Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting funky idle and maybe a blown motor mount

Well, this is new and strange to me. Start car, drive away. Come to stop sign, red light.

Idles smooth at 750 rpm about 1/2 the time. The other 1/2, idle drops to 500, sometimes even less than that (like 250-300 rpm), and "hunts" for a stable speed, jumping around.

Goes down to 500, lower, lower, oh, jumps back to 750 for a second or two, then drops to 300-400, then back to 750.

Bizarre. Anyone have any ideas?? IAC is NEW, plugs are NEW (Ford Platinums), plug wires are NEW (9mm Ford Racing), throttle body just CLEANED...

Motor mounts???? City traffic - 2nd gear, quick off the throttle - herky and jerky, lots of driveline lash - bucking around once throttle is reapplied gently.

Only if I mash it, will it pull cleanly without bucking around - BUT, if I again abrubtly let go of the throttle at speed (60-70 mph), it gets snatchy again.

Is this a loose motor mount?? Can't be clutch related, can it? Clutch seems OKAY, no slipping, smooth engagements off the line.

Help is appreciated!

I would check for intake leaks on the in-board side of the MAF. (Accordian hose and all related couplings, TB gasket etc.) May want to clean the MAF sensor element with a spray of electric parts cleaner. If your fuel filter is old, probably wouldn't hurt to replace this also. Since it does idle smooth and accelerate OK some of the time, your plugs/wires are probably OK. (Maybe wiggle/reseat all the wires to be sure...) I think a flakey Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) could be a cause, but not as likely.