• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

Spun Rod Bearing

Immortan

New CEG'er
Joined
May 7, 2016
Messages
19
Location
Tucson, AZ
Hey gents,

Been driving the Contour around, and Saturday I was making a right sweeping turn and after the turn I heard the dreaded knocking. It doesn't knock at idle all the time, so I am just trying to verify that it is actually rod knock and not something else.

I can replicate the noise by light - partial throttle between 2k - I assume 6.5k RPM. Under decel or moderate - full throttle, it doesn't make noise until 3k on. Sometimes coming to a light it knocks, and sometimes it doesn't. Another thing to note is it will knock if you go from moderate to light throttle, or between shifts.


I will try and posts video before too long. Question is, if it is bearings, can I drop the pan and replace bearings from the bottom? Or am I going to have to pull the motor? Thanks.
 
Sorry to say, but that is the definition of early stage rod knock. The more you run the engine the worse it will get. If you are going to rebuild the engine rather than replace it, I would advise you to stop running the engine before you do more damage. If you suck small pieces of bearing into the oil system or hammer the bearing until there is so much clearance that the big end lets loose, you could damage the engine beyond repair. I'm not sure how easy it is to replace the bearings from the pan on these cars, others should be able to tell you the best way to go.
 
Generally the bearings fail because the connecting rods deform a little; the big ends get out of round. New bearings won't really fix that.
 
3.0 swap time I guess! Definitely the beginnings of a spun bearing. Once the damage is done, the motor will definitely need to be tore down. Rebuilding is a good idea to make the little 2.5 a little better but the swap is just easier.
 
Oh man, I guess its going to be the death of #3597. The car has had a long life and was in pretty horrible condition when I picked it up.

Passenger side is damaged from headlight to rear quarter, bumpers/side skirts don't match, sunroof is jammed (motor is toast too), A/C is ripped out, HVAC controls only defrost, radio is a hack job with holes in the rear deck, fans don't work (wired to a switch), rear suspension is shot, and transmission doesn't go into 2nd. I got the car for free but I love driving it.

I am going to be really sad saying bye to the Contour, I fell in love with this car. I had big plans for it, but I don't think it is going to be worth the thousands it would take to fix it. ISO 98-2000 CSVT post inbound.
 
What are you looking for? I have some parts, but what I have isn't in the greatest condition most likely.

It has a Weapon R CAI though lol.
 
Car wasn't worth investing the $600. I mean, it was in bad condition, there is a picture floating around here somewhere of it.

I will get another one though.
 
Back
Top