Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General ready to buy, what are the trouble spots?

Negatives- Alot(crappy tranny,warped dash, bad IAC valve, sagging ground effects, yada,yada,yada) . Most the other 'Tours I see around here are driven by grayhairs. Starting it every morning and praying the CEL doen't come on.

Positives-When it is cold it runs greeaat! It handles really well. Yummy leather seats. This forum will also keep you sane.

Bottom line- They are not well built, but are inexpensive and the SVT's are relatively rare. They are quick, have alot of aftermarket goodies available, handle well and are fun to drive. My advice, buy one, join the forum and drink heavily.

I'm about to replace my steering rack. AGAIN. But I'm at 105K miles and still love this car.

When the subframe comes out this time, (planning to do LSD/clutch/flywheel/new steering rack install all at the same time) I want to look into something like heatshields for the steering rack and the PS lines that run close to the exhaust manifolds, so they are not getting cooked.

Thanks everyone... especially for the link to the other thread... I didn't find it in my searches.

Rob W.

Have the egr and dpfe system thoroughly checked and depending on year and mileage, check the cats. If you find a car with under 80k miles, the cats are still under warranty, because they are under recall for early failure.

Run an oasis report if you have access and it will come up. Also check the wiring harnesses.

What state are you in?

I'm selling mine for $5,900, it's black, 93K. I've done the throttle hang fix and just put a new alternator in it.
The car is clean and listed in the Sacramento auto trader.

my mother had a bought one in 95 and the 3rd gear synchro's were acting up within the first year. the dealer was very difficult to work with and didnt want to honor the warranty because the car was still functional (though not properly functioning), but my 98.5 has no synchros problems. i guess its just hit and miss

I was looking at CSVT's for my new vehicle to replace my F-150 cause I'm going to start touring (I'm a singer). These will be 6-12 week tours annually (plus other short regional trips throughout the year). This thread makes me feel a CSVT would be bad for this, unreliable...? Should I look at something else? Thanks

Anyone??