Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting '95 Contour shaking right after trip to the shop

Hi everybody,

This post is probably related to the earlier one about a Contour that shakes like crazy while idling, but with a possible twist.

I'm new to the Contour -- I'm driving my husband's '95 Ford Contour (2L 4cyl 110k mi) while he's on deployment, and last Saturday I got an oil change, new oil filter, new air filter, had the coolant purged, the fuel system flushed, and the transmission fluid replaced. (My husband hadn't taken it in for quite a while.)

Since then, I've noticed that periodically when I'm stopped at a light in drive, the car will start shaking like crazy and the engine will sound like it is about to stall until I shift to park, and then it calms down. Sometimes when I start it up it will do the same thing while in park and I have to turn it off and start it up again (usually it's fine then). This doesn't happen everytime, just maybe one out of every four.

Also, the check engine light flashed on for about ten seconds during one of the idling episodes but then flashed off and it hasn't come on since.

Can these problems be related to any of the work I had done, or is it just a coincidence? It did recently get chilly here...

Meanwhile, my JiffyLube receipt says there's no warranty on the transmission service or coolant replacement service, and it notes that the transmission is leaking. (This sounds serious to me, but I was thinking it couldn't be that big a deal because there were no problems before the fluids were all changed out.)

I'm at a loss. I'm gonna get taken if I take it into the shop without knowing a bit of what's going on. Any guidance would be most appreciated as far as what might be the problem and how much it should cost.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you could offer this Contour newbie.

Meg

OK, in combing through the last year of posts, it sounds like maybe spark plugs or O2 sensors... and the leaky transmission is a common issue, right? Right? Bueller?

I'd get the plugs and wires replaced, that will probably take care of your idling problem. As far as the leaky transmission..if it didn't leak before they changed the fluid, maybe they spilled some on the subframe or something and its dripping down. Does it leak a lot of fluid?

My roomate's transmission was leaking fluid, and I finally convinced him to change out the fluid and filter which would also replace the bad pan gasket that was causing the leak. After he did so, his car refused to move at all. Not knowing what he did to the car I was unable to give any advice, so he had it towed to a transmission shop to take a look at the problem. They ended up replacing the entire transmission and told that the problem was due to his neglect of the leak over time. Over the years by several people, I have been told that the electronic automatic transmissions get to a point where servicing them is actually detrimental to their operation. For some reason, the trannies go into a failsafe mode and afterwards any work done has no effect on them if it doesn't make the situation worsen. I know several shops in San Antonio that will actually ask when scheduling transmission work how many miles are on the vehicle and how long it has been since the transmission has last been serviced. Some will tell you right over the phone if either mileage is too high that the transmission runs the risk of needing rebuilt, and the garages who only specialize in fluid/filter changes won't even touch the vehicle and will say to take it to a transmission shop. I was even told this by shops who know I do my own transmission work. They advised that I change my fluid out regularly to prevent having to bring it in to get the transmission replaced.

My point is: If the transmission is still leaking, have it taken care of. If you think this shop is trying to pull one on you, get a second opinion. Do NOT wait for this leak to get any worse. IF these various mechanics I spoke with are correct, you will not want to prolong the situation. Better to repair the leak now than to wait for when the car will not move anymore. I have not seen proof of and have no way of proving whether or not these transmissions behave in the manner described, but I figure that it is a good precautionary measure to take.