Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Well...it's almost time to burry the Contour...

The described behavior of the engine does sound like what the engine in my '96 did when I started it up after I broke the hose from the intake manifold to the vapor management valve. Big vacuum leak there. I didn't know the hose was broken till I heard the hissing noise after starting the engine.

I broke that hose while replacing the brake booster hose which I broke the day before

UPDATE:

Tonight I noticed that there was a noticably loud "HISSING" sound coming from the passenger side of the engine, centered vertically...it's hard to pin-point EXACTLY where it's coming from because it's hard to see everything...

I'm a little worried because after the engine started to heat-up, mostly by me keeping the throttle opened, smoke started to come from the same area that the "HISSING" was coming from...the smoke KIND OF smelt like burning coolant though...but she hasn't now or ever lost any coolant or had coolant problems...so I think that's just what it smells like, but probably isn't...

Below is a picture of where the HISSING and smoke is coming from...



Is there any vacuum hoses or such in this area that are hidden that I should be aware of??

THANKS GUYS!:)

The firewall, on that side, the vapor management valve or purge flow solenoid. The hose that I broke goes into it.

It's not in the red area, it's further back towards the firewall, by the ignition coil pack.

It controls the flow of gasoline tank vapors into the intake manifold. You do not have to remove the intake manifold to get to it.

There is nothing in the red area that has vacuum in it (except for the intake manifold, but I can't see it leaking bad enough to make a hissing noise).

It could be FORD hissing back at you for getting the wiring repaired under warranty!

I still have no idea how someone could be so grossly incompetent as to spec out a wiring insulation that won't hold up to the heat in the engine compartment.

You'd think that if the engineer at Ford didn't have a clue, he/she could have called the wire/cable vendor and asked, "Hey, like, dude, what kind of wire are you like, supposed to use for, like, dude, underhood applications?"

All 95-97 Contours/Mystiques, Zetec or Duratec are covered.

On the Zetec, the damage seems to start at the coolant temperature sensor wires.

On the Duratec, under the intake manifold.

On both, the cooling fan harness near the cooling fan.

Some engineer did probably know they were putting out a inferior product....but.....Management said it was fine to do so and the daily grind goes on......

I did read an article about 9 months ago, that the new Ford Focus had problems with the wiring catching on fire....so apparently somebody hasn't learned yet!!!!!