No offense, but your mechanic doesn't sound so bright.

He's given you inaccurate information on all points.

The jumper trick is in the FAQ, I'm surprised you didn't look there.

I'd still say it sounds like the cats. You cannot see into the rear cat at all, unless you have a dental mirror os something like that.

I kind of doubt the cats have been gutted already. That deosn't seem like a common practice outside the enthusiasts circles.

-Lance

I'm sorry Lance but he told me he looked at the pre cats and they were like the ones i got from Buckshot (gutted). The history of this car seems kinda werid so i am beileveing my mechanic. I changed the cat and exhasut and the car seems a lil better but isn't there a chance that the timing could be off? He did a vaccum test for me on right on the gauge where the need was pointing to, it stated something about timing being off ur something like that? So how can he be wrong it the test he did in front of me just proved that? PLus wouldn't running low on oil cause pressure on a tensinor?

The symptoms for a plugged exhaust and a jumped timing chain are very similar and are often confused. Usually a plugged exhaust will have a very pronounced wheezing noise from the tail pipe. In extreme cases, the engine will not even run. I have had to remove the noise reducing screens from the tailpipes of many 70's era vehicles because they had become plugged. Have someone wing the engine for you while you are near the tailpipe and see if you can hear any obvious problem.

A very lean mixture can also behave much the same way at times. I remember a car that had the wrong injectors that I was nearly certain had a plugged exhaust.

Retarded ignition timing can also behave in a similar manner.

Weak ignition can cause this, but with a coil pack system it would be highly unusual for all three coils to fail evenly. If you haven't already done it, check your spark plugs.

I would start with a compression test. A jumped timing chain will have low compression. A plugged exhaust will still have good compression unless it is plugged so bad the engine will not run.

You can check mixture and ignition timing with a scanner.

A jumped timing chain doesn't seem likely as the Duratec just has not had many timing chain related problems other than the chain tensioners that bled down overnight and rattled for a moment on start up on the very early ones. If you feel that you need to check the timing chains, get a shop manual. It is not an easy process. You will need to pull the cam covers and possible the front timing chain cover as well.

I'm tempted to make a stupid wild ass guess here and say that it is a fuel problem. We had a car in the shop today that had some diesel fuel mixed with the gas. It didn't run too well. I won't make such a guess though without seeing the car.

Let us know what you find.

There is just no way you can check the front manifold to see if it's gutted unless you hack it apart. The sure way to tell if it's NOT been gutted is if you don't see weld line patching up the bottom of the front manifold where you would hacked open to gut the manifold. Though, having the weld line present doesn't have to mean the front manifold is gutted. The rear is easy to tell, if you hold it up against the light, and you can see through then it's gutted. There is also no way to tell if you main cat is plugged by just looking at it, there are too bends in the say and it's just physically impossible.

Now, when's the last time you replaced the plugs/wires, cleaned the air filter, replace the fuel filter? Those could also be the problem. Get all the codes, and see if those give you a clue of what's going on.

I've been talking to Lucas all through this event.
I think his Mechanic is onto something here.
All of Lucas' problems started when he noticed a lot of black liquid dripping from his exhaust.
Almost like liquid carbon.

First of all, Lucas hasn't had this 95 SE since it was new.
Since he bought it, he has changed the oil every 3,000 miles.
The timing chain rap has been there ever since Lucas has owned the car.
This is a sign of a pre-existing condition, that was probably caused byt the previous owner.

Second, not everyone is as bright as the crowd that comes to CEG
looking for answers to the mysteries of their Contours, Mystiques, and Mondeos.
There are those individuals that rather than have their car serviced so that the emissions run correctly,
they do things that aren't so wise, and those things end up hurting the car, more than it helps.
The previous owner of this Contour was one of those individuals.
He had a problem with this Contour, and instead of seeking help, he gutted his cats
and drove this Contour with the Check Engine light on, until the CEL BULB actually burnt out.
THAT IS A LONG TIME !!!
If the previous owner has at least gone to a FORD Dealer, he would have had the cats replaced under the recall.

I asked Lucas to check for the bulb test when he started his Contour, and it did not light up.
This is how we found out that the CEL Lamp was burned out.
The PCM will not function correctly if the CEL bulb is burned out or missing.
So replacing the bulb was our first step in diagnosing his problems.

Third, the very first thing every mechanic should check is the basic engine functionality.
This is even BEFORE you start pulling engine codes.
All the engine codes tell you is what the computer is having problems regulating.
It doesn't tell you what to replace, and it doesn't tell you what the problem is with any accuracy.
So for all purposes, unless it is a hard failure, like a sensor out of range,
the PCM codes are good for nothing...

Lucas' mechanic has checked for fuel pressure, spark, vacuum leaks, exhaust problems, EGR problems,
and has come up with his timing being advanced beyond the normal range.
Lucas' symptoms are loss of power in low rpms, and popping in the intake manifold.
Both of these together are symptoms of the camshafts out of time.
If the Duratec had a distributor, this would be even easier to prove.
But without a distributor, we can only look at timing, with a timing light, and vacuum readings.
If the timing chain is either advanced or retarted as much as one tooth,
it can cause the problems that Lucas is experiencing.
Put on top of this, the engine has 77,000 miles, and may have been severly abused prior to Lucas owning it,
and the Timing Chain guides and tensioners are probably worn out completely.
This is enough evidence to point to the timing chain tensioners being the culprit in this case.

Replacing the chains, gears, and the tensioners, will bring all the mechanics of the Duratec back within timing specs.
If Lucas has any problems after this, it will either be in the valvetrain, or it is going to be electrical.
Either way, any other problems should be minor, compared to what is going on now.

I think his Mechanic has diagnosed this properly.

Originally posted by AirKnight:

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There is just no way you can check the front manifold to see if it's gutted unless you hack it apart. The sure way to tell if it's NOT been gutted is if you don't see weld line patching up the bottom of the front manifold where you would hacked open to gut the manifold. Though, having the weld line present doesn't have to mean the front manifold is gutted. The rear is easy to tell, if you hold it up against the light, and you can see through then it's gutted. There is also no way to tell if you main cat is plugged by just looking at it, there are too bends in the say and it's just physically impossible.

Now, when's the last time you replaced the plugs/wires, cleaned the air filter, replace the fuel filter? Those could also be the problem. Get all the codes, and see if those give you a clue of what's going on.

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I should have mentioned it before. A way to see if a cat has been gutted when you can't see into it, is to drop a ball bearing through it. The larger the better, as long as it is small enough to fit the narrowest part of the pipe.