Hello everyone! Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, but I need some help diagnosing a noise I get.

I have a 1999 3.0, 5 speed, 2 wheel drive, 74,*** miles.

The noise is a high pitched whine, that will tail off with "squeaking" noise for a second almost.. but it isn't extremely loud, just more annoying than anything. I first noticed it on the freeway, when I held any speed over 65, the noise would come, and if I let off the gas (or accelerate) it would go away. The noise doesn't increase with wheel speed. It sounds like its coming from under the hood, but the trucks are small and its hard to pinpoint the source of the sound at that speed.

I have noticed I will get the noise in some lower gears as well if Im holding speed at a higher RPM (no tach on my truck so I cant say what).

I really appreciate any help!

 

Welcome to the forum

Most likely your Cam Synchronizer needs to be replaced
"high pitched squeal" is often used to describe a failing Cam Synchronizer

They last about 100k Miles, but low mile 3.0l engines wear out faster, if engine sits for long periods, 2 to 3 weeks at a time, the bushings dry out so wear out faster when in use

Not too expensive and fairly simple to replace if you put crank pulley at TDC before you start working on it

Google: ranger 3.0l Cam Synchronizer

 

Thank you for the response! That sounds exactly like the problem. The truck had sat for at least a good year.

I'm going to get it fixed this weekend, but do these give more warning signs than the "squeal" if they are about to fail? Is failure still likely to happen under 60 mph, when there is no noise? I'm just trying to make sure I dont turn it into scrap on my hour drive every day.

Again, thank you for your help, it really saved me a lot of time!

 

I have never heard of one failing out right, causing the oil pump to stop working at speed.

I suppose it could happen just long odds

Cam position sensor(CPS) sits on top of it, if shaft starts to wobble it will break the CPS and Check Engine Light(CEL) will come on, with CPS code.


Another thought about the noise would be accessory bearing problem
Fan belt runs all these and they spin at high speeds, could be one is failing
Remove/loosen fan belt and spin each pulley, including tensioner and idler pulleys
You can usually tell if one is making an odd noise by comparing it to the others

 

I orginally suspected a pulley, but I thought I would hear it squealing more often. The camshaft synchronizer seems to be the obvious issue based on symptoms and how the truck sat for at LEAST a year without being moved or ran.

I guess even if I'm wrong the Camshaft synchronizer will need to be changed soon anyways, better safe than sorry I guess.