let a friend borrow my car last night

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

and he told me something i really dont want hear. he said that under acceleration, the car sways back and forth. when he got back, i drove it and sure enough, it is. now it wasnt doing it when i loaned it to him, im not looking to seek damages from him, since h is my friend and he babies everything, this probably is not his fault. i did a search and came up with causes from motor mounts, to bad suspension, to tranny/diff problems all the way up to timing issues...my question is, which is it...anybody help? the swaying is bad enough that the car actually pulls itself from one side to the other...its too dangerous to drive it, so any help is appreciated.

BTW, 1995 (yes i figured out it was a 1995, not a 96) Contour GL MTX, 109K miles. Zetec engine...

The only time I've ever experienced something like that, I had a tire with a bubble (tread separation). It was wierd, I couldn't figure it out until the tire freakin' exploded.

Yeah, as a check, do a quick rotation of your tires and then test it. If the shake is gone, there's your culprit.

i will do that tonite, buti checked them last night... i didnt see anything. i hope its not differential problems. i talkted to Mr. haines he said its possible...

Anything that could've been caused by "mud runnin'" & other abuse for which this particular vehicle was not intended???

And what do you mean sways back and forth? Front to back, or side to side? That can mean a whole different enchilada!

Good luck!

i had a bubble(egg) in my tire on a 93 taurus.. could not feel it at all.. but when the tire was removed from the car you could see it very well when rolling the tire in the driveway... also on a 96 contour(original firestone tires, still pretty new at the time. lots of thread) the tires would click when rotating on the car..... pulled tire off car and then off the rim.. it had a bad belt in it.. but you could only see it from the inside of the tire........

Originally posted by NateCox:
And what do you mean sways back and forth? Front to back, or side to side? That can mean a whole different enchilada!

Good luck!

its swaying side to side. and its not an issue until about 25 MPH. thats when it becomes really hard to control...and then at 45, i cant keep it on the road (went into a ditch on my way back from having the rotors turned.) its really bad. its like the differential sends all the power to the left front wheel and then suddenly shifts it all to the right front wheel and vice versa. it starts on the left, pulls the car (quite fast) to the right and when i correct that it starts pulling back over to the left again. its not the rotors i had them turned saturday (to see if that was the prob) and it seems to pull harder the faster i go. its not the tires, i rotated them and thouroghly (sp?) inspected them...no bubbles

. It feels an awful lot like a bent driveshaft. i dont think its associated with the mudding SVZETEC, because it has been 2 1/2 weeks...and i didnt hit any rocks or anything hard enough to bend that shaft. Struts are fine. i cant think af anything else except maybe differential issues

That is a doozie....

I wonder if your steering is okay. Check your front sway bar as well. Loose parts?

I'm at a loss. But be careful whatever you do, if the car is undrivable you want to baby it.

everything is fine in th esteering. Mr. Haines said that its probably the differential "torque Steering". he said its probably shot.

that sounds gnarly.

i wouldn't think it would be the sway bar (nor lack there of, as it should not affect straight line stability all that much).

if your tie rod(s) are bent this could contribute, especially if you were on a rutted road.

or if your control arms are bent it could definitely wander and then go the other way when you turned the wheel to correct it.

i'd take a look at those items before you have the diff checked out.

always go cheapest to most expensive if at all possible.

best of luck!

thanks guys,. ill keep you posted...y'all are awesome

edit to last post: i will pull the engine and look at the diff tonite...im praying...

What! Your going to pull the engine to look at a diff? How about testing to see if it does it with the clutch in, no power going to the diff should be letting it freewheel if its still doing it then its probably suspension issues. That's a lot of work to look at something and if it looks normal then what?

ive got a stock svt differential from my 99 svt mtx 75 with 60k that looks brand new if you want it for cheap.

I agree.. check the tie rod..
in the rears and the front Control Arms ("A" frame)

This caused my car to "sway" so much I feard my shocks and struts were shot..
the lower control arm was bent terribly, although I never really hit anything, that I knew of.

Fixed it and it was like a new car...

Easily done, especially when compared to puling the engine!

Ray

I didn't see it mentioned, but is it possible that a caliper is dragging?

i checked the front suspension and tie rods...but what i didnt check was the rear. i have a bent lower control arm in the rear

i got under it and looked, and it had a fuggin s-curve in it...left rear. it wasnt bad barely noticeable in fact. but i guess it doesnt take much...in turn, whatever eric (the guy that borrowed my car) did, apparently it broke my strut on the left rear as well. i took a control arm off my neighbors contour (same year and model) and slapped it on and took it down western center and got up to 50...handles much better. it was actually driveable at all speeds, it was just bouncy as hell in the back from the strut being broken. im wagering it was the curb that broke the cars axle

(a.k.a. straw that broke camels back)... it doesnt look too hard to fix, i can probably do it at dads machine shop to performa a temporary fix until my new one gets here. anyway, since my neighbor is saving the car for his daughter, (who is only 14)and its being driven very rarely, he said i could keep the control arm and strut from the left rear of his car until i find new ones...hes a great guy! phew!!!*wipes sweat from forehead* im glad myself and you guys had the foresight to check the rear suspension before i pulled the engine...i woulda

'd myself when i found nothing wrong in the diff.

thanks CEG, y'all are great...ok...back to work *sighs*

No that still doesn't sound like it, I'd pull the interior out and look under each seat for a.....

I'm kidding! Isn't it great when you find the problem and it's something you can fix!!!

Congrats Z!

yeah it is...im wondering if i should just cut the springs and lower it while im in there...

That'd be bad news. Those springs aren't designed for cutting. Don't they make lowering springs anyways?

yeah but im still poor.

Originally posted by Nate'sTour:
That'd be bad news. Those springs aren't designed for cutting. Don't they make lowering springs anyways?

Yeah get SVT springs...

So did the trusted friend do all of this damage? Anyway will you loan out your contour again to other in the future?

Also are you sure metal fatigue was not the culprit?

Originally posted by Cris'pus:

Yeah get SVT springs...

SVT springs are not lowering springs. they are stiffer than non SE springs but not as stiff as SE springs.

DO NOT cut your springs. you just end up with a low car that bounces around a lot and can be unsafe. wait until you can afford lowering springs and do it right.

BTW, if only one control arm is bent it's a lot less work replacing that than all four struts. so "while I'm in there" is an exageration at best here.

best of luck!

Originally posted by Oo.et.oO:

SVT springs are not lowering springs. they are stiffer than non SE springs but not as stiff as SE springs.
best of luck!

I believe only the Pre98 SE Springs are stiffer, not the Post98.

Originally posted by Oo.et.oO:

Originally posted by Cris'pus:

Yeah get SVT springs...

SVT springs are not lowering springs. they are stiffer than non SE springs but not as stiff as SE springs.

No I mean they would lower the car slightly

no im thinkin eric didnt do the damage. driving in alaska for 8 years (my dad had it before me) on those roads (frost heaves...yuck, o and dont forget potholes the size of volkswagens...) well you can imagine. i think it was just coincedence that it happened when he was driving it.

I have seen cases where those same arms in the Taurus have just suddenly bent while taking a curve. Don't know if there was previous injury; maybe they had popped a tire against a curve years prior, but for whatever reason, the arms just give way one day while driving along minding your own business. Makes for unannounced spins, and much praying for not hitting things.

there is way more damage than i originally thought. it includes:
-Bent rear hub. (needs new brake drum assembly, left rear)
-broken strut, left rear. (new about it)
-cracked spring, left rear.
-bent rim, left rear.
-bent control arm mounts (the bracket it mounts to under the center of the car)
-Snapped E-brake cable.
-wheel bearings
-all control arm bushings (on both sides).

im thinking it would behoov me to replace the whole rear end assembly, to avoid any future probs. i have spoken with erics ins. co and they said they will pay it if the total damage exceeds his 250 dollar deductible. they also said his rates will not go up. this is good considering i only have liability (which i am getting ass reamed on, but thats another story)

EDIT: i never realized how heavy those control arms are until i took mine off the first time ...holy Shizzle...

you would think weighing that much they would be tough.

dang! that musta been one hellofa-pothole!

i had a $400 pothole incident last fall. my condolences.

Aaaahhhhh, Jupiter, Florida... Not a single pothole within Town limits. We have an overlay program that keeps the roads nearly perfect - except during roadway expansion projects for the new developments being built.