Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Sluggish '98 Tour

About 5 days ago, I was driving and I noticed that when I accelerated, the engine sped up, but the car was slow to respond--it hesitated, then sped up. Then "O/D Off" light started flashing. I checked to see if I accidentally disengaged the O/D button. Nope, it wasn't disengaged. Earlier that day, I noticed that the coolant sensor light came on briefly and then went out. I checked the coolant level, it was okay. No leaks detected either. Also, I noticed a an odor which smells like burnt rubber. Could my timing belt be on the way out? Or could it be something else?

Here are the stats on my car.
Model: 1998 SE Sport, 6 cyl., auto trans.
Mileage: 97,000
Work done (most recent to least recent): New alternator, new battery, and water pump.

The Duratec uses timing chains instead of a belt, so I highly doubt those are on the way out.

The coolant light is finicky with 'Tours. The coolant level probably dipped below the sensor for a second, which caused the dash to light up. Happens all the time. The remedy is to keep the coolant level a half-inch above the MAX line.

The flashing O/D light thing happened to me a while back, never figured out what caused it. It only happened once, and it went away when I restarted the car. Maybe something with the transmission, or electrical?

Good luck.

You will need to read your codes to see why the O/D light was flashing.

I'd suspect, based on your additional symptoms, that a P1744 will come up which means your torque converter is slipping. Repair would be a new TC, solenoid block, and a rebuilt valve body. That's $600 in parts and requires removal of the tranny to replace the TC.

You might get lucky and get by with the VB and solenoid assy along with a fluid flush, but by your mileage and with a slipping TC, I doubt it.

Get the codes first. OBDII scan tool. Just speculating right now.

Steve

When the OD light was flashing on my atx mystique the trans was overheating and barfing all over its self.

This happened 3 times before I god some high quality tranmition fuild. Never happend again.