Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Acceleration/Idle Problems (kinda long)

This problem has been going on for a about a month and has continually gotten worse. The car will start but will sometimes die right away. The big problem is trying to accelerate. It feels like I popped the clutch and it bucks while going down the road. I have had the timing belt replaced but that did not seem to help at all. Replacing the PVC made a difference but it is not back to normal. It has just had an oil change and new plugs. Another thing it will do is at high speeds 60-70mph, the car will lose power and I need to stomp on the gas if I want to get back up to speed. Any Ideas on what it could be or what I should do next. I didn't find much using the search tool. Thanks.

Clean the MAF element with some electrical contact cleaner or (subject to debate but worked GREAT for me) a shot of carb cleaner followed by a shot of brake cleaner to remove all oil residue. This simple job turned my hard-starting stalling bucking Zetec into a fine-running car, no stalling, no bucking, smoother idle.

I'll try that latter today. Do I need to clean it with anything like a Q tip or will that damage it? Also should I flush it with water afterwards or does that not make a difference. Thanks

No, no q-tip, no water, just a good shot of cleaner straight out of the can.

Thank You very much. That did the trick. It is great having my car back. I just used some carb cleaner. I cant believe a can, a screw driver and 5 mins could fix all my problems. Thanks Again.

Glad that worked. It's one of those things that just isn't on most peoples' radar screens but it's worked wonders for a lot of people.