2000 Contour automatic stutters/dies when gas is low

[sfemme24]

Hi, I am about to blow up this piece of junk..can someone please help me..this car has been doing this since last summer, when i accelerate it stutters sometimes, and sometimes i will be driving like 40-60 and it will just start jerking, then if i floor the gas, it like wont do anything, then when i let off the gas it jerks and jumps like , its hard to explain, but this is really frustrating, it doesnt do it ALL the time only sometimes, and when my gas gets around 1/4 tank it dies out and then will restart right up again after a couple seconds, then keep dying out after a few seconds til i fill the gass tank then its fine for a day or whatever its also horrible on gas but i dont know if this is just cuz its a 6 cylinder...i have replaced the fuel filter, did NOTHING..and just blew $500 on a new fuel pump !!! HELP>>>>
plus anyone notice this on other contours it seems to idle VERY FAST my mechanic said he checked it and the idle seemed fine, but it feels too fast for me, its hard to stop and when u are stopped and go to accelerate it like jerks like you are Flooring the gas its soo annoying I HATE FORDS will never get another one.

[ihaterap]

if you have been following somwe of these threads you will see the same problem popping up, I had exactly the same problem took it to ford who said we could not duplicate the problem ( they had it for 3 days) realized my mistake and took it to a local shop who had done some work on my other cars and he knew of the problem but ford only recoginzed it for the taurus. the fuel pump uses plastic hose which over time become brittle or crack allowing air in to line . he replaced the pump and the car runs like new, the problem is the new pump wont fit back in the same place and requirtes a special tool to snap off a plastic ring . hopes this helps

[ihaterap]

my bad i did not read the whole post about replacing the fuel pump , maybe he replaced with an older model or im just out of ideas

[sfemme24]

HE claims to of replaced it with a new dealer fuel pump because he claims the other older ones go bad fast or something

[Jason43]

I hate to say it, but it still sounds like a problem with the fuel pump. If the problem goes away when the tank is full, thats usually a syptom of a dying pump. When they replaced the pump, do you know if they replaced just the sending unit(the pump itself), or the entire assembly, housing and all? There is a round disc filter on the bottom of the stock housing that gets clogged very easily causing the pump to burn up and is also why the 99-00 models have an almost 100% failure rate. If they didn't remove or replace that disc filter, chances are thats the problem, or at least one of the problems.

[sfemme24]

Hi, well the problem doesnt go away when the gas is full, it just doesnt die out when its full..its still has same problems just when gas is low it actually dies out.i checked and there are no recalls on my model car

[Jason43]

Even if it doesn't go away, just the fact that it gets better when the tank is full points to a pump related problem. I'd ask your mechanic just exactly what he replaced. Like I said above, if he didn't replace the housing, then the clogged original disc filter is probably still in there and should be removed. Its not needed anyways since there is another sock filter inside the housing. If you go to contour.org, there is a how to on the main page for replacing the fuel pump on late model contours. If I recall, it has pictures and should give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

[flybynight]

rough acceleration is often a sign of the tranny failing which can stall out the car if it slips hard enough... my family owns nothing but fords 9 of them to be exact. they are hard to work on but they are good realiable cars for the most part dont' give up on fords the other makers have more problems than you think. you will also want to have your fuel injectors cleaned as this can cause many problems don't use a gasoline additive cleaner either they don't work worth a piss. take it to a mechanic and use a 3M cleaner on the fuel injectors. if youre ignorant and won't take it to a mechanic then use lucas gas additive. and make sure you have the hoses checked.let me know if oyu still have problems this is only a start but you have to start somwhere

[fastasshell]

well i just got a 1995 v6 2.5 contour 5 speed and it is having the same urk and jurk bucking problem. i notice that on the post from the pass that alot of contours are doing this and that everyone is pointing at the fuel pump. well when i got the car it had a half a tank of gas in it. and while driving it for the first time on a test drive. it did not do this bucking at all. but at the time it had a 1/2 tank of gas. now the car is at a 1/4 tank. and let me tell yah i went to leave from a stop light and the car went hay wire. it just started jumping and bucking. the person in the car next to me at the next light looked at me like are you some kinda maniac. learn how to drive ace in the hole. anyway it even does it while parked. i poped the hood and took a look and the idle even sounds rought. now the brake lights dont work. and i found that the fuse was blown. but i went to replace it and it just keeps blowing fuses. and i found that the EEC memery fuse under the hood was blown. so i replaced it and now the car has a mind of its own. now when i start it and go to shut it back off. it will keep running untile i pull that fuse from the EEC memery im sorry if this post was drugout for this long but if anyone have anything im all ears

[fastasshell]

has anyone come up with anything on this post.yet