Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Is this a timing problem?

Hello everyone!
I have a 1998 Ford Contour SE. A while back I had a timing belt replaced and it SEEMS to me that ever since it does not run properly. Sometimes it idles kind of rough. Also, when I go to take off from a stop it sometimes hesitates like it really doesn't want to. Around 45 or so when it gets ready to shift it tends to resist and almost feels like the car is "bucking and jumping" but not THAT hard. It is definitely not running correctly and I think it has been like this since the timing belt was replaced. I have taken it back to the mechanic who worked on it time and again and it runs fine while it is there and runs like crap any other time. I have gotten fed up by this routine and taken it to Ford where I bought it and they said that they ran every test that they can and if anything was wrong it would have come up on thier tests. They claim nothing is wrong with the car. Can anyone help me out? Do you think this is timing belt related?

Oh yes, another symptom is that since we replaced the timing belt we have had to replace the same spark plug 2 or 3 times as it keeps getting cracked. We replace the plug and it runs better, not like it should but better for a little while then runs like crap again only to find out that it has cracked another spark plug. Any ideas would be
much appreciated. On days that it rains, it runs worse. Thanks in advance!!

ps. I am no mechanic and do not intend to sound like I know SQUAT about mechanic work. I just would like to do what I can to assist my mechanic in solving my problem. They really are good mechanics.



Thanks again!

** BUMP **

Does your car have the 4cyl. engine? I just replaced the timing belt on mine and found that the exhaust camshaft was out of index. The camshafts on this engine are indexed by placing a strip of barstock in slots cut in the rear of each camshaft. This requires the removal of the valve cover to access. I suspect whoever previously changed the timing belt on my vehicle tried to get away without removing the valve cover and ended up disturbing the position of the camshafts. In any case my vehicle now idles where it should/no more stalling in gear with A/C on. If the engine was ok before the belt was changed, I would suspect the valve timing and recheck camshaft/crankshaft sprocket position.

I think you should get a new set of OEM plug wires and use dielectric grease when you put them on. The erratic behavior and cracked plug would indicate misfire/crossfire occurrences. If that does not fix it then by all means re-check the static timing.

welcome to CEG!

HERES YOUR PROBLEM! You are using the WRONG spark plugs, our engines dont like anything but Autolie Double Platnium and Motorcraft spark plugs. I got some Champion Double Platniums and my engine cracked the #2 cylender plug, replaced it with a set of Autolite's havent had a problem yet. How many miles are on your tour might I ask? and what engine do you have the Zetec 4 cylender or the Duratec 6 cylender?

Hello,

My contour has roughly 141k miles on it. It is a 4 cylinder. Thanks for the response. I will check what I am using for spark plugs and will look into replacing them and the wires and using that greese that was mentioned above. If those do not solve my problem, then I will be forced to have the timing rechecked. Unfortunately, my car is not spitting out any codes for any of the mechanics that have looked at it. Occasionally, the check engine lite would come on and go off. When the mechanic would plug into it(the check engine lite was never on at the mechanics) it would have no codes. The lite has not come on in quite a while now. Again, thanks and I will move forward with the information you guys provided. I will let you know how everything turns out when I get this fixed.