bad tranny?
 

Hi guys i got a 2001 mercury cougar v6 5 speed and the tranny is grinding something awful i am the second owner and the previous owner told me that when he bought the car at 20000 miles the tranny went completely out and he had to have it replaced completely. My main question is is there a recall or some sort of "bad" tranny used in the mercury cougar" and if so any pointer on how to fix it relatively cheaply (i dont have much cash)