96 Ford Contour Zetec engine - hard to work on?

Question

I'm looking at purchasing a 96 Ford Contour GL at a dealer's lot. It has 128K on it. For the most part I like the car. Does seem to have some motor noise, though.

Anyway, when I popped the hood to check out the engine, I noticed I could hardly see anything like you can on most engines. I can usually see the belt, hopefully the alternator is on top and is easy to change, can see the water pump, power steering pump, etc. On this Zetec motor I could hardly make out the belt because it's so crowded in there (but it was at night, too).

So are they hard to work on? I've never owned a Ford before and don't know anything about them. Would it be any harder to install a remote starter than in a GM vehicle? Think it's wise to take on a Contour with 128K on the clock? Asking price is $2200. Has good tires, but I think it might need exhaust work soon if not now. Also it had $2000 worth of transmission work done about 20K miles ago.

Thanks for any input.

-Ryan

Ryan · Accepted Answer

Also noticed that the headlights would go a little dim at idle. We did have the rear defrost on, but still this car has a 130 amp alternator (I think) so should be able to run both the lights and rear defrost no problem. Do the dim lights at idle indicate a possible problem with the alternator? I was wondering if the idle was a little slow, that would explain the low voltage and the vibration at idle. Is the idle adjustable somehow on this car?

-Ryan

96 Ford Contour Zetec engine - hard to work on?

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