Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Maintenance Rough idle

Well, that mechanic is a hack. My Honda never even vibrated. It was hard to tell the engine was even running.

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1999 Silver Frost 2.0 SE Zetec
Sony ES Mobile Xplod Stereo
BAT Bright Whites

I have the rough idle even AFTER I put new plugs and wires on. I Put it in neutral and hit the gas and it stumbled for a second before the RPMs came up. I checked the wires and they are on right. The car runs fine other than that, it just bugs me....

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98.5 Contour
Zetec w/ auto (doh!!)
modified stock airbox
res and muffler removed
glasspack added
Knauberized
Pioneer CD
Alpine speakers in all doors
2 pioneer 10" subs

Re: rattling engine sounds

What is the octane rating of your petrol?

I find that my '95 Mondeo glx performs poorly on our (Australian) standard unleaded petrol mixture, with quite a bit of rattling evident under light engine loads or very heavy acceleration.

A quick and easy fix has been to use high octane petrol - one side effect is better fuel economy.

Two local dealers agree that the engine is 'pinging' but are unsure what the remedy is (have already reset and tested CPU, replaced MAP sensor).

Hope this helps,

Cheers.

i noticed on my 96 gl that 89 octane made the car run alittle quieter...

also with synthetic oil it is real quiet...or maybe its just a mind game...who knows..

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1996 contour gl
zetec
fram air filter
mobil 1 10w 30
aftermarket wheel covers
blue interior accent lights
3 inch blue neon light
sony head unit
sony 10 cd changer
pioneer 6x8 in all doors
avs headlight covers
removed all stock emblems
replaced emblems with vynal decals
custom vynal visor
vortex exhaust
removed resonator
3 and a half inch chrome tip
ractive racing pedals
future mods:
kkm intake
milie miglia spyders 17"
factory spolier
tint 20%
dual exhaust upgrade

Mine does this exact thing...especially after a long stretch of high speed driving. Sounds just like knocking or detonation. From what I've heard, it's sometimes due to the ECU having adjusted the fuel/ignition curve to the high speed/rpm driving, and not having had a chance to adjust back to low rpm driving, causing the knocking when you first press the gas. It apparently take the ECU a few minutes to adjust to driving conditions. Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.



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Andrew Morris

'99 SE Zetec ATX
Toreador Red/Greystone
K&N, badgeless, Knauberized
FlowTech Red Hot res, Flowmaster 40-series
http://www.mindspring.com/~drumnut
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I had the similar problem for some time on my 1996 2.0L LX (63,000 miles) and after spending a lot of monies of the cleaning of injectors, changing of spark plugs and plugs wires etc. I eventually discovered that the problem was the engine mounts. Three of the mounts were completely shot (the folks a Ford should be given an award for making the weakest motor mounts ever) I replaced them and the car now runs vibration free.
I would suggest you have your mounts checked.
VBos

What motor mounts did you use? Did you do it yourself? How much did they cost?

Questions, questions, questions...

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1999 Silver Frost 2.0 SE Zetec
Sony ES Mobile Xplod Stereo
BAT Bright Whites

Hi Redhawk,
The part numbers and cost for the motor mounts I used are as follows:
F5RZ-6038-A - $91.43
F5RZ-6068-E - $66.23
F5RZ-6068-B - $104.46
Yes I replaced them myself. The top passenger side and the transmission mounts are pretty easy to replace, however, the rear bottom mount (between back of engine towards firewall) will require assistance as you will have to remove the mount bracket in order to replace the actual mount. Sorry for the delay in responding, however, I trust that this will help and should you require any further let me know.

GASP!!!

You couldn't just replace the motor mount bushings with poly urethane ones????

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1999 Silver Frost 2.0 SE Zetec
Sony ES Mobile Xplod Stereo
BAT Bright Whites

I have the same problem when my car is in gear at a light. It stops when I throw it in nuetral I have noticed.