This happened to a friend of mine with a 99 Cougar. He took it to the dealer and they told him that there were some bad flywheeles cast for the 2.5 in 99(they said about 1 out of every 100 ), and that 1-3 teeth were missing from the flywheel . They had to pull the motor out to replace it it took a week, at least it was covered under warranty. BTW, when this happened this car was less than 3 months old. Sounds like there was some bad casting that was not caught at ford. All I can say is that I cant imagine how it got past production/installation like this (I saw it after they pulled it out).

I am afraid this is bad news for you. I suggest you try to live with it, because sounds like you will have to pull the motor to fix it.

Metal Thunder Dragon, AKA Matthew Blakeley Electronics Tech '99 Mercury Mystique LS - Loaded '96 Ford Explorer Sport - Standard '90 Ford Taurus L - Rusting silently in the back Iraq-Land of the lost!