ModernMuscleCars.net - Modern Muscle Cars Archive - 98 Contour dead a little help anyone?

Pages: 1

98 Contour dead a little help anyone?
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: 65fairlane

My girlfriend's car died the other day on the highway. Its a 98 contour with 154K on the clock. We were cruising along at 65 or so, she stepped on the gas to get out of the way of someone who didn't quite understand the physics of lane changes and as the car was shifting the car just died. Wouldn't start at all.
We got it towed home. It is refusing to start. It is turning over but it won't start. A few months ago it was stalling out in low rpm turns, from a stoplight driveway etc.

We have come up with a list of a few possibilities:
Timing belt- replaced at most 50K miles ago.
clogged fuel filter
something screwed up in the ignition (I honestly don't even know what the distributorless ignitions systems consist of its electronic voo doo as far as I know)
ecm-God I hope not
alternator

I need to go out tomorrow and see if we are getting spark or not. I looked at it tonight but I didnt feel like tracing the plug wires under the damn plate they are run under.

I'm looking for any suggestions since we don't have the money to take it to a shop and let them try one thing after another until they get it. We don't have much of a work area since it is in the corner of our parking lot.

I'm looking for any suggestions anyone's got.

Posted by: maverick2010

This may sound stupid but try tracing all the wiring make sure all of your components are plugged in like computer and such.

Posted by: Shell33

Well my daily driver is a 95 Contour. I've had trouble with it since I bought it. It has around 130,000 on it. I was having same stalling out problem as your girlfriend is with hers. It still does sometimes. I changed the alternator which was part of the problem. I changed the fuel filter and had fuel pressure tested neither one of those were the problem. I hooked my ford code tester up and it showed egr so changed it. Still stalls out sometimes I need to code it again. That's why it's good to have an older car no sensors. Not sure what the cause but thought I'd tell you few things I done to mine that didn't change the problem. Hope it helps.

Posted by: 65fairlane

We ended up having the Timing belt and tensioners replaced. It still wasn't right when we got it back. Then shortly thereafter her dad showed up one day with a new (to her) car and took the contour off of our hands. He somehow got $1400 for it the next day.

Posted by: Shell33

Better off getting rid of it. I had the timing belt and tensioners replaced on mine. Did ok for awhile. Now it's stalling out again. Half the time I have to have one foot on the brake and still apply the gas to keep it from stalling. I'm thinking of trading mine in. I've always had trouble with it.

Posted by: skeezix

You could always drive the Monte.

Back to the Forums