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144k and a heavy vibration upon acceleration and under power

Thresher

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Oct 12, 2006
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Lihue, Hi
Aloha Everyone,
Just curious if anyone out there has experienced a similar issue on their 99 5 speed Manual Contour, 4 cylinder.

When driving our Contour yesterday a very deep and constant vibration began to occur under acceleration and under power. We noticed the vibration when the car was over 3500 rpm, but soon the vibration moved to the lower ranges of the RPM range. It is a loug grumble that everyone in the car can hear and feel. The brakes seem to work fine and the engine revs fine in neutral. I haven't lost any tire weights, even if I had, this vibration is so deep and heavy that it couldn't possibly be from a missing weight.

This may add more confusion as sometimes I don't describe problems the right way but...the dealership recently checked our car out for an issue I was having under acceleration. Occasionally when starting from a stop light the car would stutter until I pushed in the clutch and then more smoothly and with higher rpm got the car back on step. I could no recreate the issue for the dealer.

They reported that all front end linkages and arms/bars looked fine so nothing unusual was noted. The tech did say that our motor mounts looked worn and then qouted us 550.00 to replace them. The tech noted that our clutch appeared to be about 1 year away from replacement.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts. I knwo that cars wear at different rates based on drivers and conidtions but I was hoping this type of issue has been seen before so we could know what to expect.

Oh, one last thing, on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being hardest) how difficult is changing the motor mounts on my own? I do not have the best tools or area to work on my own car. I guess I answered my own question...

Thanks Contour enthusiasts!
 
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... 99 5 speed Manual Contour, 4 cylinder.

When driving our Contour yesterday a very deep and constant vibration began to occur under acceleration and under power. We noticed the vibration when the car was over 3500 rpm, but soon the vibration moved to the lower ranges of the RPM range. It is a loug grumble that everyone in the car can hear and feel. ...... The tech did say that our motor mounts looked worn and then qouted us 550.00 to replace them. The tech noted that our clutch appeared to be about 1 year away from replacement.
.......
Oh, one last thing, on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being hardest) how difficult is changing the motor mounts on my own? I do not have the best tools or area to work on my own car....!

Check wheel bearings and yes, the mounts too.

O'clock test.

Jack up the car on one side. Place on jack stand.

Grasp wheel at 12 and 6 o'clock and push in and out. Any movement, most probably suspect wheel bearing.

9 and 3 o'clock - tie-rod/ball joint.

Lower the car and do the same for the other side.

Edit. For vibration under (during) power and acceleration, check front and rear insulators (aka mounts aka roll resistors).

This thread has some info for the engine/tranny to fender mount (may not necessary be your case) but it is worth a check. However, a visual is hard to determine as you are not looking at it horizontally with the mounts.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=2647&highlight=tranny+mount

The attached picture shows the difference in my new and old mount (obviously, left is old and right is new). Note that I could not tell that the mount was worn out until I removed it. What gave it away was the vibration and my tranny sitting on the subframe. Not sure if it might be the same for a MTX and Zetec 4 cylinder.

Edit. From 1996 Ford CD.

Support Insulator, RH Engine (aka engine/tranny to rear subframe mount aka rear engine mount aka rear roll resistor).

SPECIAL SERVICE TOOL(S) REQUIRED Powertrain Alignment Gauge ³ T94P-6000-AH ³ (Tony2005 here, note that this tool is not required if you change the support insulators aka mounts one at a time).


Removal
1. Disconnect battery ground cable (14301).
2. Raise vehicle on hoist. 3. Remove through bolt from RH front engine support insulator (6038).

4. Remove bolts retaining RH front engine support insulator to the front sub-frame (5C145).

5. WARNING: WHEN REMOVING RH FRONT ENGINE SUPPORT INSULATOR, ALWAYS DISCONNECT BATTERY GROUND CABLE PRIOR TO REMOVAL. CONTACT OF THE RH FRONT ENGINE SUPPORT INSULATOR TO THE GENERATOR OUTPUT TERMINAL WITH THE BATTERY GROUND CABLE CONNECTED MAY SHORT THE GENERATOR (GEN) (10346) AND BATTERY (10655) TO GROUND, CAUSING POSSIBLE INJURY AND DAMAGE TO VEHICLE.

Note: On 2.5L automatic transaxle equipped vehicles, remove front engine support insulator through the bottom of the RH side of front sub-frame, past the RH exhaust manifold (9430) and generator.

Remove RH front engine support insulator.

6. If required, remove RH front engine support bracket (6028) from transaxle.



Installation
1. If removed, install RH front engine support bracket to transaxle. Tighten retaining nuts or bolts (depending upon application) to 54-75 N-m (40-55 lb-ft).

2. Install RH front engine support insulator into vehicle as removed.

3. Position RH front engine support insulator to front sub-frame. Install and loosely tighten retaining bolts.

4. Install RH front engine support insulator through bolt. Loosely tighten through bolt.

5. Remove two retaining bolts to front sub-frame, through bolt and LH front engine support insulator.

6. Install Powertrain Alignment Gauge T94P-6000-AH to transaxle bracket and front sub-frame. Tighten two vertical bolts and then the through bolt to 27 N-m (20 lb-ft).

7. Tighten RH front engine support insulator bolts to front sub-frame to 10 N-m (7 lb-ft). Observe position of RH front engine support insulator; it must be centered in transaxle bracket and in perfect alignment front to rear.

Retighten RH front engine support insulator bolts to front sub-frame to 41-55 N-m (30-40 lb-ft).

8. Install RH front engine support insulator through bolt to 103-137 N-m (75-102 lb-ft).

9. Remove three bolts and Powertrain Alignment Gauge T94P-6000-AH.

10. Install LH front engine support insulator to front sub-frame with two bolts. Tighten bolts to 10 N-m (7 lb-ft). Observe position of LH front engine support insulator to ensure perfect front to rear alignment.

Retighten LH front engine support insulator bolts to 41-55 N-m (30-40 lb-ft).

11. Install LH front engine support insulator through bolt. Tighten bolt to 103-137 N-m (75-102 lb-ft).

12. Lower vehicle.

13. Connect battery ground cable.


Support Insulator, LH Engine (aka engine/tranny to front subframe mount aka front engine mount aka front roll resistor).

Removal
1. Raise vehicle on hoist.
2. Remove bolts retaining LH front engine support insulator (6038) to the front sub-frame (5C145).

3. Remove LH front engine support insulator through bolt.

4. Remove LH front engine support insulator from vehicle.

5. If required, remove LH front engine support bracket retaining bolts and LH front engine support bracket (6028) from transaxle case.

Installation
1. If removed, install LH front engine support bracket to transaxle case. Tighten retaining bolts to 41-55 N-m (30-40 lb-ft).

2. Install LH front engine support insulator onto front sub-frame. Tighten retaining bolts to 10 N-m (7 lb-ft). Observe LH front engine support insulator to ensure perfect front-to-rear alignment. Re-tighten bolts to 41-55 N-m (30-40 lb-ft).

3. Install LH front engine support insulator through bolt. Tighten through bolt to 103-137 N-m (75-102 lb-ft).

4. Lower vehicle.
 

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Tony I really appreciate the detailed info.

We had brought the car into Ford for a 139$ diganostic. They said the front right rim is bent and needs replacement (149$) and that the drive axle is bad. Total cost 800.00 to fix what they see as the problem.

My girlfriend and I are up against the ropes. We just replaced both cv shafts about 2 months ago, Ford did it for us as I don't have tools or a garage to work with. We just moved into a tightly controlled apartment complex.

The car has other problems and like your picture showed the motor mounts for sure need to be replaced. Ford wants 600 to do that job.

So in the last two months we will have spent around 1800 bucks to keep this car alive.

Can someone help me logically work through this and if we shoudl attempt to keep fixing the car or what? To be honest we are not sure if we can afford a car payment but at 600 to 800 a pop to fix all these items I just don't know...
 
The time to buy a new car is when you are not willing to fix (repairs or maintenance) it anymore. Note that car payments (with increase in insurance and property tax) can easily run you $6 to $7K per year for an average car. I have spent $2100 this year to date and expect to end the year at $2500 (maintenance and repairs). But it beats $6 to$7K per year. ;)
 
Thanks for your help Tony.

As it sits today the vehicle is at our local repair shop waiting for us to decide if we will be trading it in, selling it or repairing it.

This is a pretty subjective but I was wondering your thoughts on on our situation.

The 'dealers' are saying that the contour will fetch us "maybe 500$ dollars" in trade in value. I don't know how much of a market there is for a bad motor mount/drive axled 99 Contour but I do know that we like the car and feel that 500 bucks is pretty crappy.

We would be looking at 350 a month in payments on a new car. 4000 a year.

We are trying to decide between spending 1400 to replace motor mounts, the bad drive axle and the rim or we call it quits and get a new car.

It is hard to know what is around the corner in terms of repair costs, maybe you guys could offer some insights as to what should be replaced, or will need replacement in the coming year. Clutch, bearings, shocks, and the motor is all stock and they have 150k on them.

What does a Ford dealer charge to replace the clutch in this car?
What other major repairs shoudl we expect?
We've been good on the servicing of the engine, how long until it needs a rebuild of some sort?
Since we are on Kauai, the salt air does take it's toll on cars and their electrical connections. Are those problems normally pretty expensive to take care of?

I wish I could see in the future! Until then hopefully you guys with experience can help me think this through before we spend 14k on a new one.
 
"What does a Ford dealer charge to replace the clutch in this car?"
A lot.

"What other major repairs shoudl we expect?" Wiring harness.

"We've been good on the servicing of the engine, how long until it needs a rebuild of some sort?"
The Zetec I-4 engine have been known to "last forever" (according to Zetec owners).

"Since we are on Kauai, the salt air does take it's toll on cars and their electrical connections. Are those problems normally pretty expensive to take care of?"
Yes, if you need to send to a dealer everytime.

"I wish I could see in the future!"
ROTFL. You'd be rich if you could. :laugh:

"Until then hopefully you guys with experience can help me think this through before we spend 14k on a new one."
If I couldn't handle minor repairs myself, I get a new car every 5 years or so. Most cars start to "break down" (or require "expensive" repairs or maintenance) after 5 years or so. :shrug:
 
'95 V6 CD4E radiator, front transmission mount replace

'95 V6 CD4E radiator, front transmission mount replace

any advice replacing this? previous thread for '99 said jack up front of engine, not sure this is enough here to remove old mount, please advise if posible,

thanks

mike
 
Your dealer is most likely correct in saying that your car needs a new drive axle and motor mounts.

Deep vibration under acceleration is usually an inner cv joint that is loose. Typically they go bad if you have excessively worn motor mounts or if they were "flexed" more than 18-20 degrees upon installation.

I just went though this myself on my 2000 Contour due to either a poor quality replacement CV shaft or improper installation.
 
Looks like I didn't update...

...we replaced the motor mounts only to find out the transmission mounts were also worn heavily. We ended up not changing the motor mounts. Everything seemed to be working perfectly.

We needed shocks and a host of other items. We ended up financing a new Honda Civic and sold the Contour. We got close to 2000. We were satisfied and somehwat sad to see it go. The Civic is not the Si but it is the 2 door coupe. It is a death box on wheels.

We look forward to seeing a new Camaro or **pray** Firebird in the driveway soon enough.
 
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