1997 Mercury Tracer Shakes

POWERSWIMMER10

MEMBER
1997 MERCURY TRACER
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
128,000 MILES

Hi, I have a 1997 Mercury Tracer and when the car comes to a stop at a red light or stop sign, the car shakes a noticeable amount. The transmission was serviced at Trans-medic last month and they said the transmission is in excellent condition. I was told at Firestone that it needs a tune up, is there anything else that could be the problem? I do not want to spend $250 for a tune up to find out that's not the problem. Thank you!

2 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
108,164 POSTS

It may need a tune up, it could have a vacuum leak. Has the check engine light ever come on? Also, a tune up on this vehicle is easy. You may want to do it yourself.

Was this

answer

helpful?

Yes

No

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 AT 1:39 PM

MARIASAN

MEMBER
1 POST

I have the same problem on my 1997 Mercury Tracer. But the car would also shake randomly when I accelerate. I think the transmission may be getting stuck? I don't think it's changing gears when it's supposed to and it seems to be struggling to accelerate sometimes. Check engine light has come on a few times. I took it to a mechanic and I don't think he fully checked what was wrong - he did replace the front motor mount though and said the other mounts were okay. Took it to another mechanic because it was still shaking and he checked with the OBD reader and it was saying there was a misfire on the 2nd spark plug. The wires and spark plugs were in good condition though, so we replaced the ignition coil.

And now it is still shaking sometimes. Can't tell you exactly when it happens, it just happens randomly. Should I flush the transmission fluid?