From the 1/2/2010 show:
Ken called in with a question about his '95 Ford Contour. Sometimes when idling, the car makes a funny “mooing” sound and then dies. It starts again without problem and doesn’t have any problems running otherwise.
Ray thought the problem was a cracked pipe running between the MAF and the throttle body. It’s the right area for the source of the sound, but probably the wrong diagnosis.
I suspect, in fact, that Ken has a bad Idle Air Control Valve. The funny humming is a classic symptom as is the trouble idling. I am surprised the “Ford mechanic” couldn’t offer this as a solution. The part is not too expensive and is easy to replace.
There is a Ford TSB 96-19-5 that may also help with this concern.
STALL?INTERMITTENT?DURING IDLE AFTER
DECELERATION?VEHICLES WITH 2.5L ENGINE TSB 96-19-5
? ENGINE?2.5L??HOOTING? OR ?MOOSING? NOISE
FROM ENGINE COMPARTMENT
? NOISE??HOOTING? OR ?MOOSING? FROM
ENGINE COMPARTMENT ON DECELERATION?
VEHICLES WITH 2.5L ENGINE
FORD: 1995-1997 CONTOUR
MERCURY: 1995-1997 MYSTIQUE
chrisbmini almost certainly got this one right. We have a 1999 2.5L Duratec, it developed the “hooting and moosing” problem quite a few years ago. I’m surprised Tom and Ray haven’t featured this, because it’s one of the funniest noises that I’ve heard come out of a car. It literally sounds like a moose is trapped under the hood. I was embarrassed to start the car in the morning. At a stoplight, I looked around at other cars, pretending it wasn’t me (it can be REALLY loud).
It’s apparently caused by warping of the plastic air intake. The line changes shape just enough to create a standing wave. The resulting vibration causes the MAF to go crazy; that’s why the engine sometimes dies when returning to idle.
The TSB fix is VERY expensive, assuming they still have the parts. A much cheaper solution, involving removal of one pipe and addition of a 5 cent pipe cap, can be found at http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=47435
It worked great for us, and our gas mileage went back to the way it was before it started happening.
check :the vacum check valve or dashpot on the power booster for the brakes .it is cracked or sticking moooooooooooo
I’m guessing you haven’t experienced the problem. “Hooting and moosing” is such a strange phenomenon, Ford was willing to put the name in the title of the TSB.
I’d bet money that Ken’s problem is hooting and moosing.
“Moosing”? That’s a new one! I haven’t “moosed” in years!
chrisbmini:
Interesting about that TSB – we have a '97 2.5L Contour which recently exhibited Ken’s problem and which has the configuration described in the diagram. However, while the resonance condition was occurring in the Idle Air Hose itself, a failing Idle Air Control Valve was initiating it as well as causing the engine to stall. (The IAC is identified as the Idle Speed Control in the diagram, but most auto stores list it as an IAC valve.)
I pulled and cleaned the IAC initially, which only bought us a couple of weeks; as soon as I replaced the part, the moosing (who came up with that word?!) and the stalling disappeared.
In any case, as Ken’s car is 14 or 15 years old, this strikes me as more probably a component failure rather than an original design issue.
Cheers!