Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting This Noise Really Worries Me

My 1995 V6 MTX Countour LX has 163,000 miles. I really like the car and I'm the sole owner so I'm very attuned to changes and new noises.

Very recently I've noticed a noise from underneath the car that sounds like gravel in the tranny or the bottom of the motor. I hear it slightly at idle, and much more so when pulling away in 1st and 2nd gears (above that the wind/road noise masks it). Its getting progressively a bit louder.

I have some rattling of the heat shields, but its not that. The last couple of years the car has started knocking on regular gas at high throttle, so I generally keep my foot out of it(I believe this is a carbon buildup issue), but it is not that either.

The car still has good power, burns little oil, and has always had good maintenance.

I don't currently have a shop that I trust so I'm hoping to get some wisdom before I take it to the dealer to check this out.

What might this be?
Thanks,
Chris

why no responses? No one has heard this one?

See if you can pin down where it originates a little better. It sort of sounds like it may be some normal manual transmission gear roll over noise. This trans does have a lot of gear roll over noise, and it seems to get louder as this age, especially as the clutch wears.

I don't know if this will help or not.

Put some grease on your suspension parts, check standard things. Could be anything.

Most gravel sound complaints are from the cat heat shield or the cat itself. Fastest way to tell is to tap the exhaust with a piece of wood and see if you here the noise.

jeff