One of my friends has a 2000 Contour with the Zetec, and the thing barely idles, it stutters and she said it will do about 30 MPH and thats it. No CEL. I asked her when she last changed the fuel filter. She said she never had. Car has 72K on it, on the STOCK filter. I told her to change that, and all should be well. Any other ideas? I feel really bad for this car. It hasnt had anything but the oil changed and gas put in it.

72K and no fuel filter change!!!!!!!! That is probably the problem. Wonder how her injectors are?

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72K and no fuel filter change!!!!!!!! That is probably the problem. Wonder how her injectors are?

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Im sure they are'nt too good, either. When I opened the hood, all I saw was oil, grease, and a battery that looked TERRIBLE.
Im gonna teach her about the finer points of basic car care this Monday.

At least she gets the oil changed...that has to count for something.

Get the valve cover gasket replaced, Clean the MAF, and change the Air fliter. That's what I can think of off the top of my head. Oh and a coolant flush...

I noticed that my wifes 96 zetec is also very dirty. The engine just seems very oily!

Is this the valve cover gasket?

Wifes zetec idled a little rough.
I changed the plugs and also the wires and the car runs smoother. Had only 70K kilometers, the plat plugs needed changing.

Also did the fuel filter. The fuel filter is very easy to change as the fuel lines just clip on. Run the car and then pull the fuel pump fuse to depresureize the fuel line.
Filter is located close to right rear wheel (passenger side).

Who's the dumbass who changes her oil?

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Who's the dumbass who changes her oil?

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She has a worthless boyfriend, who isnt too good at car stuff, but he has her believing that he is. She didnt show up for work today, so the guy might still be trying to change the fuel filter. Really wouldnt suprise me. Its been only a few days...
I would do the work for her, but she lives FAR away.

Lee, I forgot about the air filter, and the coolant change, I was too involved in making the poor thing run better. I will tell her when ever I see her again. Thanks. It probably hasnt been changed like it should be either. Im glad I can help turn around the life of a mistreated Contour!

jborge-if its coming from under the valve cover, I would replace the gasket. However I am not an expert on this. I dont know if you change the oil yourself or not, but some oil change places are not very neat when they do it. I have had to clean mine a few times after getting it home.
BTW, anyone know how hard it is to change the valve cover gasket?? I have VCT, and I dont wanna mess up the "thing" coming out of the top of the valve cover.

Only does 30mph?!? ouch... my zetec idles better after doing some intake mods...but that one is un-cared for.. that sucks.. waste of a zetec.