Originally posted by gilroynewball:
My tranny is giving me problems; the strut recall was never done, and now I have steering problems; alternator is crappy; a/c doesn't cool well; and now I have arcing spark plug wires.

My car is currently collecting dirt in front of my garage, waiting to be driven again. Haven't driven it in almost 3 weeks. I need to find time to fix those problems.

Among the things I need to install for the car's improvement is the throttle hang fix, installing a tranny fluid cooler, recharging the freon, and a few other things that I can't remember.



^GRUMP^

TRANNY? well alot of cars that hit 10 years old have tranny problems...

What strut recall?

Alternators where out all the time...
If your compressor is crap and the freon had to be recharged, thats why it doesn't cool...

Throttle hang isn't a real issure, the fix does improve performance.

oh course a tranny cooler will extend the life of the tranmission if you drive long lenghts where the fluid gets to high temps...the problem is most people don't need one and its semi impratical to install them on all cars.

The biggest problems with the contour fleet:
1. The water pump was made with a plastic impeller that can break for obvious reasons..
2. the ATX tranny isn't the best in the world, but if you don't abuse it will do fine and last into 100k no problem. Problem is most people are 2nd owners, and the trannys were abused by one of them
3. the valve covers have funny PCV valves elbows that seem to degrade with age and cause leaks on the intake. Leaky intake = stalled car.
4. The age of the fleet is causing some of the vehicles to fail. After 10 years any car model will starting having AC problems, altnater problems, spark issues, etc. Its called old age, not crappy design. ALOT of these problems can be avoided if the car hasn't been abused.

Basicly like all used car purchases, its a gamble. Test drive the car for a distance before you buy. Make sure there is no leaks of oil. Look over the car to see if there are any give aways it was in an accident. Car-Fax is a must, its almost stupid not too.

On a personal note I love my contour and I've had it for a year and a half. Its a great car that will give you some thrills and everyday usability.

1998 SE Duratec V6 ATX Ebay intake with K&N Filter Trubendz Exhaust Custom Hood