I drive a 2001 Chevy Prizm with 90,000 miles on it. Lately, when I’m accelerating over about 30 to 40 mph, my engine starts to make a grinding noise, that gets worse the faster I go, or the more pressure I apply. The noise also happens when I’m going up hill.
Does anybody have any idea what’s causing this noise, so I don’t look like an idiot when I take it in to my mechanic?
Just present the information you just did to us to your mechanic. He should know what to look for.
If the grinding sound lessens or disappears if you let up on the gas pedal, or accelerate slower, I’d be looking for broken motor mounts letting the engine and transaxle assembly move too much. This could let something rotating grind again something stationary. You will get more engine movement with higher degrees of acceleration.