Recently I have noticed a clunking/popping noise, maybe almost like a knock coming from what sounds like the driver side front wheel/suspension area. This occurs while cruising at a steady speed of around 40 mph on fairly smooth pavement. The noise seems to correspond with small movement of the suspension from irregularities in the road. I notice no vibration or anything in the steering wheel or in the ride. I usually drive at much higher speed and notice no noise at the higher speeds. Also seems to be no noise when appling power, only when cruising at very light throttle.

The truck is a 1999 ranger 4x4, 5 speed manual with 3.0 engine and 143,000 mostly highway miles.

Any ideas what this might be and what to look for ?

 

Have you jacked up the front and checked the wheel for play in both directions? Could be something simple like a tie-rod end, or even a ball joint...my guess would be a tie rod though. That sounds like what mine did (on my Aerostar anyhow) when it was going bad.

 

Jack up the left front wheel under the lower control arm. Grab wheel at 3 o'clock and 9'oclock positions and try to turn it left and right. If you notice any play it's probably in a tie rod end.

Grab wheel at 12 o'clock and push in/out... if there is play then it's the upper ball joint (possibly control arm bushing, but doubtful).

Insert bar under tire and pry upwards... any play is lower ball joint.

Ford allows for up to .031 inches of "acceptible" ball joint play, but in my opinion any play at all can cause a noise.

Also take a close look at your stabilizer bar links.. (connects the bar to the lower control arm). You might have a broken one, or worn bushings... look for gaps between the bushings and the bar.

Also take a close look at your shock absorber bushings.. sometimes they wear out too.

One other thing to check is your door hinges. Open the door and try to pull upwards on it... if you notice play the hinges may be bad. I've seen those cause a similar noise on several occasions.

Good luck!

 

Had assistant rock the vehicle up and down, used a real long screw driver as a stethascope and found that the noise is coming from the tie rod end.

How hard is it to replace ? The only time the truck has been worked on by anyone but me was for the intermittent wiper recall and a noisey pulley that came up in first few thousand miles.

I would really like to avoid taking it to a dealer or anywhere else. Can I fix it myself, how hard is it to do ?

 

Tie-rod ends are very very simple. Even a moron like me can do them in a matter of minutes. If you have a Chilton's manual...even better. However, you really won't need it for the tie-rod ends. Just remember to get an alignment after installation. I've found that it is best to do both sides when you do them...prevents paying for two alignments in a matter of months.
Just remember to mark your threads when you unscrew the old one... will make it more aligned, if you don't have time to take it and get it aligned right away.

 

My Chiltons Manual for 1991-1999 Ranger does not have much info on tie rods. Is the Haynes for 1993-2000 have better info ?

Outer tie rod doesnt look to difficult but the inner tie rod under the boot looks like it could be a problem. I am not sure but the problem could be with the inner. In fact I suspect it is.

Is the inner very difficult ? Special tools needed ? Any special procedure or instructional help would be appreciated. Can it be done with the wheels on the ground ?

Thanks

 

Keep in mind tie rod ends have two sections.. inner and outer...

The outer is simple... remove the wheel.. look at the rod that connects the steering rack to the wheel. From the rack out you'll see a rubber boot, a shaft, a nut, and the joint.

Using an open end wrench break the locknut loose (actually threaded on the rod) then retighten it by hand until it buts back up against the OUTER end, but don't wrench tighten it. I believe a 13/16" or 21mm wrench should do the trick.

Now look at the wheel knuckle, you'll see a nut underneath where the tie rod joint itself goes through. Remove the cotter pin by bending it straight and sliding it out(side cutters work well for this).. then remove the nut.. I believe you need an 18mm wrench or socket (I could be wrong).

Ford recommends using a puller, but most people don't have one, so you can use a picklefork (insert it between boot and knuckle and beat on the end), or you can just beat the side of the knuckle, next to where the tie rod joint goes through with a hammer until it pops loose.. HOWEVER be careful.. if you have an aluminum knuckle I don't recommend this method (but I have used it before), as it can break the knuckle.

Once the join pops loose, you can just unthread it by hand and thread the new outer tie rod on. DO NOT replace the nut on the shaft unless you carefully measure the length, as you will affect your toe adjustment (alignment).. just screw the new end on until it stops at the nut.

Insert new joint into hole... install and tighten nut.. install NEW cotter pin (most tie rod ends come with one)... if the hole doesn't line up tighten the nut a little more until they do.

Tighten the nut on the shaft.. install grease fitting (if equipped) lube that sucker up.. install wheel and away you go.

You might want to pay attention to your steering wheel position before and after repair... if you notice any difference then have your truck aligned.

Now if it's the inner joint making the noise (which could be the case) after removing the outer tie rod end, you have to remove the boot at the rack and thread off the inner end from the end of the rack. I'm not sure what locking mechanism these use, but you might have to tap out the pin before removal, or you will damage the threads on your rack. Some racks use a "compression" type lock in which you can just thread it off.. just look closely at the inner tie rod.. if you see a hole in it then most likely there's a pin in there.

Good luck