Hi,

I am new to this forum. You seem like a friendly and knowledgeable group compared to some of the other forums I belong too.<O</O

I purchased a used 2001 Ranger Edge 2wd with the 3.0L & 5 speed manual transmission back in May with 11,000 original miles on it. The truck was stored in a garage most of its life. The owner is overseas in the military. It looks and drives like new.
<O</O

On cold mornings (below 45F) when I start the truck I hear a gear noise. It changes with RPM and continues with the clutch engaged. It does not appear to be the powering steering pump or alternator. It is not a grinding noise. It slowly goes away when the engine warms up. I did not hear it until recently because the weather is getting colder in the Detroit area. The oil and filter has been changed twice since I’ve owned it. The oil used was 5W20. Could this be the oil pump? Is this normal? Should I be concerned?

I’ve recently also noticed it starting to spark knock under load. There seems to be plenty of info on that subject on this forum.

Thanks for your help.

 

Welcome to FTE.

Your going to have to trace the location of the noise. Does it sound like it's coming from the bottom of the engine, or the upper part? Have you tried crawling underneath and listening to the bottom of the engine?

You might try running some Auto-Rx through the engine. It will clean up the things that might have settled if it ever sat for long stretches. If you do a search in the Oil & Lube Forum you will find some information on what Auto-Rx is and what it does.

 

Thanks Rockledge for the info. I will try to pinpoint the location of the noise. The only information I could find on Auto-Rx is for transmissions.

 

It's the same stuff (engine and tranny cleaner), here's the main page

http://www.auto-rx.com/