Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Sorry VCT solenoid not SVT

I am sorry for the earlier post about the SVT solenoid.

The report shows the VCT solenoid has gone and they want $439.38 CDN for the part alone.

Is this an internal part and does it control the timing of the car?

Let me start from the beginning.

The other day I was driving to work and the car was fine when the traffic picked up and I stepped on the gas the car slowed down and almost stalled. It then picked up speed and the check engine light came on. After this happened when I stepped on the gas the car hesitated and drove with a bit of a jerky feeling.

For a few months now at times it felt like the car was missing, even on the highway doing 120 KPH.

Is Ford trying to screw me or does the CVT solenoid do as they are telling me?

Please help?

I have a Ford part number for the solenoid. F8CZ-6L713-AA

its 330 canadian from signature lm

I have been looking up some info on the internet and the CVT solenoid is also called the Variable Camshaft Timing System.

I found a message from someone that has the same car as mine 1998 Contour with the 2.0 L V-Tec engine. Same thing happened with losing power and it turned out to be the VCT solenoid.

I found a very interesting thing from something called Tech tips. The link is below. It is about the VCT solenoid and what it does. Appears Ford came out with this in place of the EGR valve in 1998.

http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/july2002/techtips.cfm

Zetec

All I can say man... salvage yard... Get one with low miles on it, im sure you will be fine with one of those.

Yes the VCT will affect drivability. If new is too expensive for you, try a used one and see long it lasts. Could be forever, could be a day.

Before going through all that, check your timing belt. This SAME thing happened to me about a month ago, and it turned out to be my timing belt. That was 85% of the problem. My car is still bogging down a tad, so it might be my VCT as well. Too bad you are from Canada because there's a dealership in Texas that sells the VCT for $65 US. The thing that SUCKS here is that none of the junkyards I called had a VCT or didn't know what the hell I was talking about and didn't want to admit it. I guess I will start calling back and just asking if they have any parts for a 98 zetec and then go over there and SHOW them what I am looking for. I bet they'll have it then. LOL.
Honestly, if you haven't had your timing belt replaced lately, do that first. My timing belt didn't start going until I had over 112,000 miles on my car.