Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting '95 contour gl low revving\feels like ebrake is on

I was parked facing down a hill last night and had to use my ebrake, and when i got in, i turned on the car and started driving, but quickly noticed(about 10 feet later) that i forgot to turn off my ebrake. I drove down the street and started driving on level ground, when the car started sounding like an old boat when its revs get so low it sounds like its going to stall. The car also vibrates heavily and is slightly louder. As I speed up, the car starts vibrating more and more violently until i get into the higher rpms(no tach, so i have no idea what range) then it will drive smooth as glass, and then it does the same when it upshifts, and you cant tell it downshifts when decelerating, it feels like its smooth as glass again. It has never done this before, and I have no idea what the problem is. The problem seems to be magnified uphill. I have a 1995 automatic ford contour gl.

I think the e-brake cable might be stuck and causing the brakes to bind. You may want to check if you need a new cable and/or brakes (most indies will check your brakes as a free service).

Edit. This how-to talks about during freezing weather but you may have got it bound due to not releasing it.

http://www.contour.org/FAQ/FAQ.php?s=probs&displayid=2

Thanks for the fast post, i will definately look into that, but I think I need to redefine the problem. I took my car to a friend who knows just about everything I could possibly imagine about cars. He noticed the car was making a really nasty smell and having the characteristics of bad igniting and told me chances are its a spark plug problem, so tomorrow hes going to do some screwdriver test thingy. It made perfect sense when he explain it to me. The ebrake thing I am not too sure about though because once the car starts revving high, it moves really well, but even when the car is stopped, the car still jerks about, so I came to the conclusion that it is probably not an ebrake problem, but I am going to definately look into it. Thanks. Oh, and how much are spark plugs?

It's really easy to see if the e-brake is sticking. Just put it in neutral on an incline. It should roll even if the incline is very slight.

By the way you describe it, it sounds like you could have a broken motor mount. If one collapses, there's a metal bracket that limits the engine movement, and also causes some nasty noise and vibration since the engine is basically making direct contact with the chassis.

Does it still vibrate in Reverse? If not I'd especially suspect the motor mount, since the engine would be torquing the other way. Also, pop the hood, put it in drive, and gun the engine a little with your foot firmly on the brake. Have someone stand off to the side and see if the engine moves significantly. Do this in Reverse as well. It shouldn't shift more than an inch or so.

We did the engine test earlier today, the engine shakes a bit under the hood but almost seems to sit perfectly still as the car rev's up. It is just in the lower ranges and when it is idling that it is bad. And yes, the car does do it in reverse. Its just as bad in reverse, and the car sometimes jerks to a start when going off the line.