hey all, my names J Ryan. im a new Ranger (2002 B3000 4x4) owner. really digging the truck. im a moderately experienced mechanic, mostly chevy, and a motorcycle chopper builder. my ranger questions/queries (as of now) are this
i had a noise coming from under the truck on the highway that sounded like jingly, kind of like valve clatter, and some vibration on the highway at 60-70 mph. ive been extensively searching for the problem with zero to little success.
so far ive removed the main shaft and had it spun at the driveshaft shop. amazingly enough i was told it was straight and balenced to a very suprising degree, considering it is aluminum. next i had the wheels check at a wheel shop that specializes in wheel straightning and repair, and was told the wheels are mostly straight cept for one that had minor bend on the inside lip, but wasnt enough to constitute a straightning.
replaced the wheel bearings/hubs all the way around, and new cv axles. i did notice on the highway a wheel wobbling, found i had a bent drive axle. i replaced it. while i was inside the diff i removed the whole rear end, inspected for damage, or bad bearings. i did notice a very small/minor chip on the corner edge of the ring gear, but it didnt seem to affect anything. i installed a new yolk flange and crush sleeve to proper pinion shaft bearing pre-load, and checked the backlash. it was all good. gears turned very smoothly. new rear shocks. last thing i did was pull the front driveshaft. that eliminated the jingly sound, but the vibration is still there. should i rebuild the cardone thing, or should i go for a new shaft? i should mention that the truck is lifted about 2 1/2 in rear, and maybe the same or a little more in the front.

- J R

 

rebuild it, and check fot bad front end parts. also get the tires ballanced