What problems to look for in 1998.5 SVT

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

Hello all, newbie here. I'm on the verge of buying a 1998.5 Contour SVT, Black/blue clean Carfax, no wrecks,104K miles. Questions:

1. Any problems in particular I should look for? I have heard of dash warping, water pump failure, etc.

2. What is the defect in the factory water pump that justifies replacement?

3. Timing belt or timing chain? When should it be replaced?

4. I read something about engine failure during right hand turns??? Does that make sense to anyone?

5. Lastly, this thing already has 104K on it. How many miles are the SVTs good for until things start needing replaced.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all the advice you can give.

1. Dash warp seems to be a problem mainly on 99-00 models, I have the original water pump after 103k, but some have failed. Be gentle to the transmission, the differential is weak. (don't drop the clutch)

2. I believe it is the plastic impellars?

3. Timing chain

4. Long, fast right hand turns can cause oil starvation, air gets into the system.

5.Stay on top of the maintenance and it will treat you well, I have 103k and it feels no different than it did at 29k when I bought it.

I did have my transmission replaced but I believe it was due to abuse by the previous owner and my lack of having it checked out properly, I guess I learned my lesson there.

Welcome, this website is very valuable to contour owners and the search function is your best friend.

First of all, Welcome to CEG!

Second, WTH, I was gone for a week and now every new person has a black name... is this something to tell if they're new users or something?

Third:

1) There's a lot of threads on the problems, lemme dig a current one up... here ya go

2) The original plastic impellars on the water pumps break apart, causing the engine to overheat. Nearly 100% failure rate... get a new design plastic impellar or the metal one (the metal one has it's own problems, like seals going bad prematurly)

3) Chain... 60K? I really don't know... just guessing.

4) Engine heads don't have drain holes at the ends of the heads, so in hard right turns at high RPM (on/off ramps!), the oil all goes up to the head and gets trapped, which will cause the oil pump to suck up all the oil it can, then start sucking air. Starving the engine at this point.

3) Probly needs some work to get it to 100% again. Things like cleaning the TB and intake manifolds, possibly a new IAC valve among other wear items. Engine, however, is good for 250K+ miles if taken care of.

Originally posted by Big Daddy Kane:
Second, WTH, I was gone for a week and now every new person has a black name.

Wow!

I never knew you could be so racist!

you could always watch out for Explosions, the car will explode 9 times out of 10 ...

Welcome, 88troupercoupe

. Don't worry about the timing chain. Most do not break. Well, maybe you should consider changing it when it hits 250K miles.

Originally posted by IRingTwyce:

Originally posted by Big Daddy Kane:
Second, WTH, I was gone for a week and now every new person has a black name.

Wow! I never knew you could be so racist!

Ok, now he's normal? I'm not going crazy, am I?

Originally posted by Big Daddy Kane:

Originally posted by IRingTwyce:

Originally posted by Big Daddy Kane:
Second, WTH, I was gone for a week and now every new person has a black name.

Wow! I never knew you could be so racist!

Ok, now he's normal? I'm not going crazy, am I?

ROTFL. Either the new "sign-ups" can change the colors of their screen names or the mods/admins are messing with you.

Thanks all. You guys seem to know your Contours. I'm a Mustang guy myself, but I have always wanted an SVT. Now I have the chance to pick one up, I think I'm gonna do it.

That oil starvation problem is crazy. You figure Ford would have caught that one. Was it corrected in the 99-00 models?

Sounds like a water pump replacement is priority one. Thanks for your advice and keep it coming.

Originally posted by 88troopercoupe:
That oil starvation problem is crazy. You figure Ford would have caught that one. Was it corrected in the 99-00 models?

No, but the 3.0L Duratec had them. More than likely because it was designed after the 2.5L.

They've made a few different oil pans for the starvation issue, later ones having a series of baffles that seem to keep oil near the pickup tube. Guess that was cheaper than changing the heads.

Originally posted by 88troopercoupe:

Sounds like a water pump replacement is priority one. Thanks for your advice and keep it coming.

Water pump replacement is pretty easy on our cars, but it is not really a huge priority. That is, as long as your engine temp is good. If your impeller shatters it's not the end of the world. My waterpump impeller shattered at 148,000 miles on my 2.5 SE Contour. You don't need to replace it until it shatters. Just make sure to fish out the 4 or 5 peices of the shattered impeller and put it back together like a puzzle. That way you know you have all the pieces out of your cooling system!

98.5 SVT is the way to go... That is the year mine is!

Reebs

Originally posted by 88troopercoupe:
Thanks all. You guys seem to know your Contours. I'm a Mustang guy myself, but I have always wanted an SVT. Now I have the chance to pick one up, I think I'm gonna do it.

That oil starvation problem is crazy. You figure Ford would have caught that one. Was it corrected in the 99-00 models?

Sounds like a water pump replacement is priority one. Thanks for your advice and keep it coming.

There are a lot of really good, knowledgable people on here (among the idiots like me).

I believe the conventional wisdom on the oil starvation issue is to overfill the engine with oil. I think 6.5 quarts is what most people do.

I didn't have an SVT, but did have the 2.5 V6 and I had some Timing chain problems at about 90K miles, tensioners and guides.

I think the main problem you might experience is that you don't know how the car was treated and maintained by past owners. Was it "hotrodded" and not maintained?

Good luck. The SVT Contour is a nice, good looking, good driving car.