Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting VCT disconnected

I was having lots of problems like hesitation during take off, extremely hard shifting, or no shifting from first to second unless I released the gas pedal, and very poor acceleration.
I disconnected my VCT sensor and now all those problems are fixed. The car runs great.
Now my questions are these...

1. Can I run the vehicle safely with this disconnected?

2. How hard is the VCT sensor to change?

3. Is it expensive, or where can I get one cheap?

4. What do I do now?

Thanks for all the help in my last thread guys, I just bought this car used cheap and dont know any history on it. So far I have done the following.

1. New tranny fluid
2. New platinum plugs
3. New fuel filter
4. New air filter
5. New tires
6. New hubcaps
And some other stuff I cant remember

"...I disconnected my VCT sensor and now all those problems are fixed. The car runs great.
Now my questions are these...

1. Can I run the vehicle safely with this disconnected?"

I wonder if it is running in PCM limp mode.

"2. How hard is the VCT sensor to change?

3. Is it expensive, or where can I get one cheap?"
I think there was a post on costs (maybe $250) and how to.
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=zetecmaint&Number=1211340&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=all&vc=1

and this.
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=zetecmaint&Number=1247391&Forum=zetecmaint&Words=vct&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=3months&Main=1247391&Search=true#Post1247391

Well if it is in limp mode then thats pretty sad that it limps better than it was running. The way I understood it was that if the VCT was bad then it would go into limp mode, but if it was disconnected then it would revert to normal timing. So is it safe to drive with it disconnected?

Look at this thread and it explains the VCT. As long is iy is unhooked you will get the P1380 code.
http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/july2002/techtips.cfm

I am not worried about having a code. I just want to have the car driveable and hopefully cause no damage. So can I safely drive the car with this disconnected?

The cam gear is spring loaded and when the VCT is not working it goes to the fully advanced position. As long as it is advanced, it should maintain normal operation and performance. The gas mileage will probably suffer. You can get the VCT solenoid from TeamFord for $235 and its not that hard to put on if you have the right tools and time. At 160000 mile if you don't know if timing belt has been changed it is probably time. All of this can be done at same time for about $400 in parts. If you have emissions in your state, it will not pass until you fix it.