Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Soon to be '95 Contour owner

Well, thought I'd pop in and say hi. Normally I am on truck forums since right now drive a modded and lifted '94 Mazda 4x4. With the price of gas I'm moving to a more fuel efficient car.

So far what I know about it.

'95 Contour loaded with 5 spd. Has a supposed bad head gasket. So that and the water pump will be getting a good check right off. It'll be easy to see if when I drain the oil and find AF or find oil in the coolant. Not sure if it's a SE model or not, hoping it is though.

Looks like Saturday I'll be taking the truck and tow dolly to pick up the car. Should be a fun drive, only 5 hours round trip all for a $700 car in near mint condition. Good thing those air tools are still out, they'll be getting a workout the next couple of weeks.

If the VIN # has P67, then it's an original SE.

If that SE has the Duratec 2.5 V6, you could very well just need a (metal impeller) waterpump, maybe a thermostat and a temp gauge sender. Try to get the pieces of the old black plastic impeller out. Make sure the cooling fans run at the M on normal (temp gauge).If the previous owner overheated the engine a lot it might need head gaskets, although it seems to me few are changed unless modifying the motor.. Those parts solved that problem on a 98 Mystique LS I got last year for cheap. Good luck fixing up the SE.

Thanks for the tips. I've been pouring over the forums here and am already pricing out a new WP anyway. I figure it's got over 100K miles on it so if it hasn't been changed I'm doing it along with it's gaskets and t-stat. I hadn't seen anything about the temp sender yet but will get one anyway.

They said it mildly overheated. Her dad was driving and noticed it stumbled then began to have the temps creep up. So he did the smart thing and pulled over and had it towed home. A garage that has talked her into thousands in repairs told her the HG's were gone. So far from what I've been able to find by searching a mild overheat shouldn't have blown the HG's. I was thinking that the impeller grenaded and that caused the stumble. No more coolant flow, the temps start to climb.

I'm going to back flush the entire system once the old WP is out to make sure it's fine as well as change the oil. I'll know pretty quick if there is AF in the oil. Oh yeah, the plugs were pulled and were fine. Mind you they didn't drive far so any AF fouling may not have had time to show up. I'll do the normal check for 'snot' on the oil cap and go over all the fluids and drop in new plugs. Wires and such only if they are needed. I'll need to get this done since it has to have an e-test and safety in order to plate it after the sale.

I do Blackstone UOA's on my other two vehicles so this one will get a sample sent off of the oil that is drained before my initial change.

Worst case, I do the HG's and I get to use all my tools again. I never buy older cars for their lack of required service. I buy them because I can do almost all my own work on them.

Enjoy! You have a good plan! I never saw any coolant residue on my Mystique's plugs or in the oil. My oil did smell a bit burnt but not of antifreeze. "Some maintenance required" . The Contour is the right car for you.

Good choice. '95's are great. I went to a V6 5 speed from a 4 cyl auto,and gotta say,it was a very worthwhile upgrade. I also find my fuel milage to be better with the V6 than with the 4 cyl.

Welcome!
Congrats on searching the forums for your answers! Most everything you need to know has been discussed so you should find everything you need while searching. If not, feel free to post and ask.
Check the condition of the belt and tensioner also while your replacing things.
Good luck with your new ride.

yeah... if you got a 95 SE, for that cheap... Then basically you got yourself a 95 SVT with the SE motor. the 95 was the best for the SE years. (Jelious). The suspension was best for all of the years on the 95 SE.

Looks like it isn't an SE but an LX. The VIN is a P66 rather than P67. Oh well, it's still fully loaded and looks like a fun car to drive.

Does it have the V6 and traction/abs? I looked at a GL like that. Plain with small 14" wheels, but had all options.