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alot of problems on my 98 contour

M

MarcMiller

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
501
Location
Philadelphia
okay so im 17 i had my car for almost a year now...i havent really done that much to my car but id like to.
my car has alot of cranking and popping noises coming from the front end.
ive been told by mechanics its my
1. frame mount
2. ball joint

idk if that makes sense but it seems like its going to be alot of money.

also i had my brakes redone about 6 months back and they guys told me it should take some time for them to break in?..well its 6 months later and the rear disc brakes still squeek..i took them back they said they cleaned them.
they stopped squeeking for that day and started again right after.

now my transmission shifts real hard sometimes like if i take off to switch lanes and you know =]
well i know that also cant be good.

maybe i need to get my tranny flushed and all?
take it to aamco?

last thing is my bumper is still cracked.
think i should take it to a body mechanic and let him fix it for 150$?
i can probably get him to redue the rear bumper and also repaint my spoiler.

check out my car domain to understand the bumper / spoiler problem.


also let me know on future things i can do.
i have a cheap ass job so i cant just go fix it all up but im deff tryna get the front and back to look better...the sides look okay from the tint and rims =]


GIVE ME IDEAS.

sorry its so long i havent been on in awhile and since then i have been having alot of problems.

feel free to IM me to help me out.

computer sn-MarcMillerr
iphone- MARCisGANGSTAA

thanks alot.
 
Hey, ball joints rather then me explain how to DIY heres a great a link http://www.extremehowto.com/xh/article.asp?article_id=60227, frame mounts you might want to look into that abit more pick up a haynes manual it's like the books of all books and save you a ton of money and learn tons. Your brakes could be a series of things ranging from brake dust that could be fixed with brake cleaner or cheap brake pads meaning the compound used in the pads get worn out around 10-15k I recommened the oem ones if possible, also the metal rotor that the brake pads squeeze together can sometimes vibrate, causing a squeaking noise. Now onto the transmission could be bad syncros and if its standard shifter linkage also if you notice it being rough going from park to drive if it's automatic could be bad torque converter,censor perhaps electronical componets if not my friends automatic grand prix had some rough shifting problems it would be in the wrong gear every time and found out it was fibre friction disc that was not metal that melted and debris of the ring was inside the transmission and he attempted to get it flushed and it didn't do anything and ended up getting a new transmission get back to me with more details on what exactly its doing and shift points also replace the oil with royal purple syncromax tranny oil makes a huge diffrence. and as far as bumper/spoiler goes I say ebay or something even a scrap yard if not then I guess get it repainted good luck p.m if you got any questions. :cool:
 
Not picking on you t1990, but separating that into paragraphs would make it one hell of a lot easier to read. (no, I'm not going to be the grammar nazi, someone else already has that job here... :laugh:)

Brakes aren't all that hard to repair yourself, agree with t1990, get a haynes manual and start learning. If you're mechanically inclined at all (and with these cars you NEED to be... :laugh:) it's a decent place to start learning.

I agree with t1990, cheap pads can cause endless amount of crap.....DON'T USE 'EM!!! The money you save by doing the job yourself can easily make up for the difference in cost between cheap crappy pads and premium pads.

I'm assuming the tranny is a slushbox (automatic), in which case the fluid almost certainly needs to be changed. Not hard to do, and again, the money you save by DIY'ing it will pay for some GOOD fluid, as opposed to whatever's on sale at wal-mart.

Front end issues can be so many things it's almost pointless to speculate without a better description of what's going on.
 
okay now where can i get this manuel?
im about to get 150$ what should i do with it?

i can get my bumper fixed/refiberglassed and all or i could do something else.
 
me being 17 it isnt easy learning about this stuff or even going about to get it fixed.

it sucks but idk how to learn more about it.
 
Haynes manual?

Any book store. Haynes basically write car repair for dummies manual, step by step instruction with pictures.

IIRC, Todras still sells the Ford service manual on CD.

There are plenty of people on this site who'll give you advice on how to do things, and depending on where you live you can probably get some help.
 
gone postal said:
Not picking on you t1990, but separating that into paragraphs would make it one hell of a lot easier to read. (no, I'm not going to be the grammar nazi, someone else already has that job here... :laugh:)

Brakes aren't all that hard to repair yourself, agree with t1990, get a haynes manual and start learning. If you're mechanically inclined at all (and with these cars you NEED to be... :laugh:) it's a decent place to start learning.

I agree with t1990, cheap pads can cause endless amount of crap.....DON'T USE 'EM!!! The money you save by doing the job yourself can easily make up for the difference in cost between cheap crappy pads and premium pads.

I'm assuming the tranny is a slushbox (automatic), in which case the fluid almost certainly needs to be changed. Not hard to do, and again, the money you save by DIY'ing it will pay for some GOOD fluid, as opposed to whatever's on sale at wal-mart.

Front end issues can be so many things it's almost pointless to speculate without a better description of what's going on.
Click to expand...

Hey, Ya sorry it was late and just wanted to help him out.
 
Well i had my brakes replaced and got my rotors trimmed down...so i doubt the pads are too worn down.

Now the bumper is cracked and has small pieces missing out of it..so it would need to be fiberglassed and repainted.

Also my tail light is cracked so im gonna need new tail lights..reccomendations?
Also i recently changed my rear turn signal bulb because it died and even after changing the bulb it still flashes faster then the other side.

Idk what thats about really.
Now the front end is like a poping noise when i stop and it cranjs on the other side ..sounds like a old spring kinda..i doubt its my suspension because the guys told me my front end was good when i had the rear replaced.


Sorry if i spell stuff wrong im typing on my iPhone at work.
 
You don't have any junkyards where you can pull things off cars near you? Tails are easy to find. Make sure you get them off a 95-98. The bulb connections changed in 99 for some reason. You might be able to find a good bumper cover in t-red since it's common. There are about 4 t-reds in the yard by me with good bumpers. Easy to swap out.
 
todras said:
You don't have any junkyards where you can pull things off cars near you? Tails are easy to find. Make sure you get them off a 95-98. The bulb connections changed in 99 for some reason. You might be able to find a good bumper cover in t-red since it's common. There are about 4 t-reds in the yard by me with good bumpers. Easy to swap out.
Click to expand...

I tried calling some but they said they dont have any contours.
 
yeah im not very good at searching for things i dont know about..i also need a new attenna.
i dont know if i should get the power one like i have now...its bent and doesnt go up or down anymore..id like an attenna that actually goes up and down but im not good with price...



if anyone wants to help me out im ALWAYS on aim.

IM me so i have someone to ask questions to when the time comes down to it..

PC-MarcMillerr
iPhone- MARCisGANGSTAA

either one!
 
Just shave the current one you have and weld a patch in level it out and paint it looks clean and run it at the back window.
 
For parts like antennas google is your friend.

Also, check the classified here and see who is parting out cars.
 
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