# Ken from Bluffton's Contour **URL:** \ **Category:** The Show\ **Created:** [January 3, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ken-from-blufftons-contour/41743 "2010-01-03T02:29:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KDog67](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/kdog67/32/1621_2.png) [@KDog67](https://community.cartalk.com/u/KDog67)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ken-from-blufftons-contour/41743/1 "2010-01-03T02:29:06Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![chrisbmini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a87d85/32.png) [@chrisbmini](https://community.cartalk.com/u/chrisbmini)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ken-from-blufftons-contour/41743/2 "2010-01-03T19:57:49Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![jackal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/858c86/32.png) [@jackal](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jackal)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ken-from-blufftons-contour/41743/3 "2010-01-04T00:47:50Z")
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](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. ---
**Author:** ![zippy06360](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@zippy06360](https://community.cartalk.com/u/zippy06360)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ken-from-blufftons-contour/41743/4 "2010-01-04T22:09:45Z")
check :the vacum check valve or dashpot on the power booster for the brakes .it is cracked or sticking moooooooooooo ---
**Author:** ![jackal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/858c86/32.png) [@jackal](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jackal)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ken-from-blufftons-contour/41743/5 "2010-01-05T23:46:22Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ken-from-blufftons-contour/41743/6 "2010-01-05T23:47:54Z")
“Moosing”? That’s a new one! I haven’t “moosed” in years! ---
**Author:** ![KDog67](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/kdog67/32/1621_2.png) [@KDog67](https://community.cartalk.com/u/KDog67)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ken-from-blufftons-contour/41743/7 "2010-01-07T16:47:51Z")
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!