Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Fuel Pressure or Transmission??

While driving, my 97 contour stutters/lurches (automatic trans). I can recreate the problem if I park facing a steep incline for a bit and then drive. It's pretty rough almost like a manual if you let the clutch out to fast. I've changed the trans fluid and its full/clean. I did not see any excessive material in the fluid. Could this be a fuel pressure problem or do the transmission bands go out like this?

Welcome to CEG! I'm not sure about your problem, but here are some ideas to help you tell if it's a tranny or an engine problem. Try watching the tac to see if the RPMs go up when the car loses power. If the RPMs drop, then the engine is stuttering or misfiring. (Check engine light?) If the RPMs rise until it grabs again, then the tranny is slipping.

Thanks for the welcome and advise your site has helped me many times. I don't have a tac. If it is the tranny is there any thing I should try before having it replaced?

You might want to change the fuel filter just to rule it out. If you dont have a tach, listen carefully to the sound of the engine. Is it speeding up while the tranny slips, or is the engine hesitating and then lurching forward?? If you can't get a reading on it, try taking it to a trans shop and a dealer to get a couple of opinions. You wouldn't want to buy a transmission for a car that needs a fuel filter or spark plug wire. If you know a good mechanic, give him/her a visit.

I understand that if the bands are gone, the problem should be present most of the time. If the malfuctioning is erratic or sporadic you should look the other way. I had my tran "overhauled" ?which is costly?just to find out later the responsible for the irregular behavior of the tran it was something called MLP sensor ?it controls the tran in some aspects.
Have you heard about this MLP part?
Greetings

i had this same exact problem that your describing...is your a zetec like mine? it went away for a while when i changed the plug wires..actually went away for 3-4 months..its back now..i'm thinking maybe a bad coil, since it seems spark related.i changed the fuel filter twice in 6 months with no change in symtoms...my stuttering happens mostly it seems between the first acceleration upshift from a stop.if i really get on it, it does'nt seem to studder at all....let me know what you find out and hopefully what i did could help you..

Mine is a '96 4 cyl, 2.0 liters.Thing is the stuttering was clearly erratic, no pattern at all, but increasingly present in a period of months. Once a technician told me about a MLP sensor frequently failing in Contours and about the need of getting a revised MLP sensor, since the old batches of Mlps were defective. He hadn't a new one so put another old one and the car was fine for a few months. The stuttering reappeared and this time different technicians insisted it was the tran. Short story: tran was overhauled, stuttering the same, supports were blamed and replaced:stuttering the same, MLP sensor was replaced: stuttering gone.
Advice: if your tran stutters randomly and infrequently, get the MLP sensor replaced ?not expensive? before any mechanic gets closer to your tran

Thanks for all the help, I was sure the tranny was gone. Replaced the MLP sensor ($30) and it's completely fine now. Thanks again.

! This is exactly the problem that my car has started doing. Where can I buy an MLP sensor? Where does it go in the car?

I am having the exact same problem as well. Went to the ignition guys and they couldnt find thew problem. I am gonna give that valve a try. Mine usually happens when I accellerate/back off and accellerate around 80KM/hr. Its annoying as hell when you are jockying in traffic.

THnks for the IDEA. I will hunt down a replacement valve or get my garage to do it.