Have you checked the Contour.org web page and forums? Lots of great information out there for us Contour and Mystique owners. Need to jack up car on right side. Lay down under the car and look up at the belt. use a wrench or socket on the tensioner to get slack in the belt. Pull the belt off when you get enough slack. Get your new bel on all the pulleys and pull the tensioner back up and slip the new belt on.
Mine on the 98 is a belt. It is behind the serpentine belt under covers on the front of the engine.
The belt is tightened automatically by the belt tensioner. If the belt is too loose, it's time to replace it.
According to the 1996 Mercury Mystique Scheduled Maintenance Guide : The timing belt for the 2.0 liter four cylinder engine is changed at : ( 60,000 mile intervals )
Is it safe to drive my 2000 Mercury Mystique with a bad timing belt?
routing for serpentine belt 2003 mercury sable
According to Gates ( they manufacture timing belts etc. ) starting with the 1998 model of the Mercury Mystique - it shows to inspect the timing belt at 120,000 miles and replace if necessary on the 2.0 L - 4 cylinder engine
Diagrams for timing belt marks for 1999 Mercury Mystique cars are great for mechanic's. If they need to replace a timing belt the diagram can show pictures of how the parts are set up to make sure they are fixing the timing belt correctly.
Replace serpentine belt on Chevy avalanche?HOW
How do you replace the serpentine belt in 1997 sunfire
fans are driven electronically no belt. The serpentine belt is taken off by taking the tension off at the tensioner and replacing by following the pattern on your strut tower.
how to replace a serpentine belt on 1992 grand am 2.3l
Replace it.