giganto

I was driving the "Voltour" home a couple of nights ago and noticed a glow from the door handle of the back passenger door. It was the green courtesy lamp that I knew from my Mystiques. I didn't know the Contour had them as well, even after driving it for over a year. The bulbs had been burned out in front I guess since I bought the car. Yesterday, I went to the Ford dealer looking for two replacement lamps, and they said that the E7RY-13466-J Bulb-Type W T5/1.2 12 is obsolete. They still are at Team Ford for $1.61 each, but who knows for how long.

I need to get to the junkyard today and see how many I can pull. They say it is also the same bulb in the lighter too...which also illuminates the ashtray and a PITA to replace.

I have a squeaky accessory belt on my 2.0l four-cylinder Mystique. The Ford dealership used a stethoscope to pinpoint the idler pulley, but it is obsolete. I got one at O'Riley's for $22 and put it in, but the squeak is still there. I put some belt conditioner on it and the squeaking went away until it dried. Is the problem not enough tension from the tensioner pulley? Is it obsolete too?

I was going to post this in "Under the Hood," then remembered that transmissions are a specialty of yours. I'm considering converting an ATX Contour to electric because now there is a controller with an "idle" function built in that works with a modified torque converter. Since my design is already close to GVWR, I'm hesitant to move forward with the study until I can figure out how much difference in weight there is between a MTX and ATX-equipped car. Even a rough estimate would be useful. Thanks.

Terry, I thought I'd file this subject in your forum since your local climate (and local government) seems to promote rust on rear crossmembers. I got my '96 Mystique in Chicago, and now that the Voltour is almost complete (well, it has gone 4000 miles, but I still haven't worked out the tach) I can address the issue before the cold weather comes. The crossmember and all the supporting hardware have rusty flakes peeling away. Since I live in the South, I have access to plenty of less rusty alternatives in the junkyard. You mentioned in another post that the OEM replacement has been upgraded a bit, so I was wondering what would be the best thing for my project...a project that may one day become an "Electrique" and totally ignore the rear GAWR.

I have also come across an alternative to PB Blaster called "Aerokroil," and was told it made PB Blaster look like WD-40. Knowing this project was coming, I bought a can and set it to work on some stuck door latches. I had to open three doors from the inside handle because the outside handle wouldn't unlatch the door. I sprayed some "Aerokroil" around the latch, worked the latch a little, and all three were working properly in five minutes. Last time I had this problem, I had to swap latches from the junkyard and discovered that the outside door handle mounting screws had rusted solid. I'm still looking for a blue plastic piece to go around the outside driver door handle.

I'm probably going to drill the holes in the trunk to get the crossmember bolts a good soaking top and bottom before I whip out my impact wrench. I'm just wondering what would be the best source of a replacement crossmember, arms and bar. I've been pleased with my "Monromatic" struts in the "Voltour," so I may replace them while I'm under there already.

I discovered the odometer was not functioning while doing annual maintenance on the '95 Mystique my mother-in-law drives. While not critical, it is useful to get the low-mileage vehicle discount on my insurance. This is the second Gen 1 odometer I've had die on me, but this time there were no Gen 1 'tours in the JY. I tried swapping out for Gen 2, but they released the "magic smoke" when plugged in and neither the odometer or speedometer would work.

While pulling the instrument clusters, I noticed the '98 one with the old-style instrument cluster had a plastic instrument panel with contours similar to my Mystique's. For $10 I bought it and it fit right in. I have had the panel out so many times to fix things that it kept cracking and breaking. This newer model with the cylindrical vents seems to be much more durable.

Has anyone taken apart their instrument clusters and repaired their ODO? I know it's not a VSS issue, since the speedo works. My "Voltour's" Contour instrument panel is getting pretty bad too; do the later Contour panels fit?