My 97 Zetec had the same problem. It's the belt cover being hit by the belt. You can either bring it to your local dealer and they'll put spacers on the bolts to give it more height or replace the cover all together. You could also do this yourself with some thick plastic/nylon washers. The dealer charged me around $60 to do this so if I could do it again, I'd fix the damn thing myself. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20!


1997 Contour GL Sport ATX
Zetec/2.0 liter

K&N High Flow Air Filter
Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30
Mobil 1 Oil Filter (M1-204)
Fram Sure Drain System
Ford Motorsport 9mm Racing Wires
Recontented Fog Lights, Rear Dome Light, Underhood Courtesy Light, Glove Compartment Light
Pirelli HPs
Kenwood in-dash CD player
Infinity 5752cf speakers
World Champion New England Patriots Fan for Life!

Wife's Car:
1998 Contour SE ATX
Duratec/2.5 liter

Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30
Mobil 1 Oil Filter (M1-210)