i have a 1998 contour zetec atx, car starts fine, smoth idle, after driving it when car reaches normal temp, car has rough idle, steering wheel vibration. could this still be the engine mount, or pcv valve, vacuum hoses, or plugs

My understanding is that this is commonly caused by motor mounts on these vehicles. Use the search function on this board and you will find a number of postings on the same subject.

/Eric

With engine running, put it in Park or Neutral. Do the symptoms go away?
Then put it in Drive. Does it go worse?

If yes, then most probably the tranny/engine mounts as posted by Mystic.

On my Mystique, it was the motor mounts doing this, specifically the top one over the belts. You post98 guys have a different style mount though, so I'd have a mechanic check it out. Trust me, it is worth it to take this one to someone who has a lift

If you'd like to know why, just look at my sig.

if you got steering wheel shaking during driving then make sure your tires arn't out of round(the weights out of ballance) or the tires just need to be replaced.
I had all my mounts replaced when I had the engine overhauled and I have little to zero engine vib now. I had the steering wheel vibe while driving so I had new tires put on and ballanced. I did all 4 tires when I did this.

just curious to know if that vibration could lead to big problems or not. Had it happening on my car but I deemed it of little signifigance, am I correct in thinking so?