2000 continental bucking at 45-50mph

BigPip

Well-Known LVC Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2011
Messages
206
Reaction score
8
Location
Central Fl
I have changed the spark plugs for the third time (all different brands) but still have a bucking within these speeds. I also changed the boot and spring thing from coil down to spark plug. I have no engine code and car runs fine on highway just in city in this range is hell. I have read on here that the coils go bad but I haven't found the symptoms of a bad coil. I do know that I have seen hairline cracks on top of the coils, not sure if that is bad or not.

Just replaced the motorcraft plugs for autolite plugs (platinum)
119k miles

thanks for any suggestions and help
 
I had to change my plug wires to rid my car of bucking. My car did not throw any misfire codes for long time but eventually misfire #3 came up and it was my wires.
 
How long has it been sense the fuel filter has been changed? I had a gallop/bucking symptom between 35-45 while country driving and 60-70 when on the e-way. I spent days looking for faulty spark yet everything was flawless as far as the ignition system. No check engine light no codes nothing. I never stopped to think about the fuel supply.
I started unplugging sensors under the hood and inadvertantly caused the service light to trip. After plugging everything back in I used my scan tool to clear the light (Vac) but my scan tool showed that the o2 sensors were reporting a lean mix.

I changed the fuel filter- No more lean mix, no more bucking/galloping
 
Fuel Filter

Well... I know I bought 2 fuel filters, one for the lincoln and one for the corolla. I also know I that I changed one of them... but I don't know which one.

I will run the part number I have and check. I forgot all about the other filter,
Thanks for the headsup-
 
Fuel Filter

Well, I changed the filter tonight. It was pretty bad- clear out of one side and brown out of the other so it was doing its job. I took it for a ride and it seemed to have gone away. We will see tomorrow, Lets HOPE its gone, I am heading out of town Friday morning and i really don't want any surprises. Can't wait to get her on the open road and see how she does.
 
Fuel Filter

Where is the fuel filter located on the '99-'02 Continental and how do you replace it?
 
Well, I still have the problem...

Location- Passenger side of car, in front or rear time behind the drip rail. Can't miss it. 1 clamp (flathead screw driver) then pull the clips. If you don't release the pressure then gas will spray out. I just repeased them slowly and let it drain into a pan until it stopped.
 
Coil pack(s) maybe??

Not sure if this line of troubleshooting is effective on Fords but I saw this issue on a BMW 4.4 V8 and what the owner ended up doing was swapping each coil with a known good one and letting the engine run for a bit until the culprit was found. Personally if I found a bad coil on mine I would replace the other 7 as well just for peace of mind.
 
Try to drive that thing as long as you can in that 45-50 mph range and let it buck as long as you can, maybe a long country road if possible. What you want to try to do is get the computer to see the problem long enough to set the check engine light. If the check engine light will come on then you can take it to an auto parts store to have the code pulled to direct us in the right direction, most stores will do it no charge.
 
I went on a 42 mile back country road today full of bucking, no light. I get on the highway, cruise control on at 77- most beautiful car I have ever owned, even my favorite cadillacs. i thought the 10 drive over here would clear something out or make it worst and give me a light. go figure-
 
Could this be in the transmission?

I added 1/3 of bottle of Lucas Fuel Treatment to the car while in Mississippi and 1/3 for the next 2 fill ups. it seems to be running better and I don't get the bucking as often but its still there.

between this and the damn stabilizer link bar that keeps breaking on me, I think I am about ready to put her back on the auction block.
 
do conti's have coil on plug? cuz if they do, change the coils. this thing happens to the LS allllllll the time. and occasionally on second gen mark viiis as well. with coil on plug, the coils get WAY more heat cuz they are stuffed in to the engine. as a result, they fail much faster,
 
yes, COP- I was thinking about changing them out, thought about going with MSD coils, not much different in cost for OEM. It seems to be worst after warm/hot.
 
Well- It looks like i have a too 'free flowing' exhaust. Its not building enough backpressure and it is messing with the egr valve and blah blah blah. I disconnected to the egr solenoid and it ALL went away!

So, now I guess I will pull the egr and tube and make sure it is all clean then move from there.
 
Installed 3rd cat this morning. Still seems to be there, maybe not as bad (yet) but still there.

lets go back to COP if we can. if it was the coil, wouldn't it throw a misfire code? Or even the egr solenoid? I just WISH I would get an engine light for this problem.
 
With my car all my plug wires were bad and it took 6 years of stumbling at idle b4 misfire on 3 code was given. The plug wire was bad and so were all the others. 1997 Contiental 175,000 miles. I like it when I get a code for an issue, but I am noticing codes are not thrown all the time. A mechanical part such as fuel pump cannot throw a code, only the circuit that watches the fuel system can. Same a s bad plug wires, they are a mechanical part and therefore no codes.

BTW, reason my plug wire failed was resistence went way up.
 
I fixed It! You'll Never Guess!!!

EGR Solenoid- 5mm socket


I was told to adjust the EGR solenoid (you could adjust these things?!) so with skepticism I took the cap off and seen nothing to adjust. Then I went back to the tech and took the cap off and said adjust what? he point to the nipple and said, 'that, it has the hex for a wrench/socket.'

Came home, put a 5mm on it and turned it 1 turn clockwise. Car ran rough than eventually stalled. Okay, wrong way. 1 turn counterclockwise + 1/2 turn. Started and idled great and surging almost went completely away. added 1/4 turn and now it is GONE! I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED!!!:headbang:
 
Hello friend and Happy New Year. I have a 1998 Continental and it seems I'm having the same problem with hesitation at certain speeds. I changed my plugs and noticed oil in the spark plug wells so new valve cover gaskets and valve stem seals are a must. But I'd like to know what the EGR solenoid looks like so I can eliminate the problem.
 

Members online

No members online now.
Back
Top