Weird Sounds....

[bmonee5]

Yesterday I Got some Seafoam and put it in my 2000 4.0 Ranger just like the instructions say. 1/3 in through the brake booster vacuum tube, 1/3 in the crankcase, and 1/3 in the gas tank. So i drove about 150 miles to school and back to really let it seep in and get the crud out. I did the seafoam cause in the 5 years my dad owned this truck before me he didn't change the oil and it was driven a total of 8,000 miles. So as I expected the oil was blacker then black but no clumps of anything came out of the oil that i could see. I also changed the spark plugs to Bosch +2 platinums, also changed the oil filter, changed fuel filter, fixed battery connections, and changed the power steering fluid. So noticed their was a weird rattling that seemed to be coming from the bottom end of the engine, i was obviously really worried seeing as this truck has 106,500 miles. anyways to rap it up a mechanic listened and thought it was coming from the catlytic converter like it was breaking up, then i had a muffler shop check it out and he claimed it wasn't coming from the cat but from further up into the engine. Then a parts guy was going over it with me and we figured out the rattling goes away when i engage the clutch while in gear and the brake on. It doesn't rattle when i'm driving and seems to rattle the most after the truck has sitten for a little then started up and let to idle, when i drive after that and stop again the rattling quiets down and is intermittent. Is this a clutch issue? or a engine issue? does the fact that my clutch is leaking somewhere make any difference? The parts guy thought maybe it was leaking clutch fluid onto the throw out bearing and making it rattle, then after driving it dries up and doesn't rattle as much. Sorry for this being so long i'm just concerned seeing as i literaly just bought this truck off my dad....help please!!!!

 

[bmonee5]

Wow i really apologize for the length of this post but feedback will be greatly appriciated!!

 

[R***A**N**G**E***R]

Last time I had a RATTLE it was a ( rock ) sitting in/on the cat meta heat guard!! I took the metal heat guard off and removed the rock,no more rattle. Just my experience,not saying you have a rock rattling around.

 

[bmonee5]

good god i sure hope it would be a rock in their...i'll definatley check it to be sure.......

 

[crusin93]

If you can't seem to track down the noise, it may be because its hidden and or distorted by the bellhousing. You did'nt mention if the clutch has been replaced recently or ever. The throw out bearing can cause all sorts of weird noises. Look there first and let us all know.

 

[bmonee5]

the clutch has not been replaced ever. It has never seemed to be problematic. The throw out bearing was changed with the slave cylinder that was changed out a little over a year ago. It was changed because it was leaking fluid and it has since started leaking fluid again. The mechanic that did the work said the flywheel and clutch all looked good at the time....

 

[crusin93]

the clutch has not been replaced ever. It has never seemed to be problematic. The throw out bearing was changed with the slave cylinder that was changed out a little over a year ago. It was changed because it was leaking fluid and it has since started leaking fluid again. The mechanic that did the work said the flywheel and clutch all looked good at the time....

You best bet is to get the job done again, with a Ford slave. In order to change the TOB you almost have to do the equilevent to a clutch job anyway, minus 1/2 hour labor in/out. Most good clutch kits come with a good TOB, and are not gonna break your wallet. If even a little fluid (brake fluid) gets on clutch parts they are contaminated and must be replaced according to Mitchell. It's just cheap insurance.

 

[Ranger Dave (B25)]

I'm betting on a failing cat throwing chunks into the exhaust pipes. Or foreign matter stuck in the heat shield.

Nope, failing cat.

 

[bmonee5]

with the amount of rattling it is making i would think that if you tapped on the cat when it was not running you would hear stuff rattling wouldnt you? Its that and the fact that the Muffler shop ruled the cat out, but i sure hope it could be that cat as it seems this would be the cheapest fix. But i DO have a leaking clutch assembley somewhere i'm not sure but the fluid does not evaporate so its going somewhere and its not leaking onto the ground so i'm guessing its into the bellhousing.... i'm gonna check under for any rattles tomorrow. Thanks for all Feedback BTW!

 

[feellnfroggy]

I put a new cluthc in my mustang and it was different than the factory but this was the only replacement offered and the clutch fork was hitting the pressure plate during rotation. Was nothing to be done about it, I took it apart 3 times and couldnt fix it. The other thing is you have two bearings the pilot bearing and the throwout bearing. the pilot bearing gets ignored alot but the little needle bearings all fall out and make alot of noise.

 

[adsm08]

Mine made a similar noise a while ago. I thought it was my trans bearings, went to replace the trans and clutch and what not, got all the parts ($1600) got it apart (2 freezing days of work) the pilot bearing had disintegrated.

You need to find your clutch leak and fix that. TOB could be your culprit, but I doubt it. My money is on hte pilot bearing.

 

[bmonee5]

hmmm...well the throw out bearing and slave cylinder are 1 unit correct? My mechanic said if the slave cylinder is leaking then it has to be replaced basically. Its not leaking down the line into the slave cylinder, their is fluid coming out of the bellhousing. Hoping maybe its just a bad connection cause the slave cylinder was changed a year and a half ago and it kept leaking for my dad from what he says. Where exactly is the pilot bearing in relation to the TOB?

 

[adsm08]

Slave and TOB aren't 1 unit, they are connected but they are seperate. If you get fluid in the bell then I'd say you got a bum slave.

The pilot sits in the center hole of the flywheel and the front, thin, unsplined part of the transmission input shaft rides in it. They aren't hard to replace, you just gotta pull the trans out.

 

[bmonee5]

ya well the trans is coming out for the slave so maybe the pilot bearing should just get changed for good measure??? i mean i hope i don't have to have the trans out again anytime soon cant hurt, unless they are expensive.

 

[adsm08]

$5ish. Worst part is getting the stupid thing out, you either need a slide hammer or the flywheel has to come out.