1996 Ford Contour car clicks but will not turn over

Tiny
MEBORTMAS
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 FORD CONTOUR
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • MANUAL
  • 125,000 MILES
Hey Guys, I have been working on my son's Contour because he said it sounded "like there were rocks in the engine" when it was revved. We figured out that he had been driving with 1 qt. Of oil and had probably fried the cam bearing. Also, a computer scan revealed an EGR issue. We oiled up, replaced the EGR solenoid and, aside from the cam noise issue, it ran ok. After this, I was driving it home, and each time I pushed in the clutch it would instantly stall. I would pop the clutch to get started, but when I came to a complete stop, it did not have the power to restart. After a jump, as I got closer to home, it seemed to be losing power and running rougher and by the time I turned the last corner, it was dead and had to be pushed in. We replaced the battery, thinking it possibly was not holding a charge, and when we tried to start it, a small puff of electrical smelling smoke was visible coming from where the starter/solenoid would be. It never turned over since the battery was replaced, just a click and a high pitched squeal for a few seconds. All the electrical amenities work, but engine won't turn. Thanks for your web site. I love it!
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 AT 3:12 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
JAMES W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,394 POSTS
Does the engine try to turn over at all? Can you turn it by hand? From your post, it sounds like it siezed up. If you can turn it by hand, it may have fried the starter. My instincts tell me you may have to issue last rights to this one. Good luck.
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Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 AT 3:30 PM

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