whimsey29

Well I changed my valve cover gasket with the Fel-Pro gasket. It fit just like the factory gasket. I didn't use any RTV as my mine from the factory didn't use any. I think my Contour's cast aluminum valve cover is more stable than the later Focus Zetec stamped steel or composit valve covers where Fel-Pro recommends RTV on the v/c ends. So far so good, no leaks. In a Haynes manual I have they showed where the rubber grommets go. I torqued the v/c bolts to 25 inch/pounds then to 62 inch pounds. At 107,000 miles the valve train looks brand new under the valve cover. I love this car, at 20+ years old, it drives great. My biggest worry is the wiring harness problems these cars have. I'll keep my fingers crossed! Whimsey29

It's for a 1996 Contour. It's a Fel-Pro Perma-Dry replacement gasket with 10 grommets. I've l watched non Fel-Pro You Tubes, only ones were for later model Zetec Focus'. For a 2001 Focus Pro-Fel said to install dry and use RTV on the recessed ends, this was not mentioned in the You Tube video. In fact they said to oil the gasket vs dry for Fel-Pro advise. I've seen nothing about the rubber grommets. I assume they go between the bolt and valve cover? As the my bolts don't have a pan head on them as do the later Focus bolts. Fel-Pro advises a final torque of 62in/lbs. Any advise is greatly appreciated. Whimsey29

I have a 1996 bought new, well cared for Contour with the Zetec, 103,000 miles. I noticed that in the cooler temps at start up it has an engine noise, not valve train noise. As it warms up it goes away. In the warm temps it doesn't have any noise. I use synthetic 5W-30 oil and oil filters with silicone ADBV's. Just curious if these engines are prone to piston slap. The car runs great otherwise. It'll make the noise using the same oil and filter in the cool climate as well as being quiet in the warmer temps with the same oil and filter. Whimsey

My 1996 Zetec has the same issue if trying to fill it too quickly. I've found in the past that some fuel pumps would trigger the shut off no matter how fast or slow you have it set. I always have set mine on the slowest fill setting and I've not had any problems for some years now for the gas stations I use. Maybe the fuel pumps are now calibrated differently than in the past. Whimsey

Is it really rough or just not smooth? I have a 1996 5 speed and from day one the idle was "not smooth" and if I put on the ac/defroster or even the lights it would get rougher, not horrible but rougher. Also with the ac or defroster on I could detect a slight hunting of the throttle when driving as it got older. Cleaned the throttle body this year for the first time, I'm the original owner, and it really smoothed out the idle. The IAC valve is a real pain to get to on my engine so unless it gets real bad I'm leaving it. However I'll check the throttle position sensor since it's easy to get to. I'm afraid to yank on wiring harnesses and connectors due to the weak wire insulation if it's not absolutely necessary. I did notice that after cleaning the TB on the first stop after cold start in the morning it would almost stall once but then run fine, if the first stop was a mile or less. I can live with that . Whimsey29

Make sure you use a throttle body cleaner and not something else. I think that's where the problem could arise with Ford's coating in the TB.

I have the same car as you. My idle became eratic and would hunt especially after coming off a highway run. I looked for the IAC valve and saw that it would be a major task to do so I just cleaned the throttle body. Low and behold it made a big difference in the idle quality. No more hunting and almost stalling. The idle is around 850-925 rpm, it seems "lowish" but but it's fairly smooth and I noticed that moving from idle to speed is so much smoother, no"weakness" as before. The cleaning made a big difference. I'm not going to touch the IAC valve for now. Terry, I hooked up my phone app Torque Pro and it showed the vacuum to be rock steady, no fluctuations at idle. Is it safe to assume that my hoses are ok, at this point in time?