Hello all. First i'd like to apologize if there is a thread out there for this exact issue; This is my first post on this site, and I've done some digging in the forums, but have not been able to find one with the exact same issue.

I have a 2002 Ford Ranger Edge with 210,000 miles on it. Not relevant, but I bought it as my first vehicle when i was 16 w/ 85,000 mi on it and now I'm almost 26, so I like to talk my Ranger up like that!

Anyway, when in 4-wheel-drive, I am hearing a pretty gnarly, metal-to-metal-sounding grinding noise, which I think is coming from the Driver's Side front wheel.

The noise only seems to occur, or is at least significantly more prevalent, when:
- Accelerating hard
- Braking hard
- Turning sharp
Not very noticeable when just cruising.

4x4 seems to be engaging/disengaging fine, and the noise occurs in equal magnitude in both 4-high and 4-low (this is a difference from other threads I have seen, where it is usually one or the other). It is auto-locking.

The only thing I am pretty sure it is NOT is the CV joint, because those were replaced a couple years ago. Otherwise, I'm not really sure... Hubs? Bearings? Transfer Case?

Thanks in advance.

 

So I had a chance to jack up the truck and look underneath today. I can say with 100% certainty that it is my Transfer Case. When I wiggle the front drive shaft there is about 3-5 degrees of play in the transfer case, and if you spin it, it just does not sound good. Furthermore, I can't hear or see anything wrong with the front differential, and I can actually see the CV axles rotate ever so slightly in that 3-5 degrees of play I was talking about, so everything up front is tight - the play is definitely in the Transfer Case.

... so does anyone know what my best option for a replacement is?