91 Ford in Trouble

We inhereted a 91 Ford Escort Station wagon that had 55k (original miles.) When we got it, it had a slight knocking noise that was constant. Since then we have put 20k on it. Now it is making a realy loud clunking noise that seems to come and go. It's also leaking tranny fluid like a stuck pig. It drives just fine except for the noise. The noise also seems to be louder from 0 to 60 and quiets at about 65.
Please Help!!!!!

Well the car finally quit. It was smoking like hell and when I pushed on the gas it just made this wierd sound like I had it in nuetral only louder. I then shut it off and it wouldn't start again. I'm taking it in to my mechanic but he said if it's too costly to fix I should scrap it. I think I'll try to fix it myself. If anyone has any ideas as too what is wrong it would help alot.

It sounds like an automatic...?? With your foot on the brake, compare the sounds it makes when it is in Park, neutral, drive, etc. in comparison with if the car is at low, medium, or high idle. (depending on tranny position. High idle in drive may make you move) If it only makes the noise when you are moving and not when you are parked while shifting through the gears. It could be a cv shaft. Severe turning may make the clunking or grinding noise louder. Or a wheel bearing, but they tend to grind and squeal. Other things could be ball joints, struts, strut mounting plates or other misc frame bushings. If it does it while your parked or with your foot on the brake,(shifting through the positions) I'd say it's internal. I'm not sure if it's internal engine with separate tranny problem. Need more info on when it makes the noise and under what conditions.

Scrap that last post, I waited too long to post and then realized that you had updated it. I think that there was a separate engine and tranny problem. The knocking was probably the engine, not sure why the tranny would pump out all the fluid. If the tranny was low or empty, you could push the accelerator down all you wanted to and the car still wouldn't move. Fluid level may be tranny problem, clunking didn't sound good. That could be a result of low tranny fluid levels due to whatever is dumping out the fluid. ????

It was making th clunking noises in every gear and I know it wasn't ball joints struts or anything else with the frame. I have alot of experience with cv joint sounds and it's not that either. It is coming directly from the engine in the middle down low. It's still leaking but I'm actually not sure if it's tranny fluid or not. When I check the fluids they are full. It is an automatic by the way. It was making the clunking sound on and off ever since I got the oil changed last month. It just kept getting louder. Other times it wouldn't make the noise at all. Then last week it started smoking from the engine on the driver side. It got really bad tonight when I was driving and then as I was sitting at a red light when it turned green I pressed down on the gas and nothing it would hardly move and it was making a loud reving noise like it was in nuetral. I shut it off and tryed to start it again and it wouldn't start. It was making the noise like I said in all gears wether idling or driving. I did notice tonight that on the back window there was condensation on the outside. I ran my finger along it and it was greasy as if the smoke was also coming from the muffler. Hope that helps

typical automatic escort tranny they don't like not being driven