Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Bad misfire, low idle, and brake problems

So I was driving back from St.Paul to Chicago when I tried to pass a truck out of a toll booth and I heard a loud pop followed by my car misfiring really badly. When I pulled into a gas stationI noticed that when I was slowing the rpms went down to 200 and strugled to keep the car alive. Also while stopping the brakes would become hard to press, like the car was off, when the rpms were low. The CE light was also flashing and there was a strong smell of unburnt gas in the car. The smell is only there when the car is on. Any ideas? I am taking it to the dealer (it is under warrenty) tomorrow. This is my mom's car and I leaving back to Austria in a few days so help is needed ASAP. I want to go to dealer knowing as much as I can. Oh and it's a 99 SE Duratec ATX with 56k miles.

Check the MAF.

What would I check? It's a new MAF. My mom took it in a few months ago while I was in Vienna because of a CEL, banks 1+2 lean (P0171 P0174). They changed the MAF and a bunch of other stuff like putting in a Zetec steering rack (stoopid ford dealer, they did fix it after my mom refused a lesson on driving here new Duratec car with Zetec steering). Then the CEL was still on but I think that was related to the cone filter and the IAT hole not having any sealant around it. Since I don't live in the US anymore I haven't had time to fix that but it was fine for 1.5 years. Even the new MAF didn't help. I can't imagine that the filter setup caused this large of a problem.

Sounds like a vacuum line busted or came off.

And your other problem with the lean codes could definitely be related to your filter/IAT setup.

well I checked to make sure everything is tight and looked at the MAF. From what I can see in the dark, it seems everything looks fine. I am sure the codes are from the filter setup. I am looking for a good clear or black sealant for the IAT.

I had a problem like this once with my Zetec, I went to go uphill, I downshifted to 2nd gear, pushed the gas pedal down a little harder, instantly I had a rough running engine, no power, and my CEL was Flashing like crazy... Indicating a bad "misfire" when really I had "no fire" and it felt like the engine had a super low idle, Turned out my Coil pack had gone bad.

Well I am just going to take it to the dealer. I just took everything off from the TB up to check it once again in the light. Everything looks fine so I guess I should get ready to drive a Ford 500 and wait for the car back. It should be interesting trying to brake in traffic tomorrow...

My tech school instructor used to say "If it happened suddenly, it's probably electrical. If the problem came on over a long period of time, it's mechanical."
Did you pull the codes after the "pop?"

I could barly get home so no I did not check the CEL. The only place I am driving it is onto a flat bed or to the dealer.

Ok guys need you opinions now. Turns out the #1 spark plug shot out of the engine. I guess I can't see in the dark very well. Say what you want about my technical skills but I haven't been in the country for a while. Anyway they can rethread the spark plug socket for $400, replace the engine for $3700 or we can do what we want. I dunno how much damage has been done but I drove 60 miles on the highway with the car this way so rethreading is not something I wanna do. It seems like a shot in the dark to rethread. I was thinking 3.0L, keeping the ATX since my mom drives it. What kind of cost would I be looking at to drop in a stock 3.0L with mods so the car can take it?