2000 Ranger 3.0 5speed

[PJ99]

Hey all I’ve run into an issue I can’t quite figure out for sure. After a drive yesterday I noticed a squeal from rear of engine when I parked which I believe is the camshaft synchronizer. However this morning when I went to check it out nothing was happening so I let it warm a bit and gave it a rev, when I did I heard a single clunk sound from towards the engine. I left it for a while and the squeal is back after warming up but now I cannot get the clunk to happen again. I was thinking motor mounts before but can’t figure it out without it happening again

 

[Ranger850]

Prolly gonna need more info. Any lights on or blinking on the dash? Ever noticed a power loss that seemed to fix itself? Did it die after the clunk or did you turn off the engine? One clunk from toward the motor that will not come back may have been a fluke or it may be a major issue.

 

[PJ99]

Prolly gonna need more info. Any lights on or blinking on the dash? Ever noticed a power loss that seemed to fix itself? Did it die after the clunk or did you turn off the engine? One clunk from toward the motor that will not come back may have been a fluke or it may be a major issue.

No lights on dash, I had a power loss issue but it was from a bad ujoint(changed two days ago) seems fine now though. Clunk happened when I revved one singular clunk noise and then back to normal while running.

 

[sgtsandman]

Couldn’t be the motor mounts since you said it was toward the back of the engine. The motor mounts are on the sides near the middle of the engine.

Did you look at the starter to see if it was loose? What transmission do you have?

 

[PJ99]

Couldn’t be the motor mounts since you said it was toward the back of the engine. The motor mounts are on the sides near the middle of the engine.

Did you look at the starter to see if it was loose? What transmission do you have?

Haven’t looked at the starter but I can, just not sure that’s the issue, I know where engine mounts are and they are definitely worn but not completely shot, I’d say the engine moves maybe half inch when I rev it. it’s a m5od-r1 so 5 speed manual

 

[PJ99]

So

Couldn’t be the motor mounts since you said it was toward the back of the engine. The motor mounts are on the sides near the middle of the engine.

Did you look at the starter to see if it was loose? What transmission do you have?

sorry I misread the first part of this but it could be motor mounts. I was in the cab when I heard the clunk so it could really be anywhere ahead of the trans. I just said rear of engine since it didn’t come from behind it

 

[Ranger850]

 

[sgtsandman]

Since you have a manual, pull the rubber splash plug and take a look in there to see if everything looks ok. Even better if you have an inspection mirror so you can see if anything is lying on the bottom of the bell housing.

Not really sure what to look for. So, just throwing ideas out there on where to look.

It is possible that the squeak is from your pilot bearing but there isn’t anyway to check that without pulling the transmission and I don’t think we are there yet.

As far as troubleshooting the squeak. While you are under the truck, you could take a listen while it’s doing it to see if the sound is down there or higher up.

 

[PJ99]

Since you have a manual, pull the rubber splash plug and take a look in there to see if everything looks ok. Even better if you have an inspection mirror so you can see if anything is lying on the bottom of the bell housing.

Not really sure what to look for. So, just throwing ideas out there on where to look.

It is possible that the squeak is from your pilot bearing but there isn’t anyway to check that without pulling the transmission and I don’t think we are there yet.

As far as troubleshooting the squeak. While you are under the truck, you could take a listen while it’s doing it to see if the sound is down there or higher up.

Thanks for the input but it definitely came before the clutch and transmission, also I’ve located the squeal at the top rear of engine so I’m fairly confident it’s the cam synchro

 

[sgtsandman]

Tough to help troubleshoot over the internet.

We’ll have to wait for others that work on these things for a living or live and breathe all that is Ranger to jump in.

 

[pjtoledo]

in either event, adding 10-15 drops of oil to the cam syncro unit won't hurt.
take the plastic top off and let the oil run down under the "rotor".

the cam sync unit is a known semi-common failure. the top bushing gets dry, puts a load on the shaft, then
wears out the drive gear over time. when the gear fails the OIL PUMP STOPS and baadddd things happen.
pulling the sync unit for inspection is cheap insurance.

a pilot bearing can make noises, also a clunk.
they only do it when the clutch pedal is depressed.