1994 Mercury Tracer clicking/grinding while accelerating

1994 MERCURY TRACER
150,000 MILES • 4 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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PAULG303
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  • 1 POST
My car has a clicking/grinding sound when I'm accelerating which gets especially bad when I'm going up hills. The sound is similar to when a CV joint goes bad, but it does not happen when making sharp turns or U turns. The grinding is most prevalent when accelerating from a dead stop, and the grinding starts slowly and gets faster as the car gets faster. Also, the grinding is MUCH more noticeable after I hit a dip, when the shocks are extended (when the car is in an upward motion, after the initial dip). I had the car checked out by a mechanic who told me that I needed new lower ball joints and struts, which did not fix the problem (they told me the ball joints had some play which turned out to be a total lie - they had no play whatsoever, replaced them anyway - whatever). So at this point I'm thinking its the wheel bearings or the driveshaft (maybe driveshaft bearings?). There is a little bit of play in the transaxle, but I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. Thanks a bunch for your help!
Dec 2, 2008 at 5:00 PM
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JAMES W.
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  • 2,394 POSTS
Bad struts and ball joints may cause handling problems, but they don,t make noise. The outboard axle joints will usually make noise on a tight turn, but the inboard will make the same noise no matter what, especially on acceleration. I would take a good look at the inboard joints. If they check out ok? Give us a holler back.
Dec 2, 2008 at 5:26 PM