Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Ford can't figure out what's wrong with the car

coud your secondaries have locked?

That I don't know but thanks for bringing it to my attention. I was told that after the Cats are replaced they'll test the car again to check for any further problems.

Hey maybe it's something really easy and they just missed it. In anycase you just got some new cats!

clogged cats was my first thought, but I've been burned by them before. If the dealer replaces the main cat, make sure they check and or replace the pre-cats because they are probably the cause. The pre-cats crumble and cause the main cat to clog up. They will continue to crumble and cause problems unless replaced or gutted. Once your past 80K, they won't touch it on warranty.

Before spending all that time and money on the exhaust make sure the ignition is up to par. Faulty coil pack will put a lot of gremlins under the hood. Had my share of HV bugs. Then there are mystery vacuum leaks. One car I had would act up going up hill in second gear. Later found it was a vacuum line with a crack in it. It would bump the firewall when the engine torqued up and open up enough to upset the fuel system mixture.

Fuel Pump. Had mine replaced under factory warranty about 3 months after I got the car.