Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Maintenance A Question of Routine Maintenance

60k is approaching by the end of next month on the '99 Zetec and I'm trying to plan out what work I need to get done and what I can do myself. In the past month I've seen my mileage slip by about 3mpg and when I step on the gas I get a nice miss. I'm willing to spend the extra money for reliability and longer life on components over stock, I'm not looking for performance, I was getting 27/33 before and I'd like to have that back.


What I have already decided having replaced is this:


1. Brakes, haven't been done yet, most miles were highway, pads and rotors as needed. I'm not going to fool around with regrinding rotors as I only hear the pulsing comes back 3-6mos later.

2. Trans fluid and filter, I do this about every 20k or so, $60 every 9-12 months is cheaper than a new trans.

3. Plugs, wires, and coil.

4. Coolant system flush.

5. Fuel Filter

6. Replace leaky struts


I'm debating going with Ford Racing wires, possibly magnecor not likely though and the improved coil. I've read people saying that they get a smoother idle out of the Ford Racing wires. I'll probably do the coolant flush and plugs and wires myself, my only question is if anyone has used Dexcool or some other 5year/100k normal antifreeze alternative in their contour? I'm also looking at least one leaky strut, do I need to replace all 4 for an even ride or just do them in pairs? Call me lame but the ride I have is comfortable and I'm not looking for "performance" handling, if anyone has an aftermarket suggestion I'd appreciate it.

Work I'm considering having done:


1. Replace brake fluid

2. Replace timing belt

3. Replace water pump

4. Wheel bearings, I think the other shop fsck'ed them up at 50k, the growl is back.

I don't have a hayne's manual as a reference nor would it really do me any good as from what I understand the water pump got relocated after 98, so you don't need to do that in conjunction with the timing belt to save labor. I'm not sure if that's a Duratec or a Zetec thing even. Regardless I'm debating just waiting until the timing belt breaks, or when the water pump goes to do the work of the water pump is located there. The only thing I haven't been able to fully determine yet is if the Zetec is an interference fit engine, if it is then I'm not going to wait. If it's not then I'll just let it break and fix it thereafter as no damage to the engine will occur. I'd look all of this up on the Ford CDRom I bought which is the service manual for all the dealers technicians for the 99 model year. Trying to use it for 2 hours it's a chore to use, and it's no wonder people complain about having their car fsck'ed up by some technician. The references to parts numbers, alot of them are not entered, or the information is poor, the instructions are basic at best. They might just have well written it in latin and the technicians wouldn't be any worse off. At any rate I appreciate any information / suggestions that they can offer is appreciated. Any work that I'm looking at that would be unneccessary I'd like some input on. I also picked up an obd-2 scanner any suggestions on things to look for with that would appreciated as well.


Thanks,

Brian
'99 Zetec 57k

Several people have used the Dexcool with no problems. It's factory fill on the Cougars. Just be real sure to get the old green stuff out when you do the flush.

There's some debate over whether the engine is an interference design or not. The mechanic that did my struts told me they had a Contour next door that blew up the engine, others will argue that it's non-interference. Replacing it is much cheaper than replacing an engine.. think of it as an insurance policy.

Plugs and wires are a good idea since you say you've noticed a little stumble. Motorcraft double platinum or Autolite will do ya just fine. I run Magnecor's, no problems there, but Ford's are probably alright as well. Your call ($$) there. I noticed a smoother idle after replacing the coil, not too much difference on the wires.

Doing the struts in pairs is fine. I'm running around with 2 SE struts up front and 2 GL struts in the back. No problems there. If you're happy with the ride, then just replace the struts with Ford parts. If you wanna stiffen it up a wee bit, looking into maybe the KYB GR-2 non-adjustable struts. While not too performance oriented, I have a feeling that they would be better than the stock four banger struts. Or even the SVT struts, which you can get from Bill Jenkins for pretty cheap.

I question whether that CD is actually what mechanic's use. It may be what Ford provides the dealers, but I can't see them actually using that CD. I know there are better CD's out there, I've watched as the mechanic looked up how to set the timing when I was getting my timing belt changed (independent shop..) -- the program he was using made the Ford CD look like a Dr. Seuss book. For some basic information, the Ford CD is fine, but for doing the timing belt, it leaves a whole lot to be desired.

How about the PCV valve? According to my owner's manual, Ford should do that for free at 60,000 miles. Whether you trust them to do it or not is a different story.

While you're throwing money at the car, the Motorvac treatment may be something you want to look into. Something I've wanted to do for a while, but just keep putting it off. Many on the mailing list have reported excellent results. Should cost around $100, you'll have to call/email to find a shop in your area that does the work.

i just hit 66,000 on my car, so my 02 cents is that you make sure you check your serpentine belt! mine was beginning to crack and with winter coming, better safe than sorry.

On the zetec at 60,000 I would replace all belts and the water pump. (OEM pumo has the plastic impelelr and will not last) By the way, www.lonestarparts.com sells genuine Ford parts at wholesale, my water pump cost $65 from them.

Why wires, plugs yes but wires usually go 100,000.

You have the rest covered, maybe look at hoses if they look bad but with a 99 should be okay

Thanks all for responding to my question.


Perry: I'll add having the PCV Valve checked, I've got a mechanic that our family has used for nearly 20 years and have him check it. I'm going to check the CD and see what it says exactly. I've also got a an email dropped to motorvac, I'll get that done before having the other work done just to see what happens.


SVTtheory2001: Thanks to a cd that was paused in my cd player that was out of balance a whining noise was created and the dealer thought it was the serpentine belt so they changed it at 35,936 when I had the last warranty work done. I figured out that was culprit after I still heard the whining except it was only when the cd was paused. Unfortunately though they did nothing with my struts which sounded wonderful going over curbs.


armtdm: I'm going to have to do a search, I've saw some posts about plastic vs. metal impeller, basically I want one that's not going to fail. I've had problems with reman'ed pumps in the past and even though a reman was $40 for an 87 Sable, I had to replace it 3 times and a new one cost $80



I was also wondering about O2 sensors if this was going to need to be replaced. I'm going to grab my friends laptop and hookup my obd-2 scanner and see what I'm getting.

I'm going to ask my mechanic next time I talk to him if it's an interference fit and if I can let it go. He's good about things, we had a '94 probe and he knew enough about the whole ford/mazda parts game to know that the mazda's were just a different metal stamp and box and were 40% cheaper on brake pads at least. I appreciate everyones help and input on this!

Thanks,

Brian
'99 Zetec 57k