While I was driving down the e-way last weekend, my car shifted out of overdrive and at the same time, my speedo went to 0. And my check engine light came on, and my O/D light was blinking in my face. Took the car in and had the codes red. 0500 vehicle speed sensor came up. I have a 96 Ford contour SE with the 4cyl automatic. I called a shop to see how much labor he would charge me, and he said there are 2 kinds, 1 that is in the cluster, and 1 that goes in the tranny. Which kind does the Countour have?
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VSS(Vehicle Speed Sensor) issues
- Thread starter dober450r
- Start date
There is definitely a VSS in the transmission. There is lots of info on this site about it.
I wouldn't think more than an hour to replace it.
Took me longer with my '95, it is hard to get to but that was because it had the speedometer cable attached; your speedometer output from the VSS is electronic I believe.
Mike
I wouldn't think more than an hour to replace it.
Took me longer with my '95, it is hard to get to but that was because it had the speedometer cable attached; your speedometer output from the VSS is electronic I believe.
Mike
Last edited:
Welcome.
Read this. Yours is electronic. It goes on the transmission.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=26275&highlight=vehiclespeedsensor
Read this. Yours is electronic. It goes on the transmission.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=26275&highlight=vehiclespeedsensor
Thanks fellas. It looks like sense I bought this car, this site will be 1 of my new favorites. I bought a 96 with 82,000 miles, so all the lil things will be starting to go out on it. I've read and printed out all the threads on how to change this thing. Which will be my task this weekend. Wish me luck!!!
Lord Stanley
Hard-core CEG'er
Thanks fellas. It looks like sense I bought this car, this site will be 1 of my new favorites. I bought a 96 with 82,000 miles, so all the lil things will be starting to go out on it. I've read and printed out all the threads on how to change this thing. Which will be my task this weekend. Wish me luck!!!
LOL, we should make our own how-to book like Chilton's with all the CEG stuff :laugh:
Does the orange gear just sit in there? What keeps it from falling into the transmission? I have everything apart, now I just need to make sure I put it back together correctly. :shrug: Also, The lil plastic tab was broken off inside the orange plastic gear and luckily there was enough sticking out I could grab it and pull it out with some needle nose. How does this thing go back together?
Instructions from link.
- From under the car, use a 5/16" wrench to remove the single bolt from the VSS retainer. * Note that this retainer looks like it is upside down, with a tab resting on the case of the tranny. Don't fret! This is normal, but be sure to replace the retainer in the same way that it was removed.
- Grasp the sensor body and lightly wiggle it out of it's location. Use gently force when wiggling, but apply steady pressure upwards. The sensor body should slide right out. Do not jerk upwards on the sensor, when removing it, or you will run the risk of gear coming off the end of the sensor. This is not a real big deal, since the gear itself is about an inch tall. Along with the added shaft that is part of the gear, the gear assy is probably around 4 inches long. You should be able to grasp it with a pair of crooked needle nose pliers, but it would be one hella tight fit!!
- Once the sensor is out of the case and you have removed the gear assy from the sensor body, use a rag to wrap around the body of the sensor base. This part of the sensor is metal, so we don't want to damage it. Use a pair of pliers and grasp the metal part of the sensor. LIGHTLY! Do Not Squeeze Hard!! Just apply a small amount of pressure here. And use a 1" wrench on the plastic part of the body and seperate the two halfs. "
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=1816&highlight=vehicle+speed+sensor
- From under the car, use a 5/16" wrench to remove the single bolt from the VSS retainer. * Note that this retainer looks like it is upside down, with a tab resting on the case of the tranny. Don't fret! This is normal, but be sure to replace the retainer in the same way that it was removed.
- Grasp the sensor body and lightly wiggle it out of it's location. Use gently force when wiggling, but apply steady pressure upwards. The sensor body should slide right out. Do not jerk upwards on the sensor, when removing it, or you will run the risk of gear coming off the end of the sensor. This is not a real big deal, since the gear itself is about an inch tall. Along with the added shaft that is part of the gear, the gear assy is probably around 4 inches long. You should be able to grasp it with a pair of crooked needle nose pliers, but it would be one hella tight fit!!
- Once the sensor is out of the case and you have removed the gear assy from the sensor body, use a rag to wrap around the body of the sensor base. This part of the sensor is metal, so we don't want to damage it. Use a pair of pliers and grasp the metal part of the sensor. LIGHTLY! Do Not Squeeze Hard!! Just apply a small amount of pressure here. And use a 1" wrench on the plastic part of the body and seperate the two halfs. "
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=1816&highlight=vehicle+speed+sensor
Just an update folks. I got it changed out, and it shifts superbly through all the gears. Last time I drove it, I only had first gear. Just a hint for everyone, make sure you take off the airbox itself and not just the air hoses that run from the airbox to the actual intake. This gives you a lot more room and it's really easy to remove. I checked my tranny fluid and it's still bright red, i'm going to change it as soon as I get a chance this week. The question I had was, what keeps the orange gear from falling out of the metal assembly? It just kind of sits in there. There is no set screw or anything. I'm guessing you just slide it in there, then drop it in. Because I did that, then pulled it out, and the gear didn't fall into the abyss known as the transmission. I know the lil bracket holds the whole assembly in there, I was just nervous about the magical orange gear. Thanks everyone who chimed in!!! I'm so glad I found this site!!!!:laugh:
shadow boxer
Be Gentle I'm New Here
- Joined
- May 22, 2005
- Messages
- 4
anybody ever hear back from this guy? my car is having the exact same problem. i had the vss replaced without result. any feedback? this sucks man. and my load doesn't backoff after a shift...the car'll just keep at 3500 rpm as long as the spedo stays at 50 or above. ugh.