I have a 97 ford contour with 63000 miles on it. engine light was on with cyl 1 misfire code. changed plugs and wires and erased code. didn't fix problem, idles ok in park or nuetral but in gear its rough. Cleaned maf but didn't help. i can hear a tapping on the timing belt cover like something is hitting it but took it off and didn't see nothing except the belt was bouncing around a little in between the gears. would this cause rough idle? or maybe dirty fuel injectors? thanks for any advice

 

Could be a lot of things but while you had the top cover off the timing belt did you bring to top dead center and check timing mark on cam gear? One tooth out or a bad tensioner could do this on some engines, what size engine is yours?

 

So it is the 4 cylinder engine (the 6-cyl has a timing chain). I had a timing belt issue that may be the same with yours. The bolt for the timing belt tensioner was broken.

Have the timing belt replaced. It is due at about 60000 miles anyway, and yours has aged as well.

The misfire could also be caused by a bad injector, or loss of compression, or a bunch of other things. This should be sorted out before spending money on the timing belt. The belt replacement alone is at least $400. Use an independent mechanic.

 

Still having the problem, been too busy to really mess with it lately. I ran seafoam to try to clean the injectors but didnt help, Idles fine in park or nuetral but rough in gear until i press on gas pedal than it smooths out. Has died on me after making a turn the rpm dropped and died so im thinking that why it has a rough idle is dropping the rpms and when a load is put on the motor like the ac and turning it drops even more. I dont think its the timing belt doing this and not sure if the motor mounts would only allow it to be rough in gear. No engine lights and brand new battery. Any other suggestions? I have a gauge to read the fuel pressure but when i try to pull the fuel line off, the rubber slides back a good 3 inches but theres some black film under it that wont come off and i dont want to break it. Thanks

 

I think you might run a comp. test and see if you're getting a good reading.

 

bad compression would make it only rough at an idle in gear? Park and nuetral fine and as soon as i give it gas it is smooth.drives on the freeway at 75 smooth as butter

 

You have me stumped. What about taking it to a mechanic?

Also read this: http://www.btinternet.com/~madmole/

even though this is based on the European Mondeo almost everything applies to the US Contour.

 

yea i might have to, i build dirt bikes and i work on all my own vehicles, done a lot of motor work on my dodge truck so im somewhat mechanically inclined, but this car i know nothing about. I dont have a ton of time to figure this out either. Ill take a look at the link thanks. Also i can hear the fuel pump make a weird screeching type noise before i start the car but if that was going out wouldnt i have problems driving and not just idleing in gear?

 

Hard to tell from where I am.
One thought though: the computer must know if you are in gear. It learns that from a sensor at the transmission. If that sensor malfunctions the computer will not raise the idle speed as it should.
Hanky, what sensor am I talking about? Transmission Range Sensor, maybe?

 

wouldn't that throw a code if it was faulty though? This has been going on for about 3 or 4 months.