Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General 80,000 mile mark

Heard from a tech that 80,000 miles on the contour is about the point where things start going south. Has anyone else had problems past 80,000? I currently have 70,000 and I have owned this contour for four years now. The only thing I have done is replaced tie rods, rebuilt the alternator, and replaced the fan control unit for the air/heat (I forgot what they called it but it's underneath the passenger side dash and controls the air/heater fan speed)

Should I expect any major problems? I heard the transmission is one of the first to go and will cost 2,000.00 minimum.

Any input?

Thanks
Tom

If the cars been maintaind well, thats all BS.

Do a search for 75,000 mile maintenance of duratec maintenance (actually, there a sticky I think) for things to change at this time. May wanna consider spark plugs and wires now, fuel filter, water pump, coolant flush, trans flush, and power steering flush. Hows that PCV valve? Allignemnets are nice and so are tire rotations. If its a manual trans tour', get the brake fluid flushed for a presh clutch feel and brake feel.

Enjoy the tour, it won't blow up on you.

Nah, mine is at 130k and still running quite smoothly. The MTX is not having any problems, likely because it was never abused. If you haven't had to replace the water pump yet though, you will.

210,000 miles and no major problems.

I guess that it all depends on how you take care of it. I believe in agressive maintenance.

Hey thanks for the reply from everyone. I have gotten more intense with my mx schedule. I'm not a mechanic by any means but I love this car and I am starting to do a lot more than just oil changes. I am looking at a Transmission flush this weekend (the first one she's had). I am also looking at doing some pre planning and putting in a new water pump.

At 70,000 miles how often should I be changing my oil and trans fluid among other things?

Thanks Guys!

Has the car EVER had synthetic oil?

If not, I'd suggest just running a good conventional oil, Mobil 1 Drive Clean is an excellent non synthetic oil. Adding sythetic now could be devastating to the engine, as you could discover leaks, etc.

You can change the oil using the drive clean every 3-5000 miles. Don't use Fram oil filters, they are the worst. Get a motorcraft, mobil 1, Pureolator, or K&N oil filter. Purolators are the cheapest next to motorcraft and will do great!

Trans flushes are supposed to be once every two years as preventative maintenance, or 24,000 miles. Many of us with an MTX will do it once a year, as it's cheap and pretty easy maintenance. 3 quarts of fluid at abotu 30 bucks (depending on what you use, Royal Purple Synchromesh is sounding like a great choice at 9 bucks a quart). Water pump is a synch, and can be done in a half hour or so... an hour if you flush the coolant out while at it (might as well, you are half way there at that point, lol).

Also consider a power steering flush. THis can be doen at a delaership for abotu 70 bucks, or done yourself for abotu 5 bucks in fluid. Buy 3 quarts of Mercon ATF+3 (yes, trans fluid, this is the spec Powerstearing fluid). Get a turkey baster, suck otu as much as you can out of the reservoir, top it off with fresh fluid, start the car, turn the wheel back and forth a few times, shut it off, suck the fluid out, re-top it off, and repeat till the fluid you suck out is bright red like the clean fluid. Do not stick the baster in there and squeze it as this will introduce air into the system. Takes abotu 10 minutes to do and you'll feel a diffrence. This method is very good, and will remove about 95% of the sediment and old fluid.

I disagree with your statement regarding the introduction of synthetic oil to a "high-mileage" engine. It is a misconception that synthetic oils create oil leaks, as they contain the same additives as conventional oils to maintain integrity of engine gaskets. I personally began using Mobil-1 5W30 in my CSVT at 105K miles and immediately noticed a difference in the engine. It now runs smoother and noticeably quieter, particularly at start-up, and has developed zero leaks of any kind and is going strong at 136K+ miles. Bring on the synthetics - they rule!!

I disagree with your statement, as I've read, researched, etc enough to convince myself (and many others on this site) to not use sythetic in an old engine that has never used sythetic. SYhtetic flows better at higher temps and breaks down less, therefore it is prone to flowing easier through impurities in gasket material that would normally be blocked by the less efficient conventional oil. Witnessed this in many of my cars. My CSVT has been running sythetic since day one.

Well to tell you the truth, I don't know if there has ever been a synthetic put in her. I usally just get the $19.95 quick lube special so I'm guessing I've probably never had a synthetic introduced to her. So with that said, should I just continue running with conventional oil? And I like your method for the power steering flush. Think I'll give it a try.