97Ranger3.0
Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2017
- Messages
- 175
- Reaction score
- 67
- Points
- 28
- Location
- Florida
- Vehicle Year
- 1997
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Type
- 3.0 V6
- Engine Size
- 3.0
- Transmission
- Manual
- 2WD / 4WD
- 4WD
- Total Lift
- 4"
- Tire Size
- 33x12.5
Hey guys, I'm looking for some help and this is a strange one...
Recently I did a bit of work to the cooling system on my 1997 Ford Ranger 3.0 XL, and after the work I now have a vibration/shudder/rumble that occurs at 3k rpm and up. What's weird about it is that prior to doing this work, I didn't have this problem and I didn't do any work to the driveline so I don't understand where this vibration is coming from.
Here's a list of what I did in the process & some of my possible theories (for what it's worth):
-New radiator & water pump (required removing ac compressor/power steering bracket, idler pulley and belt tensioner)
-Cleaned the belt tensioner and idler pulley with a wire wheel (both had gunk on them that I assume was bits of the old serpentine belt that rubbed off)
After finishing this work, one thing I noticed immediately was some belt squeal. I recently replaced my serpentine belt with a good quality one (like maybe 3k miles ago) and it never squealed until now. When I took the truck for a test drive, the squealing didn't go away and I noticed that when I hit 3000 RPM suddenly I felt this distinct vibration. It's very hard to explain but it's like a very rumbly shudder, you feel it in your seat. The tone of the engine changes too, it gets more rumbly as well. It happens pretty much right at 3000 RPM and continues until redline. No check engine lights, no power loss that I can tell, nothing really seems off except that vibration.
My initial theory was that maybe the belt started to slip at around 3k and that caused a noticeable vibration but that doesn't really make sense. And I was able to adjust the belt a little bit and quiet the squealing down a tad, but the vibration is still there. Or maybe when I cleaned the idler and tensioner pulley's I caused them to be out of true?
So then I started looking around and I noticed a couple of things. One thing is that my power steering pulley has some slop in it and can be pushed in and out, which is probably what's causing the belt squeal. Is it possible if that has enough play, that could cause a noticeable vibration? I have my doubts about that but you never know.
The other thing I noticed is that the fan clutch seems to have excessive play. It can be rotated all around in a way I imagine it's not supposed to, plus when the engine's running you can see some slight movement of the fan back and forth. So my other thought is, could that movement (probably a bad bearing or something in the fan clutch?) be enough to cause a noticeable vibration?
This is probably the weirdest thing I've ever experienced, and would love to hear some theories as to what this could be.
Recently I did a bit of work to the cooling system on my 1997 Ford Ranger 3.0 XL, and after the work I now have a vibration/shudder/rumble that occurs at 3k rpm and up. What's weird about it is that prior to doing this work, I didn't have this problem and I didn't do any work to the driveline so I don't understand where this vibration is coming from.
Here's a list of what I did in the process & some of my possible theories (for what it's worth):
-New radiator & water pump (required removing ac compressor/power steering bracket, idler pulley and belt tensioner)
-Cleaned the belt tensioner and idler pulley with a wire wheel (both had gunk on them that I assume was bits of the old serpentine belt that rubbed off)
After finishing this work, one thing I noticed immediately was some belt squeal. I recently replaced my serpentine belt with a good quality one (like maybe 3k miles ago) and it never squealed until now. When I took the truck for a test drive, the squealing didn't go away and I noticed that when I hit 3000 RPM suddenly I felt this distinct vibration. It's very hard to explain but it's like a very rumbly shudder, you feel it in your seat. The tone of the engine changes too, it gets more rumbly as well. It happens pretty much right at 3000 RPM and continues until redline. No check engine lights, no power loss that I can tell, nothing really seems off except that vibration.
My initial theory was that maybe the belt started to slip at around 3k and that caused a noticeable vibration but that doesn't really make sense. And I was able to adjust the belt a little bit and quiet the squealing down a tad, but the vibration is still there. Or maybe when I cleaned the idler and tensioner pulley's I caused them to be out of true?
So then I started looking around and I noticed a couple of things. One thing is that my power steering pulley has some slop in it and can be pushed in and out, which is probably what's causing the belt squeal. Is it possible if that has enough play, that could cause a noticeable vibration? I have my doubts about that but you never know.
The other thing I noticed is that the fan clutch seems to have excessive play. It can be rotated all around in a way I imagine it's not supposed to, plus when the engine's running you can see some slight movement of the fan back and forth. So my other thought is, could that movement (probably a bad bearing or something in the fan clutch?) be enough to cause a noticeable vibration?
This is probably the weirdest thing I've ever experienced, and would love to hear some theories as to what this could be.