Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting need opinion of Ford's diagnosis

My sister's contour (98.0 LX V6 5sp) broke down today on her way to school (about 3 hours away). In the previous week all lights in the car had been dimming and brightening on their own while driving. She had the car towed to the Ford dealer near her school. They called back saying that the Timing Cover Seal had broken and caused oil to leak on the alternator which caused it to short out. Other symptoms right before the car died was a non-functioning tach, and an unresponsive throttle.

Now my knowledge of the mechanics of the car is pretty limited. Is the dealer's explanation a possibility or completely rediculous? In general I'm inclined to trust the dealer's diagnosis, but I've never been to this dealer, and an oil leak causing the tach and accelerator not to work seemed kinda odd. Any opinions about whether their diagnosis makes sense?

Thanks in advance.

Oil on the Alternator, or the cables / rectifier, could cause it to stop charging the battery and providing electrical power to the car. I have the I-4, so I am not sure where your alternator is, or its proximity to the 'Timing Cover Seal'. I think the V-6 has a Timing Chain, so it could / may have oil on it, but enough to flood out an Alternator? I don't know.

You may need an alternator. They can test the voltage it is producing when it is running (and should be able to show you this.) You may want them to do any other electrical fixes while it is in (i.e. wiring harness, blower motor switch recalls)

That's all I have. Sorry not much help.

If your not sure take out the altenator and have it tested at your local auto parts store. Most of them do it for free. But if your sking an opinion, yes oil on the altenator could cause it to short out.

The alternator is between the front of the engine and the firewall, and oil on the brushes will kill it. Of course you should be able to see this fairly well as well as smell it.

The engine management computer and various sensors all need the proper voltage to run the engine. If you have the opportunity, simply recharge the battery and start the engine to verify that the other systems are ok.

the crank seal may indeed be leaking and causing the oil buildup on the alt. (the alt is located on bank one close to the bottom of the engine) there is a possibility of a cracked timing cover also, so make sure they pinpoint the source of the leak accuratly.

Thanks for the input guys! Unfortunately the car is 3 hours away, so I can't check anything out in person. At this point I am going by what the technician said and my sister's description of the problem. But from what you guys said it seems like its a plausable reason. I just wish it wasn't to the tune of 1200 bucks!

It sounds like there IS a Ford dealer that's honest out there. That diagnosis is probably spot on. I've seen it before. Oil absolutely can kill an alternator.

Yes once the battery voltage falls to like 8 volts (just before it quits roughly) there isn't enough juice to run any of the electronics properly. The first step is to fix the oil leak as it will shorten the alt life alot. next step is to get it charging-the rest of the stuff will fall in line.

1200 bucks... What else are they charging you for? The labor to replace this should not be that much.

Duratec guys?????

even at 4-6 hours of labor, to replace the damn thing, etc, it shouldn't be 1200 dollars.. what is their labor rate, and what are they charging you for?


Ray