My 99 mercury cougar backfires when I put in drive.but not in revers or at idle.is my tyranny bad

Question

My 99 mercury cougar backfires when I put in drive.but not in revers or at idle.is my tyranny bad

Answer 1

It is a power problem. Idle requires no effort at all so it won´t backfire and reverse is stronger than drive (stronger than 1st gear) so it won´t backfire either as it requires less power from engine.

Check timing, plugs´ wear and calibration (sparks might be weak) and any other issue related to ignition.  

Answer 2

try giving it a tune up. including wires and plugs. my subaru used to backfire when sitting in drive and while taking off. i changed wires and plugs and it solved the problem...