transmission tick.
 

Hello everyone. My 4 banger ranger has developed a tick that i confirmed is coming from the tranny to the back. It used to not be there, then i could barely hear it, then i could hear it at 30mph, and now at 60mph. im starting to get a little worried. I drove about 20mph and stuck it in neutral and it went away. anyone got any ideas or just drive on

Hi,

Would be helpful to know the year and if you have a manual or automatic trans in your "4 banger"?
Also I assume 2WD, not alot of 4x4 4 cylinders around

On some Ranger 4cyl models there is a rubber damper at the transmission end of the drive shaft, these could rot and cause a noise and vibration.

Thanks for the reply! its a 1999 2.5L automatic 2wd long bed (don't know if that makes a difference.) It almost sounds like if you were tapping a pebble against concrete very quickly. some days are worse than others. Yesterday it seemed like it didn't want to kick out of 1st gear, but i'm guessing its geared like that since its a four cylinder. I usually let it warm up good before it ease out but i had to get going so i couldn't It seems to do it when i dont let it warm up good. I crawled under it today and tried moving around the driveshaft and i got a little movement but nothing considerable.

Did you see the damper/balancer?

Pictures here of a broken one: https://www.ranger-forums.com/drivet...se-help-23853/

The ticking does sound like a drive line issue, u-joint or balancer

Not sure if long beds used carrier bearing, extended cabs did, so could be carrier bearing issue as well.

You would have a two piece drive shaft with carrier bearing bolted to under side of bad.

Have a look

I haven't had a chance to look under the truck today (school and rain) but I don't believe I have a damper. What exactly is a 2 piece drive shaft? mine looks solid. Ill see if I can take some pictures of some stuff tomorrow. Also are the carrier bearings a visible piece or hidden cause i can see what they look like tomorrow as well. Also comparing my driveshaft to the one in the pictures, it looks like mine is bigger for some reason. and it looks fairly new, hardly rusted.

Sorry i havent gotten pctures yet off school tomorrow so ill get some then.

Here are some pictures got em today
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ran...bf02594035.jpg

driveshaft facing away from tranny

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ran...25393ce2a6.jpg

transmission

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ran...8ecd0c6ad7.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ran...efee0d4446.jpg

Damper looks fine, shouldn't cause a noise unless it is loose

ok it doesnt move so thats ok

Not sure where you should go from here?

You can drive along a block wall or under ground parking?
Listen with drivers window open then do the same for passenger side, maybe see if its a wheel issue, which would be louder on one side than the other

Support rear axle on stands and have some one run up the drive train to see if you can hear where it is coming from..........be careful

ok i have a block wall so ill check that out. have a lifter tick as well so ill see if i distinguish it. Ill jack it up and maybe just spin the wheels since im gonna be by my self tomorrow... If i keep one wheel on the ground an spin the other, in the air, n drive, will it spin the transmission since its an open diff?

Check drive shaft
 

Hey Ron be sure to check drive shaft and u-joints out those like too tick and pop while driving!

Ok will do, Thanks!

i couldn't find anything when i jacked it up. then again i didn't look too hard. I could hear it driving in town next to the railroad wall with the windows rolled down on both sides. I didn't notice any difference in volume on one side or the other.