Sounds like a belt chirp

[professor229]

I thought about this chirp all the way to the lake.... and AlwaysFloored said it best... The chirp gets faster/slower relative to the gas pedal.... and 40 years ago I would have figured this out a lot faster... A lot of our golf course equipment had a grease zerk on the U joint knuckles... and some older vehicles also had this... I don't know if a Ranger has a grease zerk or not but the U joints drying out make more sense than the rear wheel axle bearing... .. To be continued... need to do some looking....

 

[RonD]

Most Factory u-joints, tie-rods, ball joints or other greased parts are called "lifetime parts", in car maker terms thats 100k miles
So no re-grease fittings, Zerk fittings

You can get replacement parts that have Zerk fittings

 

[Jazzer]

Does the chirp go faster/slower in every gear?

 

[dvdswan]

Does the chirp go faster/slower in every gear?

Yes, follows rpms not speed. so as the rpms rise, chirp is faster.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I also vote cam synchro.

 

[RonD]

If we are voting then I vote "loose NUT holding onto steering wheel" 95% of my issues come down to this one thing

 

[dvdswan]

I don't know how many times I've heard that.

 

[dvdswan]

So, does my year have a CMP or is it the stator in the distributor doing the work of the CMP?

 

[RonD]

Distributor signal is the cam signal

With distributorless systems the crank sensor is the timing signal, cam sensors were added for better MPG in fine tuning injector opening to when intake valve opens

 

[professor229]

I thought about this chirp all the way to the lake.... and AlwaysFloored said it best... The chirp gets faster/slower relative to the gas pedal.... and 40 years ago I would have figured this out a lot faster... A lot of our golf course equipment had a grease zerk on the U joint knuckles... and some older vehicles also had this... I don't know if a Ranger has a grease zerk or not but the U joints drying out make more sense than the rear wheel axle bearing... .. To be continued... need to do some looking....

I have eliminated the cam sensor and idler pulley/belts etc. because the chirp is not coming from the engine compartment.... and you can open the hood and rev the engine all day and there is no chirp... drop the shift lever in gear and start driving and the chirp is very pronounced and the chirp sound gets faster as your speed increases and as soon as the Ranger shifts into second gear, the chirp becomes less obvious and hard to hear... but it is still there... In other words, when there is pressure on the gas pedal, at lower speeds, the chirp is clear..... since the sound is from the middle back of the cab, it has to be a moving part such as an axle shaft, bearing, or U joint.... I am guessing U joint and now it is time to watch You Tube videos on how to work on a Ranger drive shaft.... Is a Ranger drive shaft easy to work on?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Yes, the rear is the same as any other driveshaft. The front if 4x4 is slightly more difficult.

 

[professor229]

I watched a video of a "collar" on the driveshaft that had come loose and the guy removed the collar and said this was a common problem on Rangers with over 100K miles on them and most times, they are not replaced.... They are simply a means to balance the drive shaft with holes drilled in them to adjust for balance.... Another guy wrote in that he didn't bother removing the shaft to take this collar off but instead, used a grinder/cut off tool to simply cut it off..... I don't even know if this is the problem but need to physically look at my driveshaft and then perhaps farm this out to a local mechanic and pay the price... It would be nice to have a hoist to actually run the truck on the hoist to determine what/where the noise is coming from.... I will have to pay this time but fixed the transmission shift lever myself and also installed new brakes in the rear by myself so I am ahead of the game already..... Need to look... am in no hurry and this simply pulls a small boat trailer 5 miles back and forth to a lake twice a week so it is NOT a big deal and speeds never get over 30 mph ........ so I can live with the chirp awhile longer.... but wonder if it is the U joints or this balancer thing.....

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I've done driveshaft u-joints in my driveway using sockets and a hammer. One big socket that the end cap will fit into, and one small socket that is slightly smaller than the end cap.
Tho getting it done at a shop has its appeals too. Pull the driveshaft out yourself and take it to the mechanic. Shouldnt take him more than 30-60 minutes to swap them out.

 

[professor229]

Hey... don't have to..... I fabricated a part of my son's tractor's hydraulic joystick and that went so well that I crawled under the Ranger in the driveway to take a look and saw two things immediately... one, there was some kind of "lube" that had been sprayed on the front and rear of the drive shaft by the U joints by "someone" before me.... and two, the balancer device had already been removed so someone had this problem before...... and what is left is some kind of a rubber gasket by the back U joint.... so I got out my bike "chain lube" and sprayed the passenger side with this on the front and back U joint areas..... but could not get to the driver's side in the driveway... unhooked the boat trailer and took it for a ride..... I knew before I left the driveway that this solved the problem and whatever was chirping, is lubricated enough and there is a slight chirp yet, so will lubricate this real good on both sides before I head to the lake on Monday..... geez, sometimes you just gotta get lucky....

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

That might work as a temporary fix, I doubt it will last a long time. But then you're only doing 20 miles a week, it might last years...lol