Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Head scratching problem 96 Contour

Ok here is the scenario....

Bought this 96 contour with a I4 2.0 Ztec DoHC for $275 (body and interior is flawless), guy said it was a bad water pump, and timing belt (guy is a liar). We get the car home (towed of course) Timing belt is brand new, water pump was shot, replaced the water pump, replaced the belt timing belt just because, turned the car over no start. So we started diagnosing it further. Sparg plugs were fouled bad, so went and got new ones, put them in back fired thru throttle body once, and nothing else. Just cranked and no fire. Like I said, getting plenty of fuel, plenty of spark. So we sat there and noticed when turning the motor over to fire, the serpentine belt is disconnected, and no water pump turning. Why would coolant be coming out of the hoses as we are turning over the car...hmmmmm so we looked at the oil to see if it was milky, no coolant in the oil from the looks of it. So we sat there and went thru every aspect that would cause it not to start, bad ground, fuses, etc etc..
So we looked took off the valve cover and we found small traces of coolant by the #3 spark plug hole, so we automatically clicked and said well a bad head gasket would cause coolant to come out of the coolant hose, compression is seeping into the coolant passages. So we took the head off the motor and what did we find Cylinder 3 area was clean, found where the gasket was blown. Now the thing is would the motor should of started with a blown head gasket. (I am assuming) Most cars Ive seen with a blown head gasket started up. Tomorrow we will be putting the head back on with a new gaskets. I was told by quite a few people these heads dont crack very often not very common on those heads. Any opinions where I should look after replacing the head gasket and it still wont fire, if its getting it basic things, like spark, fuel. Im running out of ideas to as why the car is not firing when the timing, spark and fuel is right there.

If you have ...
Good Spark/Ignition
Timing is correct
Good Compression
Good Fuel Pressure/delivery

It will start,hope the bottom end is ok

dont know car wasnt running when I bought it, but it turns over without problems, turned it over as well with the head off to make sure all rods were still intact, Im just hoping the head gasket was the problem with it that kept it from starting. Soon as I get the head back on, I am going to do a compression test/Vacuum Test that will tell me if the head is cracked. *Crosses fingers* Hope thats all it is, otherwise Ill be looking over everything again. triple checking what was done. Any other suggestions? wierdest scenario ive ever been in, usually i can pin point the problem, but this tops the cake.

Welcome. Check if the PCM is getting power.

http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=1042840&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&vc=1

Also check the crank and cam position sensors.
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=1060841&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=&vc=1

I had a 97 2.0 Zetec with a blown head gasket. The engine didn't even try to run. When cranking, you could see bubbles in the overflow.

Before you put the head back on, you might want to consider taking the head to a machine shop for testing. Having them rebuild it wouldn't be a bad idea also (a few hundred dollars). Also don't forget to get new head bolts and oxygen sensors.

Once we got it back together, it started up.

just double checking, by "just crank, no fire" you mean the starter is actually clicking and that the battery isn't dead.

There wasn't any mention of the battery, so I figured I mention about it. If the battery is old,(i.e. 10 years since is a 96) you may need to recharge/replace it. My car went nucking futs when the battery was in the process of crapping out.

Edit: Does the Zetec have an Idle air control valve? If the hose is off from the duratec the car will not start, and if it does, it will stall as soon as the key is let off.

Maybe when the timing belt was put on it was not put on right and now the valve timing is off. I just did a head gasket on a 96 Zetec. Had overheating problems and was exhaust gas getting into the coolant. One or more of the plugs was getting fouled though. With old plugs would not start and did same thing as yours. When new plugs were put in ran even with the blown head gasket. With new gasket runs fine and no overheating. We were very carefull to make sure the engine was in TDC when we took it apart and made sure we used a valve time tool when we put it back together. Also when you change the water pump on a 96 you have to take off the timing belt. So even for a water pump change you have to make sure the car is in TDC.

Rich S

Yeah i was gonna say wasnt the VCT for 98 and up . Has a new water pump, on it now, soon to have a new battery, just waiting for the head kit to come in. Gonna put the head on torque it down and do a compression test to see if head is leaking. If its leaking then I know its a bunk head and needs to be replaced with a new one. Worst case scenario anyone know of anyone selling a 2.0 zetec head in good shape? I havent found a reasonable one yet so far a few but one wants 800 bucks for it and thats new, another place wants 189 and I think thats a bare head, may be the way to go, but not sure. Looking at different option, pistons look really good, oil is in the intake port thou, Im wondering if its a bad pcv causing that. No oil in the exhaust thou or signs of coolant either. Im alittle worried about the bottom end thou. Dont know how long the guy drove it with a bad head gasket/water pump. There was no coolant int he block only water, water wasnt even green tinted. Looks like the guy kept putting water in it to keep it from over heating. So maybe the bo0ttom end is ok, Im hoping it i. the oil is pretty nasty, not milky in color just like hershey syrup, which im assuming is from getting the engine hot. We think the bottom end is fine, engine turns over real easy with starter or by hand. Tryin to think of stuff off the top of my head. Wish I could tow it to the shop I work and and throw it in a bay and work on it there, so much easier then on the ground But the boss is ya know how that goes.found a wire broke, Which i believe is a coolant sensor wire or the temp sensor wire, Oh didnt they have a recall on the 96 contour for bad injector harness? If so Im gonna see if this car had it done if not gonna get that fixed may be part of the problem, didnt test the injectors to see if they are pulsing. Ill keep you all updated on what is going on with the contour and hopefully when the head goes on itll hold compression, then ill know the head is ok, be a sigh of relief on that part, then its putting the motor back together and seeing if everything was put back right.