Another clunk clunk cluck

Alright I know from searching the forum that this is a problem and every thread I have found seems to give slightly different answers.

I have a 99' single cab 4cyl with 110,000 miles. 5-sp

I have a clunking noise that appears when its warm out and only at slow speeds when bumpy and every time from a stop into accelerating. I believe i have narrowed it down to something in the steering. it almost sounds like a break caliper is loose and clunking around but i know its not that as break pressure doesn't effect it. It is defiantly temperature related as the warmer it get outside or the longer i drive it the worst it gets.

From what i have researched the inner tie rods can cause this and is very hard to diagnose.

I just replaced the driver inner and that didnt help. I had a bad feeling when I pulled off the old one and it was still nice and tight. I swear though that there was play when I had it nice and warm and gave it a good shake when troubleshooting.

could it be the rack? My steering is nice and tight with no play and everything seems nice and tight. no wandering on uneven surface or anything.

what about the intermediate shaft? i couldn't really find any information on problems with these but who knows.

Also, what about tightening up the rack? I know that can cause binding issues if you are not careful.

I refuse to just start throwing parts at it like so many fall victim to. Maybe I should replace the throttle positioning sensor....

Anyone have any insight? It is driving me absolutely crazy!

thanks,
Tom

You can't adjust the pre-load on a rack and pinion gear box like you can a recirculating ball unit. If the rack was sloppy you should be able to find that by doing the tie-rod check.

Check all your ball joints, your u-joints, and your sway bar end links. Those end links are a known problem.

The most common item to cause front end clunking noises are the anti-sway bar links. Have you checked those?

Hi and welcome to TRS~!

I've had a number of similar clunks and they certainly can be elusive sometimes so hoisting the front end and using pry bar or manipulating the front end parts to see if there is any play is needed.

I suspect two things from the sounds of your diagnostics because both of these happened on my truck(s).

One is a loose or collapsed wheel bearing that is allowing more movement than usual and will soon manifest itself in your front tire flying off (this actually happens to some of us).

The second is the bushings on the radius arms can be shot and this results in a subtle clunk clunk clunk when the brakes are applied because essentially the body/frame is shifting forward as the wheel slows down under it.

You can see these and where they attach and where the bushing is but you may not see any obvious wear on them without moving them manually.

Could also be body mount(s) wearing as I've heard of those causing the same symptoms.

All require a hoist or lifting the front end and applying gentle (or not so gentle) force to see if there is excess movement. The movement can be very subtle but enough to know the parts should not be moving. If not sure take it to a front end specialist and get them to inspect and replace the parts as needed.

If that is out of your reach then maybe watch a few videos before going further...there are tons of them out there online.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36QW9UgGC9Q

^^^ Hey Mark, the truck is a 99 and doesn't have rad arms....That was my thought too until I noticed the year.

First thing I thought of was the sway bar end links.

alwaysFlOoReD said:

^^^ Hey Mark, the truck is a 99 and doesn't have rad arms....That was my thought too until I noticed the year.

Click to expand...

I was wondering if they were removed or remodeled at some point but couldn't find a diagram for that year...and when I finally posted I saw that both Adsm08 and BBII had already posted while I was out looking for the diagrams...lol

So...yeah...I figured the OP would look and think "WTF something fell off my truck"...

Thanks for the quick Info guys! I am admittedly new to the whole ford thing. I have had one other ranger in my life in high school that I pulled out a field. $200 of pure POS. Lasted all of two weeks before I realized the heads were junk and it just wasn't worth fixing with all the other mounting issues.

I have had many S10s and do really like the 86-93's but this ranger was a steal and I will admit that I REALLY do like it and want to keep it real long time, maybe, hopefully. Lots of deer round these parts. Big ones.


I should have have mentioned that I did my best to check the sway bar links and bushings. All appears solid and all bushings actually look newerish. The sound it makes though really has the floppy sound to it like if the sway bar had no bushings all at. solid on solid sound.

As stated, maybe I just need to again take her for a good run on a warm day and hurry and lift it up and start prying.

we have only broken 70deg up here a few times and i am really dreading the 80deg mark and what that might sound like. Its so strange the hotter it gets the more noise I get.

One thing to note is that I don't really get the noise on braking or coming to a stop. It's really prominent when taking off slow or at a gradual pace. Has to be something when the suspension has a "bind" to it.

I checked both side's ball joints and again all seems good.

The wheel bearings on the other hand I did tighten up when I bought the truck (Nov 16') They had a little to much play when I jacked it up and I have them right where there is no play and have since checked them again and all appears good. I have no history of the truck. An elderly man passed away and his relative sold me the truck and was no use for info.

That being said the plot thickens. when I bought the truck the inner sides of the front tires were wore/cupped. I bought it thinking I would replace the ball joints and get it rippin. That's when I found the bearing issue. BUT, I believe whatever issues he was having he had the work done and fixed. Rotors looked fairly new (rust country). Nice new shining bearing caps with the little paper price tag thingy on them, grease looked great and of course no sign of ball joint issues. I have been driving it with the wore inner tires and they have not gotten any worst and actually are wearing even now. (will be replacing them soon not to horrible shape). Drives strait as an arrow.


That was long winded... sorry

Every once in a while, I'll spray the snot out of everything under the truck with silicone spray. Quietens all the squeeks and thumps. Never noticed the silicone attracting dirt either.

I found this: http://courthouseauto.com/symptoms-bad-failing-motor-mount/. It says nothing about heat, or rough roads, but it might be worthwhile to check your motor mounts, and maybe even your transmission mounts.

The other thing that comes to mind is this: how are your shocks?

Doofy, I think I'm going to try this. cant hurt right!

Shocks are all but rotting off. originals I'm sure... They are on the list. I have been told though from a friends dad who has has only driven rangers since I was a kid.(two to be exact that he has driven well over 300,000miles each). Both little rangers like mine although all were I-beam setup. He says he prefers shocks that are blown because new shocks, as he puts it, just makes the front to rough and stiff. Not sure with the new A-arms setups but I who knows. I am a firm believer in a good set of shocks though. I've hit a few sections of wash board gravel and now I'm convinced that if my truck had a choice it would prefer to drive itself completely sideways.

You can get some type of select-a-shock that you could at least adjust some to suit your driving style and roads. These little trucks ride much better with some weight in the ass end. Not a fan of canopies but mine came with one and the weight of it helps the ride quality. Also, when I use sandbags for weight in the winter, the ride is much better.

Well..... not bring up another issue but I already have a sag in the rear. specifically the driver side apparently a common issue AKA the ranger lean. When I bought it in Nov. it had 200 pounds of sand in it. No Idea how long it sat like that but at least all of winter 16/17 and thru the summer. I would say the passenger side is maybe level or just under and the driver side is probably approaching an inch low. All the hangers/brackets and shackles are still good with the bushings looking ok or at least the same on both sides.

I like to think of this truck as a work in progress. I enjoy putting time into it and continually keep it up/improve on things. Body and interior are really nice. No body rust which is a first for me...

For the six months I have owned it I am really starting to love the little guy. Dare I say more the the S10s from the past. I stayed away from the rangers in the past for the sole reason that I felt cramped in them but with the extra room in the singles I believe starting in 98' its been just great.

do you have a bad carrier bearing on the drive shaft, bad u joints,
don't know just asking,

For the Ranger Sag, I first tried an overload spring. Decided I didn't feel comfortable with them, not because they didn't work but because I didn't like how they put pressure on the springs. I then added a pair of air shocks. These, I really like. I haul 16' lumber on occasion and they keep the ass from sagging. Monroe MA770 found them on Amazon for $67 per pair.