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Joined: May 2006
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Hey everyone.I am new to this so let me know if i do anything wrong.
Anyways here is my question,Ijust bought a 98 ford contour LX with the 2.5L duratec in it. I was hoping that everyone could give me some advice on the regular maintenace and for things to watch out for to help prevent future problems.
Any advice on this matter would be greatly appriciated.
Thanks, ciao.
Mike.T
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 5,345
Addicted CEG\'er
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Welcome  . If you don't have an Owners' Manual or Maintenance Schedule Booklet, donwload from www.fleet.ford.com. How many miles on the "new" car? Auto or manual? Do the usual 3K miles/3 months oil change if using regular mineral oil. Most of us here keep the coolant half inch above the max line (coolant sensor idiosyncracy will sometimes cause the bulb to light up if near or slightly below the max line). In addition, most of us with the V6 Duratec, keep the oil level half quart above the max line too (there is a issue with long sweeping right hand turns which causes toasted engines). I think that means 6 to 6.3 quarts of engine oil is usually preferred as insurance. Note that some have kept the oil just at the max line with no problems. If the WP is not changed, you may want to consider changing that (the old ones had a black plastic impeller which tended to fail). Get the metal or white plastic impeller.
Edit. Duratec Maintenance FAQ
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=v6maint&Number=958650&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=31&fpart=1
Last edited by Tony2005; 05/12/06 08:46 PM.
"Always do the cheap and easy ones first."
1996 V6 ATX 96K miles
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Joined: May 2006
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OP
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Well i just got it put in my name today. It has 205.000 klm on it but 70% of it is highway miles. Its a 5 speed tranny.
I am not the most mechanically inclinde person lol what dose WP stand for? i thought it was wipers lol
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,116
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
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95 SE MTX
svt exhaust
intake
deer killer
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Thanks for letting me know it meens water pump.I am getting the car certified on saturday and or sun. I will ask to have it replaced possibly then deppending on how much $$ the certification is goin to cost me.
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Joined: Sep 2002
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I wouldn't worry about the WP. If it was going to fail, it would have done it many miles ago. It's probably already been replaced.
We're talking over 120K miles here.
Steve
98 Contour SE Sport 2.5 Duratec ATX The wifey's car
89 Taurus SHO - 246K miles
94 SHO ATX - 190K
1997 F-150 5.4L ATX - The Workhorse 150K.
ANY THREAD WITH "OMG" or "WTF" ETC IN THE TITLE WILL BE IGNORED!
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 26
New CEG\'er
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Originally posted by projectSHO89:
I wouldn't worry about the WP. If it was going to fail, it would have done it many miles ago. It's probably already been replaced.
We're talking over 120K miles here.
Depends on how hard the previous owner drove it. My 98 had over 96.5Kmiles on it when I bought her, and the WP died the first time I romped on the accelerator, WOT on a highway pass. I know the previous owner of mine, and he's a very relaxed driver. That 'Tour probably hadn't seen WOT in years and I bet he could've gotten to 120K without the pump failing. Not me though 
Mark
2001 Laser Red Cougar V6 ATX
CougarFest 2006 1st (tie) Best Paint / 2nd Cleanest Car
CougarFest 2005 Best Stock
1998 Contour V6 ATX
1993 Tempo I4 ATX
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Joined: Mar 2003
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Veteran CEG\'er
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my 2.5 lt Mondeo failed at 70,000
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On mine(205.000 klm) the engine is actually running very smooth. the is no hint of any missfire, there is no noise but smooth reving. And the power is firm and consistent.
It all seems to good to be true. The only problem at this time is there seems to be a small hole where the exaust conects to the manifold pip.
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Veteran CEG\'er
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Originally posted by Linkman:
Originally posted by projectSHO89:
I wouldn't worry about the WP. If it was going to fail, it would have done it many miles ago. It's probably already been replaced.
We're talking over 120K miles here.
Depends on how hard the previous owner drove it. My 98 had over 96.5Kmiles on it when I bought her, and the WP died the first time I romped on the accelerator, WOT on a highway pass. I know the previous owner of mine, and he's a very relaxed driver. That 'Tour probably hadn't seen WOT in years and I bet he could've gotten to 120K without the pump failing. Not me though
Mine did the same thing after I bought it on the drive home. It had 92,000 at the time.
In this case though he may have the white impellar. I think '98 is when Ford made the switch or his may have already been replaced. One way to find out though is run it to redline a couple times, hehe.
Dueling Duratecs
'95 SE V6 MTX 0 Mods
'04 Mazda6 S Wagon
'03 Kawasaki Z1000
But thus do I counsel you, my friends: distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful!
Friedrich Nietzsche
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