95 Ford Contour 2.0 engagement shock and whinning

Asked by Stephanie Sep 22, 2015 at 08:57 PM about the 1995 Ford Contour 4 Dr GL Sedan

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Got a 95 Ford Contour 2.0 l4. When I first got it it was jerking at about 40-
45 mph. Almost like it didn't know what gear to be in. Didn't hear any
whining until after my camping trip a month later. On my way up camping it
was having a massive lack of power. I would floor it uphill and the speed
would decrease. All of the sudden, I wouldn't move my foot at all and it
would jerk almost like the throttle was opening up and finally it would start
speeding up. The whining has been persistently getting worse. It's not very
high pitched though its more of a howl. It only happens when I start
accelerating from a complete stop or when accelerating into a turn from
about 10 mph. Once it gets going the whining stops. Also when I first switch
from park to drive or reverse there's a split second engagement shock
before it will let me go anywhere. I usually smell gas right after switching into
drive or reverse also. As far as the jerking goes I'm thinking my torque
converter might be locking up. But as for the whining I'm not sure if it could
be engine or transmission or something else. And as for the gas smell I'm
REALLY lost as to what that might be. PLEASE HELP! I'm leasing this car
and if I can catch the problem early and avoid a complete transmission
replacement that would be awesome. Thank you.

220,845

Rowefast answered 8 years ago

Well I was hoping someone else would pick up on this question, so anyway, hopefully the jerking is all from the motor & not the trans. I would have the catalytic converter checked, otherwise have someone with a scan tool to pick up codes read what is going on. The whining sounds like the power steering making this noise, Ford is notorious for this sound, just make sure it is full of fluid. Eventually it will go bad.

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