2003 ranger 2.3 the rattle sounds like it's coming from 2 different spots on top end of the engine.its like a knock/tick when idle and increasing rpms. It is not consistent. When I rev the engine and the RPM start to come back down it has a violent rattle. Any knowledge on this would be appreciated

 

Welcome to the form

Not much info

Cold or warm engine doesn't matter?

No power issues?

2003 Ranger will have the 2.3l Duratec Mazda L engine
It uses a longer timing chain, but never had any issues with that


With engine stone cold, after sitting over night
Loosen and remove fan belt from crank pulley
Start the engine and see if you can hear the rattle better now with no fan noise
Only run the engine for 2 minutes this way, no longer that take, with no water pump

If there is no noise then one of the accessory pulleys or fan clutch is bad

 

It doesn't matter cold or hot. Stay the same all the way to running temp. No noticeable power loss. I've already remove pulleys trying to rule that out. No luck with that

 

And with engine running with no fan..................
You couldn't localize the rattle?

 

Yes like I said in previous post it coming fro 2 different spots on the top side of the engine. It's sounds like it's in the front and the back of the head. The back is not as loud as the front but is still noticable

 

Here are some pictures of the 2.3l Duratec with valve cover removed
here: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y-aScxyk7pM/maxresdefault.jpg
and here: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YvL5HnigopI/maxresdefault.jpg

There are no lifters or rockers to rattle or tick, and only timing chain is at the front of the engine.
So rattle at the rear would be hard to speculate on, maybe broken valve springs?

You may just have to pull the valve cover and check the cams

 

Because you have a 2003, you may want to listen for the knock/ticking on the intake manifold. The 2001.5's - 2003's use an IMRC/IMSC system in the intake manifold and these flaps can make noise as the flap rod bores/bushings loosen up as they age. I replaced my manifold because it was making quite the racket.

Search on this site for IMRC and you'll find a lot.

 

Did you ever resolve this issue? It sounds identical to the one I'm having. When first starting there is quite the rattle in the lower end right before oil pressure quiets it down. Then after about 30 seconds of nice quiet normal running, the top end rattle begins. It is somewhat intermittent and it seems like it is coming from the cylinder #3 area of the valve cover. I haven't pulled the valve cover yet. Have you found out what was causing your rattle?