bad idle in D while stopped at a light

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

About to put a hammer to it...

It started doing this a couple of days ago, but tonight, it was about to choke & die whenever I stopped at lights, turned the steering wheel, used the defrost, ...

I don't think it's related to the electrical system (correct me on this).

No CEL.

Tranny? Torque converter? Engine itself?

While driving, it's fine (no misfires, no hesitation). COuld it be one of the about thousand sensors?

(I hate newer cars)

Does the wheel vibrate when your stopped in D. This is somewhat normal. If so mabye motor/tranny mounts.

I have been going through the same thing with my 95 Zetec GL.
Here is what I have done.
Checked for vacuum leaks-good.
Changed the IAC valve-it was going anyway.
New plugs,wires and coil.
Cleaned throttle body-very dirty
Cleaned the MAF,IAT sensors
Changed the PCV valve-due anyway.
Now I'm onto a leaking fuel injector-in progress.

Something here will help you.

Originally posted by zetec herman:
... ...motor/tranny mounts.

This would be my guess too.

Mine is sucking gas so I don't suspect the mounts.
Good point though.

I have the same thing. Mine shakes real bad, enought to vibrate the entire dash board. It goes away if I put it in Neutral while waiting for the green light (or give it some gas). I know it dosen't solve the problem. It's been doing it a long time, but I believe I remember a time when it didn't do it. I have a 95 2L dohc. It's got new timing everything, plugs, wire, belt, pullies, transmission rebuilt, throttle position sensor, EGA vlv, flow sensor, and just fixed the wires on the temp sensor and crank sensor. I've spent $3,200 (1800 on tran.)this past year and wondering if its been worth it. The PCV vlv might be a cheap thing to try. The O2 is next.

When I had a similar problem to that, it turned out to be the PCV valve. It was clogged and caused a small hose to burst. A few bucks later, it was running just fine.

edit: SquareHead, I don't think the post following yours was directed to you. I believe it was to the original poster.

Originally posted by dbeale:
I have the same thing. Mine shakes real bad, enought to vibrate the entire dash board. It goes away if I put it in Neutral while waiting for the green light (or give it some gas). I know it dosen't solve the problem. It's been doing it a long time, but I believe I remember a time when it didn't do it. I have a 95 2L dohc. It's got new timing everything, plugs, wire, belt, pullies, transmission rebuilt, throttle position sensor, EGA vlv, flow sensor, and just fixed the wires on the temp sensor and crank sensor. I've spent $3,200 (1800 on tran.)this past year and wondering if its been worth it. The PCV vlv might be a cheap thing to try. The O2 is next.

Definitely tranny or engine mount.

Originally posted by snakous:
...edit: SquareHead, I don't think the post following yours was directed to you. I believe it was to the original poster.

LOL. Correct.

"Hamsterdan" (love the user name!) I can't really address the stalling issue you have, but I "used" to have the same vibration issue. While changing the Timing belt on my wife's Mystique, I also changed the Left and Right Eng/Trans mounts, Serpentine belt, Tensioner, and Idler pulley. Car has 110K and idles smoothly in Drive now.

I'd suggest trying the Serpentine Belt, Tensioner, and Idler pulley first to try and resolve the vibration. They're the cheaper items. A serpentine belt with any kind of slack/whip can set up a pretty strong vibration. It may look like it's running smooth across the upper pulleys, but if you pull the lower splash-guard and look at it (running), you may notice how much it moves.

If you end up doing Eng/Trans mounts, check "Anchor" ( P/N 2873 ) Left/Driver's side trans mount prior to installing it. The one I got from Auto-Zoo was 3/8" off in the spread of the bolt holes that go into the inner fender apron. The bolt holes on top that mount the airbox bracket were the wrong size and needed to be drilled and tapped for the next larger size bolts. The latter may have been a year/model change problem.

Your Stalling issue might be related to the power steering pressure switch if it only seems to happen while the wheel is turned to any extreme.

It won't do it while cold (below mid-gauge), but I've noticed tonight that my temp has risen at about the same time it started doing this. (it's about 3/4 on the gauge needle pointing straight at A on the *normal* word. It used to be at about M before...)

I'm sick & tired of that car. cost me about 4,600$ CA to get it running (stealership misdiagnosed a cracked head and had me replace about 2,200 in parts.)

So far,

-O2 sensor
-Timing Belt/Waterpump (the pump caused the engine to overheat)
-Battery (it was almost dead anyways)
-Plugs
-Air Bypass

I TOLD them to check the head/gasket, but no, it was fine until about a week later when it overheated in about 30 secs.

Had the engine/tranny replaced by a scrapyard.

(they wanted 3,000CA for a new head, those guys are crazy

I will have the supports checked, since it was done about 3 weeks ago, something might have come loose.

Hi deable ! I have exactly the same problem with my 97 contour. While at D and halted it viberates along with the dashboard. I have tried replacing Engine mounts, but it did'nt make any difference. Have changed o2 sensors twice. Changing O2 sensor did'nt make any difference as well.

I have the exact same problem. I didn't think about the pvc valve. That's the next thing to replace. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one with this problem.

A PCV related problem I have also found (that adds to the vibration/poor idle) follow the PCV line where it passes under the thermostat housing over to the intake side of the engine. It will go back into a 1 1/2 foot of rubber hose that connects to the intake mani. I found my line to have a flat spot and allowing no draw.

The other thing I did was the motor mounts. Front and rear, I didn't do the sides. A good way to double check them is pop the hood watch the engine and put it into drive, the engine shouldn't move too much.