1999 3.0 DOHC
Hi everyone been lurking on here for a while but figured I would make an account to post my problem here. (Inb4 dumbass for my leak)

The Master Cylinder cap was not secured tightly and fell off at some point during driving, and the engine died while driving. I came to a complete stop, waited 3 seconds and cranked her again, drove maybe 400 feet and she died again. this time making no crank at all with just a clicking noise.
After pushing her for 100 feet I took a look at her, there was brake fluid all around the master cylinder area, towed her home, cleaned the inside, I decide to just go ham on it and crank the key like crazy and she roars to life for exactly 3 seconds and dies again when i stopped pushing the gas. and when attempting to crank there was now just a "clunk" noise. dead starter right? Well 2 weeks go by and i finally have enough time to get a new starter after cleaning the inside Master cylinder area with Electrical Parts cleaner and wire dyer on the wires. After hooking it up I hooked up the battery and the starter instantly started clicking. It stopped doing this after a few minutes and continued making the rapid clicking noises.

Everything else electrical in the truck works, blower motor, radio, lights, everything works flawlessly, it just will not crank.

Sorry for the wall of information, but I figured I would throw in as much as I could here.

 

Welcome to the forum

1999 Ranger won't have a 3.0l DOHC, it will be a 3.0l OHV, aka 3.0l Vulcan engine

Not that it matters for this

You need a volt meter to test battery voltage
Starter motor needs 70amps to turn engine

EVERYTHING else on, uses maybe 25amps, so everything electrical working means squat, lol, when it comes to starter motor

So test battery, key off
12.8volts is a New battery
12.5volts is a 3 year old battery
12.3volts is a 5/6 year old battery and time to look for battery sales

12.2volts or lower is a drained or failed/old battery

The "Click" sound is what you hear when battery doesn't have enough AMPs for starter
But it can also be loose battery cables

Brake fluid itself will not cause a short, but it is corrosive(melts paint) and if mixed with ANY water it WILL cause a short

1999 Ranger with V6 engine will have PATS, passive anti-theft system
So there will be a THEFT light on the dash
That THEFT light should come on with key on, and then go OFF
If it flashes rapidly then engine will not start
This can be because of low battery, which is why you need to test it

Below the master is the BIG connector for ALL the wires from engine bay that pass thru to cab...................

EDIT
Just re-read your post
This part "After hooking it up I hooked up the battery and the starter instantly started clicking. It stopped doing this after a few minutes and continued making the rapid clicking noises"

So you didn't turn the key to START, starter just started "clicking" when battery cables were hooked up?

 

The Battery I put in is brand new, but I guess I could try a few things, thanks for the reply

 

And yes, when we hooked the battery up its started clicking on its own with no key in the ignition

 

Then either the new starter is bad or it was wired up incorrectly

There is the smaller wire on starter motors relay/solenoid(small tube on top of a starter motor)
That smaller wire is connected to the "S" post on starter relay/solenoid, it's a smaller post and will have a "S" molded into the plastic next to it

When that "S" post has 12volts starter will activate, and it should only have 12volts on that wire when key is turned to START

So either new starter is bad, or wiring on starter is bad

 

So the starter was bad, took it back to auto shop and got a new one that they tested in house and it worked, wired her up and it still makes the single "clunk" noise. Is it possible the engine is seized somehow?

 

Maybe, try using a socket on crank pulley bolt and turn engine by hand

"Clunk" is way different than "click"