First post ... so Hello to everyone.

The main reason I joined this forum is because i just purchased a 99 Ranger XLT 3.0 with 2 wheel drive, auto trans & have been going over everything I thought may need some attention @ 138,000 miles.Overall the truck "looks good" so that left me hoping the previous owner took reasonable care of it but he passed away so I have to trust the folks who handled his estate for the truth about the trucks upkeep.

First off the radiator was stopped up pretty bad with rusty particles & some ugly looking antifreeze. It has a new water pump but the 1st. time I pulled my 17' bass boat the truck ran hot at highway speeds going up a steep long hill, found a stuck T-stat ... hopefully that solves the overheat problem.

After it overheated I heard the cam synchronizer squawking pretty loud where it was doing it very little before. My neighbor is a Ranger owner & told me what that squawk sound was & to be ready to replace it.

So yesterday I pulled out the synchronizer & gave it a good look over, no play in the bushing whatsoever & barely any up & down movement compared to a new one I have ready to install.
What I did find was the shaft assembly was caked with burnt oil slag that looks like years of build up & squawked like crazy when turned by hand. I decided to dunk the entire assembly in my Berrymans carb cleaner vat for 24 hours & see what happens.

Today I removed & rinsed it off, it 's as clean as a new one & feels smooth as silk, no squawking, no more freeplay than the new part so I shot some oil in the oiler holes & re-installed it.

Only time will tell & have the new part sitting in my shop ready to go but thought a good clean & try was worth a shot. This could very well be what happens to many of these they get coked over & start getting noisy. We'll see soon enough