Yes, I've already read the section on Common Fixes. I have 163K on my 97, V6 Contour. I replaced the rear swaybar bushings last summer. I still have the original struts on the car and I can't figure out if the struts need replacing or if it's the bushings again. I have sprayed everything in the rear suspension with a teflon spray at first, then white lithium grease and now with silicone with little help.
Maybe replacing the struts are the way to go. Car does not suffer from excessive rebound. Did anyone else replace rear struts and cure noises from out back?
Did you spray the TOP of the strut mounts ?
They are accessible from inside the trunk.
Let me know if/when you figure it out. I have a similar issue. Lubed up the sway bar bushing, but still a squeak over bumps or when I initiate a bump by pushing down on the trunk.
in the FAQ on the homepage there should be something about a clip that holds the emergency brake line underneath the car. mine made noises over bumps also, i sprayed it down good (i believe on both sides of the car, this was like 2 years ago...) and haven't heard the noise since then. its a star shaped rubber grommet that holds the emergency brake line, you probably need to duck under the car just in front of the rear wheels to see it. try soaking it in some spray (wd-40, lithium grease, etc...) and see if that fixes it.
With 163K on the car, I have to suspect that the struts can't be in good shape.
Originally posted by ConnContour:
I replaced the rear swaybar bushings last summer. I still have the original struts on the car and I can't figure out if the struts need replacing or if it's the bushings again. I have sprayed everything in the rear suspension with a teflon spray at first, then white lithium grease and now with silicone with little help.
Same here... I replaced the bushings last summer, and the creaking came back late last week. I'm not the first owner of the car, I'm not sure if the struts are original or not.. 128,000 km on the car (roughly 79,500 miles)..
Hi everyone. I am new here and this is my first post:
I have the same problem with creaking in the rear section of the car. Everytime I go over a small bump in the road I hear it.
I own a 1999 Ford Contour SE 2.0 DOHC with 68,000 miles. Previously owned a 1998 Ford Contour SE 2.0 DOHC.
I hope you I can get some help because no one else seems to be able to help me. The Dealer can't even help me with this issue:
My 1999 Ford drives very-very hard/rough. Many of my passengers comment that it rides stiffer than my previous 1998 Ford. I noticed this and am exhausted of tht stiff ride - as bad or worse than some pick-up trucks!
Could you please-please-please offer any suggestions? Are there any different kinds suspension or struts to soften the ride?
Also, can you suggest what kind of spark plugs and wires I should consider to increase gas mileage? Or anything ot suggestion for this matter?
Thanks
On those original struts, they don't bottom or top out at all. Excellent ride quality. Could be that they are just dried out from the inside. Car was from NorthEast so I had to deal with all types of weather. Now car is in Nevada and have to deal with the heat.
Took car to local garage and they said it was the rear control arms (just forward of the stamped steel trailing arms) that was making the noise. Got a quote of $308 for parts and labor. Said that the springs had to be compressed to install new arms. I'm just going to keep spraying with WD40 now that I know what to look for.
OK. I know this will sound silly. But, I've found that dryness is one of the main causes. Evertime I get the rear end squeak, I take my CSVT to a local car wash that has underbody spray. I drive through very slowly, and get the underside saturated. Voila, no sqeak for a couple of weeks. Try it. Can't hurt.
Hey Guys.
I still have this horrible hard ride! The dealer said that the struts were orignal and should not give such a hard ride. But once again, they offer no help!
Can anyone suggest what to do? My tire pressure is normal and I have the softest tires available for this car.
Are there any specific struts I could ask the dealer to put on?
Myrosia (Mary)
I've had similar results during the dry winter months. Go to a car wash and then the squeak is gone for some time, but then it comes back again
Originally posted by SVTour98:
in the FAQ on the homepage there should be something about a clip that holds the emergency brake line underneath the car. mine made noises over bumps also, i sprayed it down good (i believe on both sides of the car, this was like 2 years ago...) and haven't heard the noise since then. its a star shaped rubber grommet that holds the emergency brake line, you probably need to duck under the car just in front of the rear wheels to see it. try soaking it in some spray (wd-40, lithium grease, etc...) and see if that fixes it.
I believe there was a tsb on this waaaay back (which may also be mentioned in the FAQ) that the gromet needs to be moved to a different position. IIRC there's a diagram on how to do it.
Many have had this squeak problem on here who also did the bushings and still had the squeak. After they did the e-brake cable tsb, the squeak was eliminated.
Could be that your bushings wore out again. My baby's got a freakin fetish for those things. They aren't that expensive though. It was less than $65 or so to have my dealer install them. Which means that if I'd replaced them myself it would have been like $10 maybe.....
Old thread baby!!!!!!
Hi,
I've had the same problem with creaking suspension. On a wet day...it will go away. So I suspect a stupid little lubrication issue on the rear sway bar.....soon as the weather get a little warmer( I'm in Canaduh) I will try this myself with some Rustcheck...it's a good lube. Lithium is probably better but the Rustcheck tends to creep into little voids much easier.
I just replaced my spark plugs on 2.5 V6. I used "Bosch Platinum +4". They are about the best that money can buy in my opinion. Mileage and smoother performance was immmediate. I also used some anti sieze compound as this will be critical to removal next time round as they could sieze. I also coated boots and plugs with electrolytic grease to aid in their removal next time and help prevent any possible arcing.
As for the stiff suspension....well I guess your kinda' stuck. I too get complaints, especially from my wife. I want to do something about this as well. You could go with softer springs but that would sacrifice handling. "Munroe Sensimatic" struts might help a little but again, its really the stiff springs and they are set at one stiffness. If you get any other feedback in this regard ...let me know
Does anyone know what the TSB is for what frenchblueC2 is referring to above? I have the exact same problem. However, the more people that are in the car, the worse it is. Im thinking it could be the springs? Of course I havent even been under the car yet.
Originally posted by mozha:
I just replaced my spark plugs on 2.5 V6. I used "Bosch Platinum +4". They are about the best that money can buy in my opinion. Mileage and smoother performance was immmediate. I also used some anti sieze compound as this will be critical to removal next time round as they could sieze. I also coated boots and plugs with electrolytic grease to aid in their removal next time and help prevent any possible arcing.
negative, the +4s are terrible plugs. My mpg dropped from 23 to 19 mpg (and as low as 17 mpg) over the course of 20k miles in 2 years, 3 months. Replaced them with autolite app764 and the mpg immediately jumped back to normal. my suggestion, remove them immediately, as it won't get better before it gets worse.
I also greased the boots inside with silicone grease, real good idea to prevent misfires. For plugs, use the Autolites listed above next time, as the Bosch plugs will wear faster then the originals (Bosch are not double platinums)
Just an update. Try replacing the little hard rubber bushing that goes with the rear sway bar bushings. The bushing fits into a control arm and is a bit of a pain to put in. Use a little silicone to slide it in and a sturdy screwdriver to wedge it in the middle of the control arm. The part only costed $3 each.