firerunner35624
New member
1998 Ford Contour with 97,000 miles. Just bought it. After a little bit of idling, it started to sound and run like crap, mainly slightly dieseling. For some reason, the heater stopped working. After running it for longer, it stalls when idling, but runs like a champ when high-revved. The longer it runs, the more it stalls out. The serpentine belt has some small "burns" along it now and it smokes and smells a bit like burnt oil and rubber. It also sounds like a Cummins diesel motor now. If I let it cool off, it'll still run and drive fine, but the same symptoms arise. Is it a timing problem? Computer problem? MAF sensor? Tune up problem? The dipsticks show no loss of fluids, although the coolant does seem a bit watery and I'm sure the engine should be on 87 octane.