I have a very bad feeling about my '95 Contour SE MTX....
I was supposed to get "Ferret II" back today after some 60K maintenance... but the shop manager called and said I had a "dead engine". What this means isn't clear and I won't know anything until at least Monday, but they mentioned timing chains, things that take 10 hours to get to... it didn't sound good.
I'm wondering if anyone has any idea what might have happened, based on the work they'd done and the bad symptoms the manager described when they tried to start it. When I left it it was running beautifully and was obviously pampered, as the shop manager who drove it in for the work agrees.... We've put a few new sensors in this year and it's been running great (always has as a matter of fact).
At the point when my engine "died" the jobs they'd done were flushing and replacing fluids in the following three systems: brakes and hydraulic clutch (share the same reservoir), power steering, and manual transmission. The manager says they hadn't drained the coolant yet. (I posted about a day ago in our CEG maintenance section what was being done and what synthetic fluids were to be used.) The shop is a tire shop and I use them for small repairs and maintenance. My husband does other stuff, plus some maintenance. I haven't had to locate a really good serious mechanic at this point...
Apparently the mechanic (who the manager says has 20 years experience and is a "master mechanic") were getting ready to move it to the bay where they do coolant flushing (another location, the manager said, due to environmental issues related to the coolant), but when the mechanic went to start it he said it made three loud thuds (like a fist hitting a fender hard) and sounded like it was trying to "start backwards". The shop manager says the mechanic immediately turned it off and pocketed the key, so nobody else would try to start it. They tried to research the engine, but said it wasn't in their computer system (?????????). So they called the dealership and learned it was a "non-resistant" or "un-resistant" engine, apparently meaning, the manager said, everything is very closely contained so damage is easily done. For some reason the dealer was supposed to call back but didn't and the manager only later learned, he said, they'd closed at noon (the manager didn't call me until 3:15pm; it had been there two days at this point). He said he didn't want to do anything without having the dealer to confer with so I have to wait until Monday to learn anything more. So... I"m not only without my car but am really sick my engine is fried.
What the H*(&$#67(CKKK could have happened? Could this have something to do with them doing the brake & clutch flush & refill?? Say if the clutch was not properly bled or they forgot or didn't know it shared the same reservoir with the brakes (though I had told them this and given them notes) and they started it up? If anyone has any ideas what could have happened I'd sure appreciate it. It's just awfully hard to swallow this could be a "coincidence", like a timing belt going, just when they started it up. I'm even wondering if I should have it towed elsewhere Monday morning. I have such a bad feeling...
Thank you.
