I have a 1997, 4.0L, Ford Ranger with an automatic transmission. I just brought it into the shop to have the rear main seal replaced and the rear diff looked at. Apparently it was the transmission that was leaking and not the rear main (they replaced all of the seals though) and the bearings and seals in the rear diff were gone too. Anyway, I got the truck back last night and it drove great for a while. Now it is making really bad noises. Sometimes it sounds like crunching (coming from the engine compartment I think) and on my way too school this morning it made a "whirrr Whirrrr WHIRRRRR SLAM!!!!!" sound. (like maybe the transmission slipped out of gear and then slammed back in?) Also, from the rear end, there is a weird clanking sound when I turn and reverse. Obviously I am bringing it back to the shop (already a $1500 bill) but was hoping for some input as to what could be causing these problems from someone here.

Thanks.

 

Is your truck 4 wheel drive?

 

Yes it is.

 

The Whir Slam sound you hear is probably coming from one of the front hubs or the front differential. My 93 does the same thing. On cold mornings when first starting out, the Whir sound starts and I have to come to almost a complete stop and then, "SLAM", and it does fine. If I engage the 4 wheel drive when the Whir noise starts up, the noise will stop. Then I can disengage the 4 wheel drive but leave the hubs locked (auto hubs) and it won't make the sound anymore.

Does yours have push button four wheel drive with auto hubs?

I think I remember reading a TSB about this somewhere but can't remember.

If anyone reading this post has access to TSB's, could you see if there is one related to this problem.

Thanks

 

It does have the push button and auto hubs. How do you disengage the 4 wheel but tleave the hubs locked if it is all automatic? The shop took it all apart again and looked at all of their work and couldn't find anything wrong. The one guy did think that it could be one of the front hubs. They did test the 4-wheel though and said everything worked fine. It just seems kind of weird that it NEVER did that or anything close before I brought it in and had all that work done.

 

How the auto hubs work is while you are driving and engage 4 wheel drive, the hubs lock automatically. When you disengage 4 wheel drive the hubs stay locked. In order to unlock the hubs you have to travel in reverse, in a straight line, for about ten feet.

Have you had the front differential oil replaced lately?

 

I just bought the truck 3 weeks ago (which really sucks) so I don't know when that was done last. It was a city owned vehicle though so I assumed (wrongly apparently) that it had been well maintained.

 

Since you said it was a city owned vehicle, it's probably safe to assume that the 4 wheel drive was probably not used that much which means that it really hasn't been broken in. I would recommend driving the truck in 4 wheel drive every chance you can get, preferrably on back roads and not to exceed 40 mph. Try to put at least 100-200 miles on the 4 wheel drive system and this should help to break the system in. Don't forget to disengage the auto hubs when disengaging 4 wheel drive!

As for the rear clanking sound, I would check to see if the exhaust system is loose somewhere and knocking against the truck.

 

Rangerboy,

Thanks so much for your help and input. I will definitely do that. I will post what the mechanics come up with as well.

Marcie

 

Glad to help out!

Keep me informed on the outcome.

 

dirt i had kinda the same issues i posted this up a few posts might help



I have a 2000 4x4 ranger sitting at a transmission shop as we speak, with bucking slamming and high rpm issues, and I get 9 MPG. They have reported that the trans is not fu-bar as we all thought. It's something in the brakes (abs or computer) the trans guy seems to think this is the issue with everything I have bitched to the dealer about. I'll let you know I used to get 18+ MPG then boom everything went south.



More to come.
You can see more issues with our fords at. www.alldata.com

http://www.alldata.com/recalls/index.html

 

So... The shop couldn't find anything wrong with it and it seems to have stopped making those noises. . Anyway, the wonderful people they are still charged me $100 for a tow truck that THEY called even though I had road side assistance that would have covered it . If the noise comes back, I will pull apart the front hub and keep you guys posted.