Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Crunch: Another SVT Spins its Bearings

There was an SVT on ebay that had @ 255k miles on it.

I saw it too. It was This one

my car started clicking recently
its a constant clicking that gets louder as i drive faster
the car is just hit 196K miles (95 gl,duratec v6 mtx)
what exactly is the problem?how much does it cost to fix?
should i take it to my mechanic?

im pretty worried since i dont have the money to buy a new car.

slash, how were u driving the car when it happened? the high rpm rightsweeper? or just normal driving

.... my car's engine makes a clicking sound that seems to have been getting louder.... GODDAMNIT it better not [censored] spin a bearing.

if it does, then it might have to be scrapped

"Normal driving" for me often is associated with high revs.

The engine developed a tick which I had noticed earlier in the day, which concerned me a lot. My plan was to get the car to the dealership to have it looked at the next day. The tick may have been there longer, but I'd been driving with the stereo cranked up, so I might not have noticed.

I did work the engine up and down a little, to see where the ticking got worse, and where it disappeared, since it seemed to go away at higher RPMs. Most likely, it was just out of my range of hearing, or whatever, rather than actually being gone. This was probably a stupid thing for me to do.

As I was driving home the night that the engine blew (about 11:30pm), the ticking got worse quickly, becoming more of a knock, followed by what I can only describe as someone emptying their toolboox into my engine, a final bang, then a seized engine. I wasn't on a section of road that I could immediately pull over on, or I would have stopped before it got so bad. My only consolation is that the repairs immediately prior to blowing the engine would have most likely involved nearly as much in labor and parts as it was post-boom.

My guess is that I was driving the engine damaged for a day, or maybe two, from previous maneuvers at high revs. I actually find myself in that situation pretty often, getting on or off the highway, etc.

I'm trying to take this whole experience postiviely. I'm going to learn a lot by doing a 3L swap, or even just replacing with another 2.5L, if it comes to that. I'm also hoping to get into a better maintenance routine for my car, and will be keeping up to date on these forums to learn a little bit each day.

I often learn best by learning the hard way. So, I'd better damn well learn a lot from this.

I'm not anything near experienced, other than with my own misfortune, but I'd say that if you can get someone to look at your engine before you blow it up, you're better off than waiting until after. If your engine is ticking or clicking, it's probably best to take it to someone you trust to have a good look at it.

The only problem with this seems to be that the damn engine is so wedged into the engine compartment that there's a LOT of labor costs associated with even just having it seriously looked at. That's why maybe a knowledgeable friend with lots of tools, rather than a dealership or shop, might be a good route to take, I'm thinking.

This may or may not be of any consolation for those of you worried about exploding engines, but my last car, a '99 Mystique LS (V6, 5spd) developed a loud clattering noise right after I almost stalled out at a red light by (cough) forgetting to put in the clutch. I pulled over ASAP and shut it off. Didn't know what else to do so I started it up again. Drove it for a few weeks, while the noise gradually went away.

Then one day it got louder again. Got scared. Took it to 3 shops. "Your crankshaft!" one said. "It's definitely coming from the valves," said another. I liked the valve idea best. Spent 600 having them replace lash adjusters on rear bank.

$600 later, I still had the same noise. I decided to live with it. I drove it for maybe 5,000 miles with the mystery noise that virtually disappeared once normal operating temp was reached.

Now I'll never know if it was going to blow up or not, because I got creamed by someone running a red light! It's cool, though, 'cuz the insurance people teamed up with my savings, and I got an SVT out of the deal. Hope you all have enjoyed my little story.

I'm poorer but faster! Fair trade.

You Know Tinkering Is Addictive Don't You?????