You spin me round.....top gear blues

[doctordeeptrack]

This 2011 4x4 4.0L is my second ranger. the first was a 2wd. in this 4x4 at 60 mph I'm spinning 2200 rpm. Am I really in top gear or is this tranny acting up? I hit the OD button on the shift lever and indeed the rpm goes up about 300. I just figured the cruising rpm would be more like 1500 but maybe I'm dreaming. The tranny guy says it seems ok but we both noticed loud continuous low freq. road noise. I thought it was off road tires he says maybe front wheel bearing. How difficult are front wheel bearings. do i need a press? It has 85K on the odo. is it time for bearings anyway? This rpm thing bugs me it just sounds and feels like the motor is working way too hard at 60 or 70

 

[sgtsandman]

This 2011 4x4 4.0L is my second ranger. the first was a 2wd. in this 4x4 at 60 mph I'm spinning 2200 rpm. Am I really in top gear or is this tranny acting up? I hit the OD button on the shift lever and indeed the rpm goes up about 300. I just figured the cruising rpm would be more like 1500 but maybe I'm dreaming. The tranny guy says it seems ok but we both noticed loud continuous low freq. road noise. I thought it was off road tires he says maybe frond wheel bearing. How difficult are front wheel bearings. do i need a press? It has 85K on the odo. is it time for bearings anyway? This rpm thing bugs me it just so and sounds and feels like the motor is working way too hard at 60 or 70

The front bearings are a bolt in unit, so no press is needed. You may need to knock the old bearing unit out and clean up the hole to put the new bearing unit in. The ABS sensor is usually part of the assembly. So you don't need to worry about doing anything other than unplug the wire and undo a couple of holders for the wire. I believe the assembly also comes with a new hub.

You will need to undo the axle nut. So, you will need a bigger torque wrench and an axle nut size socket. The socket is a 36mm, I think. I forget the axle nut torque. Something like 250 or 300 lbs-ft. The job isn't too bad compared to pressed in bearings.

As far as the transmission, I have a manual. So I have no frame of reference on where the RPM should be. The gear ratio in the axles will play a part in that with 3.73:1 being lower than 4.10:1.

 

[JoshT]

This 2011 4x4 4.0L is my second ranger. the first was a 2wd. in this 4x4 at 60 mph I'm spinning 2200 rpm. Am I really in top gear or is this tranny acting up? I hit the OD button on the shift lever and indeed the rpm goes up about 300. I just figured the cruising rpm would be more like 1500 but maybe I'm dreaming. The tranny guy says it seems ok but we both noticed loud continuous low freq. road noise. I thought it was off road tires he says maybe front wheel bearing. How difficult are front wheel bearings. do i need a press? It has 85K on the odo. is it time for bearings anyway? This rpm thing bugs me it just sounds and feels like the motor is working way too hard at 60 or 70

Got nothing to add to @sgtsandman on the wheel bearings.

The engine RPM sounds about right for a truck with 4.10 gears, which is pretty common for a 4.0L 4x4. I'm pretty sure that's right about where my '99 sat at 60 when it still had the V6. I think it still is with the V8 since gearing and tire size are still the same, but haven't really paid attention to that.

As said, 3.73 would be running at a lower RPM. Not sure that it would get it down to 1500, but might drop below 2000. Most people feel like the V6 in the ranger needs the 4.10 gears. I've seen a bunch of people in the past wanting to swap from 3.73 to 4.01 or higher (IE: 4.56) for better low end power.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I moved this to the transmission forum...

You didn't mention tires size or gear ratio... both will play a part in RPM range at cruising speed.

My 06 auto with 4.10 gear and stock size tire was right where you are at 65 mph.

I thought it was a bit high when I first bought it too. I put a taller tire on and it did lower RPM a bit.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Forgot something...

I had to replace one of my wheel bearings at 85k...

Not because the bearing was bad... but the wheel speed sensor would stop sending a signal at less then about 5mph. This would trigger the ABS system every time I would come to a stop. The other bearing is still good at 135k miles. I think those bearings typically go well over 100k.

When cruising and you hear the hum... try turning slightly left or right to see if the pitch changes. If it does... you likely have a bad bearing.

If you have an off road tread pattern... I'd think you're more likely to be hearing tire hum. Check tires good for wear and try rotating tires to see if the hum changes.