Car stalling when idle/ stopped. Rough idle. Weird bumping while accelerating.

Asked by Louis Nov 09, 2014 at 06:45 PM about the 1999 Ford Contour 4 Dr SE Sedan

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 1999 Ford Contour SE and had the
radiator recently replaced by a mechanic.
Car used to run well before I had a radiator
leak and now after replacing it the car
seems to idle rough. It also seems to kind
of bump while accelerating depending on
where I put my foot at. And Ive had the car
stall on me while at a intersection/ stop
sign or pulling out of a parking lot and
switching dears.

5 Answers

143,695

I can only assume,the car has ran hot in the past,being you replaced radiator,lead,s me to think you may have a blowed intake gasket or head gasket,leaking making it run this way.

Yeah the car did over heat on me once. That's when we found out the radiator was leaking. I parked it and ordered the new radiator and a week later had a mobile mechanic put it in. I hear it might be the fuel filter but I have no idea how to check.

But I did check to see if my engine oil was mixing with the coolant. I check it every day before I drive to work and then again when I leave work heading home.

10

you most likely,(unfortunately) HAVE A BLOWN HEAD GASGET.... Not the end of the world,just have a mechanic do the" die in the coolant overflow tank" test and you'll know immediately! my teenage son overheated the car and even though there was no oil/coolant mix the head gasket was blown....just remove the aluminum head ,take it to napa ,have them resurface and replace the valve seals and so forth (they know what to do,buy a complete engine gasket kit ,put everything all back where it belongs,and it will run better than new and with more power and torque!!!!! it sounds like a lot but it is worth it .The car will run(properly maintained for another 200+k miles and with the new radiator and thermostat much cooler always....I can't believe the difference after I did all this to mine....OH.and since you'll have it off,replace the timing belt too!!!!you'll not believe the difference!!!!!

1 people found this helpful.
10

it's not the fuel filter ,...Trust me ,have a mechanic do the coolant overflow tank ,die test (a mouth full but I bet it will confirm a blown head gasket!....)

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