Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting MAJOR IDLE PROBLEM

I HAVE A 95'CONTOUR 123,000 MILES. STANDARD.WHEN I START HER UP SHE
REVS TO ABOUT 3000 THEN DIES RIGHT OUT. WHEN I DO GET HER STARTED AND I SLOWDOWN TO STOP OR TURN SHE QUITS.
I HAVE READ SOME OF THE CURRENT POSTS, BUT I DON'T KNOW ALL'
THE MECHANICAL STUFF. PLUGS AND WIRES HAVE BEEN CHANGED
RECENTLY. THE WATER PUMP HAS BEEN REPLACED. SHE IS A STANDARD 5 SPEED 2.6 LITER
IT IS VERY COLD HERE. THIS MORNING I TRIED TO START HER AND
A BELT MADE A WHINING SOUND ...LIKE A PULLEY IS NOT TURNING.
I HOPE TO GET 200,000 MILES OUT OF HER. SHE HAS BEEN A
GOOD CAR
HELP!!!

Just had a member with a similar problem and found that it was the upper intake manifold gasket. She sprayed carb cleaner around the base of the manifold (where it meets the lower intake, you can easily see the bolts that hold the upper intake in place - spray around there) and her idle smoothed out, which proved it was a fail gasket that was allowing excessive amounts of air to enter the air stream after the MAF.

Hope this helps!

I recently had the same idle issue with my 99 2.5L Contour.
When cold the engine would fire up, idle at about 1500 and then drop down to 0, sputter out and quit. Same thing when stopping for a light or stop sign. I found that if I kept my foot slighty on the pedal and "caressed" her a little bit, I could keep it running. Didnt' seem to get better as the car warmed up either. The problem started when the temperature here dropped to about 8 degrees F.

At first thought it was the upper intake gasket like Unisys mentioned or a vaccum leak somewhere else. I figured I would try the simple things first and put some Heet in the tank. (I heard this is not recommended though) and put some fresh gas in. I had about 3/4 in the tank to begin with. Well, the problem fixed itself within about 300 miles. Really not sure it there was water in the gas and it froze or if it is a gasket or vaccumm leak. It got a little warmer (about 25) and i can't test the problem again. I am kind of wishing for it get cold again so I can see if the problem returns.

Hopefully the fix is this simple for you as well.

Radioactive

My car did something similiar. To test it, I turned the car on and let her idle, she went from 500 to 2,000, then back down. While it went down to 500, we sprayed carb. cleaner on the upper intake manifold gasket. While we sprayed the upper intake manifold gasket the idle went back to normal. You could hear the idle smooth out.
Now I am in search on the intake gaskets in town. I think I found them. It's cheaper tp buy them from Bill Jenkins, but I don't have time to wait for them to be shipped. I am a little sick of sitting at sit lights holding my foot on the peddle hoping she doesn't kill.
I called many Ford dealerships this morning and they all said the intake gaskets were really popular since the temp dropped. We are at 0 degrees right now!! Brrrrrrrrrrrrr....

Good luck!

We have been trying to figure out this problem since last week. And finally!!

I just had a similar problem!

What happened to mine was that A/C compressor seized.

A few days prior - It made a ton of noise, like a bearing going...whining and grinding...sputtering and stalling several times when I came to a stop....and last night it died. Siezed right up...couldn't start the car, it stopped the belt dead.

Get your car running and look at the A/C compressor....look to see if the clutch plate is rotating properly...you will notice right away if it is not.

You have two options if it is your A/C

1. New compressor $1,600 CDN supply & installed

or

2. A new belt which bypasses the compressor $126 supply & installed.

Good luck

I have a similar problem, but it's on an automatic. Whenever the car is stopped but in gear in shakes pretty bad. Starting from a stop I have no low end power, and it seems that power is absent everywhere else too.

Does this sound like I just need to change the plugs and wires?

I assume that you don't have a CEL, right? If not I'd take out the IAC, clean it and put it back in to see if that fixs it. Good luck

erautour, does your car run rough whether it is idleing or in gear (feels like it is skipping a beat)? If it was bad plugs/wires it would affect they way it runs all of the time, whether it is idleing or in gear running. Replacing the coil pack would be next step if new plugs/wire don't solve it.
Good luck!

In neutral it's not really pronounced, but in Park, Reverse, Drive, 1 or 2 it gets pretty bad. If I power brake, the car starts rumbling. It starts to feel like a truck engine.

I had a similar experiance. After I was rear ended in an accident during the summer my car on occasion would have trouble idling. Eventually it got to the point where it would start, and the RPM's would immediately drop off and the engine would die. I had to keep my foot on the gas at all times when the clutch was pushed in. As it turned out the accident knocked a certain hose a little loose ( I can't remember which one) and it allowed dirt to get into the idle control motor which eventually seized up and stop working. The idle control motor is the device on the upper right side of the engine bay that connects one of the two throttle cables. A little cleaning (of the hose), and a new motor later my car was back on the road. Hope this helps...

-Matt