at running temps sometimes a get a strong heat through the place where the steering column comes up, and i dont have as mutch upper end power. also in normal engine temps at 3500 i lose that kick that made me want to buy the damn car. now the shifter is actiong up, 1-3-5 are weird getting into but hold good they seem like they dont go all the way in. 2-4-R are really loose when in gear i have like 3 inches of play. im also getting a noise over bumps from front suspension that sounds like a metal on metal clanging noise. and a sound that sounds like pressurised air escaping. and sometimes the car pulses under heavy acceleration. i know this is a hell of a list but any help is appreciated.
dont let bambi hurt your contours!!
cause i didnt quite kill him!!
i think i hit thumper too?
98 contour se--- drilled out intake box and straight pipe exhaust-- lot more to come!!
94 dodge shadow es-- cant dodge anything with the whole 50 hp damn that thing is slow!!
Originally posted by keith schumaker (mullet): ...a sound that sounds like pressurised air escaping...
You might have a leak in your vacuum system. Try to locate the air sound. You will probably find that you have a loose, or broken hose. This will definitely give you a performance loss and driveability problems.
1996 Contour SE Sedan 4D (Royal Blue) Duratec V6 2.5L 24-valve DOHC Automatic 75,000 miles No Mods (unless you call the DMD a mod) Replaced EGR valve (gunked up), EVR (EGR VR), PCV valve, and evaporative emissions hose (cracked).
The steering column passes through a round rubber seal that located in the fire wall. sometimes it pops out or people run wires into the engine compartment through it. just look at the point where the column meets the fire wall from inside the car. It should be completely sealed with no wires or hoses passing through it.
Somewhere in the FAQ section is an explanation of a whooshing sound under the hood as being a cat converter clogged up and this would explain your loss of upper end power as well as those other drivability problems. The clanging could be the guts of the cat rattling around but since you're also having problems with the shifter you might have a motor mount broken and maybe it's on account of that you are getting the noise and the shifter problems.
Karl
*** It's all about consistency! ***
98 SVT Contour 86 Ranger GT 69 Fiat 850 Sport Spider 67 Formula-S Barracuda
the pressurised air sound is only when i go over bumps in the front end. it sounds like a strut is bad. now that im hearing it from youse im almost positive my cats are clogged. so it sounds like i have a couple hundred dollar fix then. looks like im s.o.l for an easy fix.
dont let bambi hurt your contours!!
cause i didnt quite kill him!!
i think i hit thumper too?
98 contour se--- drilled out intake box and straight pipe exhaust-- lot more to come!!
94 dodge shadow es-- cant dodge anything with the whole 50 hp damn that thing is slow!!
The one problem that I may can help with is the "kick" at 3500 rpm. It has something to do with the intake manifold (is that the correct term?). Its the silver piping at the top of the engine. If you look there are six long ones and six short ones. The long ones are for lower rpm because they give the engine better torque at lower rpms, and the shorter ones are for higher rpms because they give the engine better torque at high rpms. So that kick you feel (best in 1st gear) is the engine switching to those short intakes. If you dont' feel that then you prob have a malfunction somewhere and maybe it is related to some of your other problems. That is about as far as my knowledge goes, good luck in fixing at least some of yoru problems
The heat from the foot well and the loss of power definately sounds like a plugged cat. The front end clanking could be the sway bar bushings. Reach behind a front wheel and see if you can move the sway bar bac and forth. If it moves, you need to replace/fix the pushings. The links also get loose sometime and make a lot of racket. Sorry, but can't help out on the MTX tranny issues.
