change it soon...

why would you change the chain unless it was a source of an issue? if it had a zetec you would need to change the timing belt but its a SVT ...timing chains don't normally go bad as far as I know

to the longevity of the car, take care of it and it will last you a long time

there are many memebers who have well over 100k with out major problems, but they take car of there cars

Originally posted by debbiey:
99 Ford Contour Sport SVT V6 24 Valve Duratec, 5 speed and all that jazz.

Sport SVT????

Originally posted by brapple:

Originally posted by Kane:
yeah, if that's the original timing chain, would be a good idea to change it soon...

why would you change the chain unless it was a source of an issue? if it had a zetec you would need to change the timing belt but its a SVT ...timing chains don't normally go bad as far as I know

to the longevity of the car, take care of it and it will last you a long time

there are many memebers who have well over 100k with out major problems, but they take car of there cars

Agreed, the timeing chains will last longer than the motor!!!!!

Theres no need to cahnge it waht so ever.

Lupe

Originally posted by Big Jim:

Originally posted by debbiey:
99 Ford Contour Sport SVT V6 24 Valve Duratec, 5 speed and all that jazz.

Sport SVT????

... ?

I assume you don't drive the car very hard... Only issues I can think of that you'll need to think about are upper oxygen sensors, water pump, maybe some suspension/steering components. Total for all of that is waaaay less than payments. Keep the car - especially if you enjoy it!

You might also consider doing some things that may IMPROVE the car.

1. A nice tranny fluid & some friction modifier will improve the shifts.
2. The throttle hang fix will also do a lot to improve shifts (TH fix, see the FAQ section).
3. Combat the headlight hazing & other issues with info from the How-to section.

Lots of great info on the site, look around & pick-n-choose what you like.

Finally, to really enjoy what the car is meant for, head out for a Dragon Run with us in the spring or fall. Check the Southeast forum for info, and also have a look at the Dragon web page to see what it's all about.

You are getting close to the 100K tuneup, which involves replacing all the fluids, filters, and sparkplugs. Also, check for signs of wheel bearing failure, which will start as a roaring noise not unlike the sound made by those 4x4s with huge off-road wheels on them. Another potential failure is the alternator, which gives it up right around 100K, or at least it did on my SVT. Other than that, the car should be fairly reliable. But the car does have a habit of having little things break every couple of months. Expect it to occur and take it all in stride.

Originally posted by RawBurt:

Originally posted by Big Jim:

Originally posted by debbiey:
99 Ford Contour Sport SVT V6 24 Valve Duratec, 5 speed and all that jazz.

Sport SVT????

... ?

I've never seen an SVT with the Sport decal. An SVT is way above an SE Sport in trim level. Has anyone else seen an SVT Sport?

Welcome

Originally posted by Roz 1999 SVT-C:

Originally posted by brapple:

Originally posted by Kane:
yeah, if that's the original timing chain, would be a good idea to change it soon...

why would you change the chain unless it was a source of an issue? if it had a zetec you would need to change the timing belt but its a SVT ...timing chains don't normally go bad as far as I know

to the longevity of the car, take care of it and it will last you a long time

there are many memebers who have well over 100k with out major problems, but they take car of there cars

Agreed, the timeing chains will last longer than the motor!!!!!

Theres no need to cahnge it waht so ever.

Lupe

Well, new to me. My last car was a Zetec, so you can see where I'm comin from.

Anyway, that's good to know, thanks for correcting me.