I have a very bad feeling about my '95 Contour SE MTX....
I was supposed to get "Ferret II" back today after some 60K maintenance... but the shop manager called and said I had a "dead engine". What this means isn't clear, but they mentioned timing chains, things that take 10 hours to get to... it didn't sound good.
I'm wondering if anyone has any idea what might have happened, based on the work they'd done and the bad symptoms the manager described happened when they started it. When I left it it was running beautifully and was obviously pampered, as the shop manager who drove it in for the work still agrees.... We've put a few new sensors in this year and it's been running great (always has as a matter of fact).
At the point when my engine "died" the jobs they'd done were flushing and replacing fluids in the following three systems: brakes and hydraulic clutch (share the same reservoir), power steering, and manual transmission. The manager says they hadn't drained the coolant yet. (I posted about a day ago in our CEG maintenance section what was being done and what synthetic fluids were to be used.) The shop is a tire shop and I use them for small repairs and maintenance. My husband does other stuff, plus some maintenance. I haven't had to locate a really good serious mechanic at this point...
Apparently the mechanic (who the manager says has 20 years experience and is a "master mechanic") were getting ready to move it to the separate bay where they do coolant flushing, but when he started it it made three loud thuds (like a fist hitting a fender hard) and sounded like it was trying to "start backwards"
The shop manager says the mechanic turned it off after the noise. They tried to research the engine, but it wasn't in their computer system
. So they called the dealership and learned it was an "interference" engine, meaning, the manager said, the engine is in tight quarters so damage is easily done. The manager said he didn't want to proceed without consulting more with the dealer, but they'd closed at noon without telling him (the manager didn't call me until 3:15pm on the now second day Ferret II was there). So... now I have to wait until Monday to learn anything more with huge worry over possible damage, which they're at this point not assuming responsibility for.
What the H*(&$#67(CKKK could have happened? Could this have something to do with them doing the brake & clutch flush together and refilling improperly? I had told them they shared the same reservoir and they were to do both. If anyone has any ideas or theories I'd sure appreciate it. It's awfully hard to swallow this could be a "coincidence", like a timing chain going on the spot. To date I'd noticed no timing chain noise, no rattling, and it just cleared emissions beautifully. I'm even wondering if I should have it towed elsewhere first thing Monday morning. I have such a bad feeling...
Thank you. So sad.... Contourless
