Is a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer dependable?

Poping noise! mercury mountaineer 4wd 2002?

• i have a 2002 mercury mountaineer v6 awd. i recently have had an alignment and all 4 ball joints replaced. when i finally got the truck back it starts making this really loud pop noise when i would turn hard left. then few days later would make the same noise going left or right. and now i was stopped at a light, i accelerated and heard 3, 4 loud poping sounds in a row sounded like gun shots. it does it less if i accelerate slower but still does it once in a while even then. i got the ball joints check and they are fine. another thing i heard is that all the tires need to be the same on a 4wd trucks, before all this i got a flat tire and the only place close to me was a sears auto center. i had to buy a new tire for the back right side leaving the other three tires used, could this be making the noise? the noise sounds like its coming from under the driver side floor near the front tires but i can hear it on the passenger side. any ideas?

• Answer:

  Sounds like you've got a cracked steering column.