Weird rattling/metallic clicking noise on my 98 4x4 ranger

[TrevorMW]

Hey guys, pretty new to this site, but it has helped a little in the past few months when replacing stuff on my truck.

first things first. Got myself a 98 4x4 xlt ranger. Its got a 3.0 V6 in it, and for the most part, its doing fine. but there have been some issues lately. namely, this weird metallic cliking/rattling noise somewhere around the driver's side front wheel.

now, some back story. I've been trying to fix this for a while, and I solved another problem that I thought was causing it, which turned out to be completely unrelated.

when I bought the truck, the driver's side was riding lower than it should have been (~2 inches), and it was killing my fuel mileage. roughly about two months ago, i started to get this weird rattle too, so I decided to take a look inside the wheel well. turns out, i've got a broken/snapped end on a sway bar link. so, I fixed this minor issue in no time, and I think everything is good. noise still isnt gone after that.

I then notice, after taking a more thorough look at it, that the driver's side is riding an inch lower than the passengers side, even after re-installing the sway link. So I think that it might be an issue with a shock. Turns out that I was right about the shock, which I found out after hitting a speed bump, which caused that side to bottom out. So I've since fixed the suspension issues there by replacing both front shocks, and giving the torsion bar a little extra push on the driver's side, since it looking like it had been cranked down.

the truck is now level on both sides and runs well, except for the fact that this rattling is almost constant. Its erratic in that it happens at various times. sometime on flat even roads, it'll rattle, and sometimes under braking, but sometime on rough roads it wont. It almost sounds like there is a bolt loose thats rattling back and forth in its area, but when I check, everything is tight and looking good.

I've had some thoughts, so maybe you guys can confirm or debunk a few of these to help me narrow it down.

I think it could be a bushing issue in the suspension somewhere, as the truck's bushings are looking a little worse for wear..

Also thought it might be a bearing in the hub that might be broken or cracked, because its very erratic. I got this idea from owning skateboards with bad bearings.


Any Ideas?

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Well Shocks wouldn't fix a ride height issue. unless by chance it was frozen in a lowered position.

Rangers naturally have a lean to them due to the gas tank being on the drivers side so all of the weight is on the drivers side springs while driving.

Sounds to me though the rattling could be caused by a rock that got stuck inbetween the dust cover and brake disc

 

[TrevorMW]

I think that i've narrowed it down to a bad CV joint or a bad wheel assembly bearing. seems like some people have had issues with the wheel bearing before, and replacing the whole assembly seems to be the only fix.

Update: the wheel also grinds a little when turned in a full rotation, while jacked up off the ground, and the cv axle moves up and down in a weird way where the cv axle enters the wheel bearing assembly.

any thoughts on this?

 

[Original_Ranger84]

you should do a shake down to check if its the wheel bearings or what. jack it up under the a arm then grab the top and bottom of the tire and pull and push the top and bottom alternately. but a grinding sound could be wheel bearings for sure.