Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches Eastern Canada The Saga is OVER! Secondaries now working!!!

....and does she ever run smooth now!!!

It was the IMRC Vacuum solenoid valve. $60 incl taxes from Ford.

With the aid of a $30 vacuum gauge from Canadian Tire, we (my dad and I) checked for vacuum pressure before and after the solenoid.

First we checked vacuum right at the UIM and got a reading of 20 for reference.(the units escape me right now)

The solenoid was receiving vacuum, there was a reading of 19 in the line connecting to the solenoid... but the solenoid could not deliver the vacuum to the IMRC actuator. There was no reading on the guage when connected to the hose that leads to the IMRC actuator

By the way, the solenoid is not bolted onto the block but actually clips onto a blue plate that is bolted to the block. With a coat hanger wire, I was able to push back the tab on the solenoid and push it down and off the blue plate. If you have a new solenoid to put on you will see what I mean.

Anyway - after confirming there was no vacuum after the solenoid we checked the electrical connector. With a volt meter and the car on, we were able to confirm that full voltage was reaching the solenoid.

Also, we checked to see if vacuum was present after the solenoid with no electrical connector attached. And still there was no vacuum. Therefore confirming without a doubt that the solenoid was toast.

Once we put the new solenoid on and checked vacuum, we got 19 on the gauge for the solenoid. I hooked it all back up, started the car and the secondaries CLOSED!

I took it for a spin and there was absolutely NO hesistation on my low rpms and I get oh so smooth acceleration.

I HAVE MY CONTOUR BACK!

So after that, I gave her an oil change and a wash.... Its actually a real pleasure to drive again! ..and I actually trust my car again. Not that open secondaries will leave you stranded at the side of the road, but when you don't what is causing stumbling and hesitation you tend to think the worse.

Well - I hope this information helps someone.

Good work. I think you may have earned yourself a honourary dergee from Ford in diagnosing and rebuilding a 2.5L Duratec intake and vacuum system.

Hey good show!

Enjoy your re-found power!!

Ok ignore my other post I just made. I didn't realize you had started a new post about the same thing. 1 Question though. Do you find that in some respects there is now not as much power in the 2800-3500 rpm range? That was something I noticed with the secondaries closed again.

HOLY CRAP - YA!

Although I am very pleased that my accleration is quite smooth and it makes city driving quite enjoyable. But when my secondaries were open I would get a really nice thrust from 3000 upwards. But now it seems flat in the range you speak of.

I don't like driving my car that hard...meaning, I don't like bringing anywhere close to redline or even 5000-6000 only because I'm pushing really high mileage and I don't know what condition the head is in or rings, gaskets, etc...

But you're right though, that range seems flat. But I'd rather have that than the stumble and rough acceleration.

I'm now flirting with the idea of hooking up a LED to the secondaries to let me now when they open. Also, you could easily run a switch into the car that would interupt the signal to the solenoid so that you pin them open when you want. If the solenoid works the way I think it works you could flip the switch which would cut power to the solenoid therefore fooling the solenoid into thinking the car was off, there by opening the secondaries.... but thats only if the solenoid works that way....no power, no vacuum.

I'm more interested in finding out if you can get a chip that will open the secondaries alittle sooner.