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Joined: Oct 2004
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OP
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First time user - site is fantastic. Bought my 96 'tour for $1.00 Cdn. 178,000 km, no rust - no one wants them up here in Alberta! I was scared to buy the car at any price, hearing about reputation of 'tours, but looking over your website changed my mind. 3 questions, if I may: starter on my V6 when first starting on cold mornings sometimes doesn't engage (but does spin), but then engages on 2nd or 3rd try. Engages fine once car has been started for the day. Suggestions? Where can I find an owners manual, the kind you find in your glove box? I bought a workshop manual, but would like to find an owners manual, condition unimportant as long as complete and readable. Lastly, where can I find more details on my particular model of Contour: it's a '96 GL, but with the V6, auto trans, and disc brakes on all four corners. The color (apparently stock) is a bright slightly metallic turquois blue-green - any ideas what this color is called? Many thanks. Will Keith
Will Keith
1996 Contour GL
Duratec V6 Auto
190,000 km
No modifications, yet...
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 149
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CEG\'er
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Posts: 149 |
Hi Will,
Welcome. I had the same exact problem on my 98 SVT. In my case the solenoid on the starter was sticking. I just replaced the whole starter, since the solenoid alone was 75% the cost of a new starter/solenoid together. That fixed it for me. Hopefully it is the same for you.
adam
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 432
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 432 |
Originally posted by Will Keith:
First time user - site is fantastic. Bought my 96 'tour for $1.00 Cdn. 178,000 km, no rust - no one wants them up here in Alberta! I was scared to buy the car at any price, hearing about reputation of 'tours, but looking over your website changed my mind. 3 questions, if I may: starter on my V6 when first starting on cold mornings sometimes doesn't engage (but does spin), but then engages on 2nd or 3rd try. Engages fine once car has been started for the day. Suggestions? Where can I find an owners manual, the kind you find in your glove box? I bought a workshop manual, but would like to find an owners manual, condition unimportant as long as complete and readable. Lastly, where can I find more details on my particular model of Contour: it's a '96 GL, but with the V6, auto trans, and disc brakes on all four corners. The color (apparently stock) is a bright slightly metallic turquois blue-green - any ideas what this color is called? Many thanks. Will Keith
Ok take this from someone who knows this problem first hand.
I would be willing to bet that your problem is not starter related...however...a good place to start. Remove your starter in any case to fix this problem. Look carefully into the hole your starter comes out from, and pay close attention to the flywheel on the engine. Shine a good light into the starter access hole and look for teeth on the flywheel missing or rounded off. You may have to have someone hand crank the engine very slowly as you inspect the gear. If in fact the ring gear has any damage at all...there is one fix, and one fix only....its replacing the ring gear.Its a major job to do and a real pain in the butt. Ford has a new and improved ring gear. I did mine myself...but expect alot of work, as the tranny has to come out. Your symptoms describe it perfect...sometimes it starts and sometimes it won't. Thats because the starter will sometimes catch the edge of the rounded off teeth and other times finds a very bad spot and fails to engage and just spins. Check it out, from the access cover to the flywheel to torque converter bolts under the car...there is a little cover you can remove. If you need advice to do the job PM me or search these forums you should find more info on it. EXPECT MAJOR WORK !!!
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 669
Veteran CEG\'er
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Joined: Oct 2003
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YA major work if its the fly wheel. I did that job, after I di the starter job to no avail. Its a [censored] and its expensive. Thankfully mine was under warranty still. Consider the buck you paid a downpayment becasue if you are looking at a flywheel it'll cost you around $1000 Canadian..
1999 Mystique Sport 2nd owner bought it in Sept 03
120000km 4 door, leather, loaded pics on cardomain, coatsy
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,459
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2002
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Originally posted by Will Keith:
Engages fine once car has been started for the day. Suggestions?
This would lead me to believe that the problem is in the starter. Probably the bendix isn't fully engaging.
95 Contour Zetec, ATX (wrecked, sitting in the barn)
95 Mystique Zetec, MTX
2000 Taurus SEL 3.0L Duratec
1994 Crown Victoria LX 4.6 V8
1993 Chevy Silverado 4.3 V6
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 13
New CEG\'er
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OP
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Thanks folks. Informative-but depressing-suggestions. I'll try checking the flywheel teeth. One thing I've tried that seems to work: turn ignition on and wait 5 seconds before trying to start the car. Since then the starter hasn't "milled" (I guess this is the correct term for a spinning starter not engaging). Same starting procedure worked for my 1987 Toyota Camry that would mill occasionally.
Will Keith
1996 Contour GL
Duratec V6 Auto
190,000 km
No modifications, yet...
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 432
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 432 |
Originally posted by bentleywarren:
Originally posted by Will Keith:
Engages fine once car has been started for the day. Suggestions?
This would lead me to believe that the problem is in the starter. Probably the bendix isn't fully engaging.
I disagree on that....what happens is the flywheel gets chewed in one area, and after you start the car it might not land on that bad spot on the flywheel the rest of the day....but when it does...well thats when it just spins unless it happens to slightly catch and start the car. Mine did this. It would start and run fine if it engaged, but it only gets worse over time. Until it wont engage at all even when it hits the bad spot. Its a 10min check to slide under the car pull the torque converter bolts access cover and closely inspect the complete flywheel to know for sure.You have to inspect the complete flywheel...because what happens is its usually just one bad area of it. And its not a $1000.00 job, the flywheel is $84.00 Canadian here. If you do it yourself its not expensive...just labour intensive. If a garage does it...it would be closer to about $1500 to do with taxes and fluids ect.
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20
New CEG\'er
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New CEG\'er
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My 98 V6 is experiencing the very same thing right now. However, it has experienced it the last two winters as well. For me this only seems to be a cold weather occurence and goes away when it warms up. The remedy without having to replace the starter is to whack the starter with a hammer whenever it does this. Works like a charm and doesn't cost a thing. I have over 220k km on it and don't really feel that spending good money on a starter is worth it anymore. Originally posted by Will Keith:
First time user - site is fantastic. Bought my 96 'tour for $1.00 Cdn. 178,000 km, no rust - no one wants them up here in Alberta! I was scared to buy the car at any price, hearing about reputation of 'tours, but looking over your website changed my mind. 3 questions, if I may: starter on my V6 when first starting on cold mornings sometimes doesn't engage (but does spin), but then engages on 2nd or 3rd try. Engages fine once car has been started for the day. Suggestions? Where can I find an owners manual, the kind you find in your glove box? I bought a workshop manual, but would like to find an owners manual, condition unimportant as long as complete and readable. Lastly, where can I find more details on my particular model of Contour: it's a '96 GL, but with the V6, auto trans, and disc brakes on all four corners. The color (apparently stock) is a bright slightly metallic turquois blue-green - any ideas what this color is called? Many thanks. Will Keith
98.5 Contour SE2.5MTX
Black, Black & More Black
Alpine 7939, MRV-1000, MRV-T300
Boston Pro 6.5s
3x JL10W6
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,456
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
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The color is Teal, code RD, if it is a bright easter egg blue. My sister's Mystique is that color.
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 7,100
Addicted CEG\'er
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Addicted CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 7,100 |
Another (and MUCH faster) TEMPORARY solution is to do exactly what is suggested in the Haynes manual to determine the problem, and that is: Leave the car in first, or Park.. disengage the E-Brake, and then open your driver's door and stand between the open door and the car. Use your hands on the A pillar, and rock the car forward until the transmission catches the car, and then back, until the car catches again. Rock this way back and forth 3 or 4 times, and then start the car. This shifts the flywheel back and forth, and causes the starter and flywheel to engage deeper than normal where the flywheel was chewed up. This will be a TEMPORARY fix, and will get you from point a to point b.. but I would not recommend leaving it this way... once it goes, you are stuck. (unless you pop the clutch everywhere you go..) Hopefully it isn't your flywheel, and is just the bendix on your starter. I had the same problem, and a starter replacement was all I needed. You have a chance of it being either reason, but I would replace the starter if you have that many miles on it. It is no more than a 3 hour job if you don't know what you are doing. Definitely a DIY job. A small pair of hands speeds the process up alot, as you can skip removal of a couple things, since smaller hands can reach between things (thanks, Jenna!!!!) Anyway.. check out Bill Jenkins at Signature Lincoln Mercury for parts.. Parts Express Look up parts and numbers, then Bill Jenkins, or Steve Mullins at SLM for a CEG discount price of 30-35% (rumoured to be 33% right about now....) Let me know if you need anything, or a walkthrough.. Ray
'99 CSVT - Silver #222/276
In a constant state of blow-off euphoria.
Originally posted by Kremitthefrog:
I like to wear dresses and use binoculars to watch grandmas across the street.
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