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Vehicle: 1999 Ford Ranger, 4 cyl, auto transmission, 37k miles
I've recently been getting some engine rattle or ticking when driving highway speeds.
-It seems to only occur after the car has been running awhile, 20-30 minutes or so.
-The sound seems to be present when the accelerator is depressed, and fluctuates based on how hard I am gassing it. If I just coast it usually goes away.
-No sound at all at low speeds (<35mph), even if I am flooring the pedal for acceleration (this being after the sound was present on the freeway).
-Actual performance doesn't seem to be affected at this time. Just noise.
I'm no mechanic but I've been faithful with oil changes and scheduled service. The only potential problem I see is I appear to be low on coolant (container looks 1/4 or so full). Could this cause a problem? According to the temperature gauge, the vehicle never comes close to overheating. I don't believe my radiator has been flushed yet (scheduled at 45k I think), should I go get this done? Any advice at all? Thank you.
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 20-Oct-01 AT 11:35 PM (EST)[/font][p]I doubt coolant is the problem. This ticking at highway speeds almost sounds like a oil pressure pump that is not keeping up. I would do an oil pressure check. Does this truck have the gauge or the idiot light for oil?