Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Grinding noise on acceleration

Ok, 95 Mystique, 2.5L V6. When I hit the gas I hear a very audible grinding noise that is constant. Its not the ABS grinding noise. It revs up and down with the engine. I also hear a whirring noise. The ATF fluid smells ok and loks clear. I sometimes smell a buring coolant smell, but am not losing coolant. No apparent leaks anywhere.

Not sure if related, but when I start in the mornings it wants to stall out when put into gear for the 1st time and when you accelerate in Drive for a few mins, sputters, etc. almost backfires it feels like. Then its OK.

I'm more concerned about the grinding noise. Any help would be appreciated. thx

my car does the same thing when its not warmed up

Does the car shift funny?

Does it make the noise in Park, Drive and/or Neutral?

Is the check engine light on? If so, have you had the codes read yet?

Also, pull the black engine cover off the front of the engine and check your waterpump, waterpump tensioner pulley assembly and water pump belt.
This belt can start to come apart and make a very misleading noise. Almost sounds like an electrical short at idle speed, but can get very high pitched when idle speed is raised. Other things to check while in there is the pulley assy and waterpump sprocket area. If you see alot of rust on the pulley assy, you might want to try some WD-40 on the tensioner pulley bearings. Don't put it on the area where the belt rides!! Just in the bearing area. If the bearings are going out or gone out though, this will do no good. Try turning the pulley by hand and see if there is "rough resistance". If so, you will have to replace this pulley assy.
To check the waterpump, jack up the car and support it. Slide underneath, with a flashlight, get under there just enough to where your head is lined up with the waterpump on top. Take the flashlight and shine it up to illuminate the bottom of the waterpump. You should see a small hole on the bottom. From here, look for signs of water/coolant seeping out of this whole. If you see this... replace the waterpump.

Other than that... Check your serpintine(SP?, It's early!) belt. If the belt looks ok, no rust or signs of wear, then pull the belt and check your tensioner pulley here just like you did the water pump pulley tensioner. While the belt is off, go ahead and spin the alternator by hand as well. The bearing here can become rusty and rough too.

One last thing... Check your powersteering!! Check the fluid and condition of the fluid. It should look like ATF and not "Clear". To see if the PS pump or system is your probelm; let the car idle and listen for the noise. Turn your steering wheel lock to lock. If the pitch of the noise changes as you turn the steering wheel, then you have found your problem.

Hope some of this helps.

Ahah! Sounds good, I've heard the "electrical short" noise while idling for sure. Thanks for the tips, will let you know what I find.

My car makes a grindding sound too when its cold,although I have a 5 spd it happens when i'm rev the engine and let out the clutch that last second before the car starts to move.any solutions here?