Thanks for your help. I have yet anther issue with this new truck... 08 Ford Ranger 4x4 4.0 v6 with 79K. Squeal from rear of truck, its intermittent, usually happens after accelerating and then beginning to coast. Pressing either the gas or brake will stop the squeal sometimes, other times it will persist. It seems in the last couple days its gotten more frequent. I did replace the idle pulley and tensioner... Please listen to the vid

 

Wow never heard that before, you wouldn't happen to be hauling crickets home for any reason?

Has it been getting worse/more frequent/changed the MPH it starts happening at? Does it go away at highway speeds or get worse?

 

Heh, well I do haul crickets for our turtle, maybe ill let him loose on the underside and see if thats the fix. It seems to be getting louder and more frequent. I havent noticed if its changed MPH wise, usually between 20-50MPH, goes away at higher speeds, 99% of the time doesn't occur when accelerating but once I release the gas. Gas mileage has also tooken a bid dive but im not sure if its related...

 

Going with wheel bearings, ill be replacing tomorrow to see if im right.

 

Check rear u-joint too. Good luck let us know if it cures the problem.

 

My guess would be u joints

 

Well did both bearings today, not the issue.. Boy those were tuff to get out. Also anyone know why I have a 8.8 tag on my differential when its a 7.5? I got the 8.8 bearings and seal, pulled it and it was definitely a 7.5. On to the U-joint.

 

28 spline 8.8s and 7.5s share the same axle bearings and seals. But if you have a 4.0 you have an 8.8.

 

That's the thing, no question is a 4.0. I'm not sure I understand, I held a bearing for an 8.8 and had to return it for a smaller 7.5 bearing, I don't think the seal and bearing are the same?

 

There is a 31 spline 8.8 that uses bigger bearings and seals. Most people working parts counters dont have an IQ high enough to figure that out. They just see 8.8 without reading the fine print.

The 31 spline 8.8 was used in a very limited capacity in the ranger. 99% (just a random percentage) of rangers use the Ford 7.5 or 28 spline 8.8.

 

Ahhh, I see. That makes sense, thanks for clarifying. I ordered my new u joints and hardware yesterday, coming in this Thursday. Hopefully that's all it is.

 

Parts came in and everything went in nicely. You guys were right, rear u-joint, I never heard one squeal but thats what it did.

 

If you would have let it go for a few more weeks it would have become painfully obvious, glad you fixed it.

I have read this 28 spline 8.8 VS 7.5 bearing and seal issue like 6 times here and there LOL always the exact same issue, parts associates without a clue. I have never had to deal with it but when I do I am definitely prepared LOL.

 

Oh lord its back, it sounds different and quit for 2 days. I've replaced the rear wheel bearings and both u-joints on the driveshaft, I can tell its coming from the rear of the truck.

Happening on acceleration at freeway speeds and coming to a stop. After replacing the u-joints, during acceleration it sounds almost like a spinning squeal. Stopping it sounds more like metal scraping lightly... Hope that makes sense to someone.

Any other ideas? I replaced the pinon seal about a month ago, if I didn't get the pinon bearing load right could it cause this issue? I mean I took a picture, counted the threads and drew a line with a paint marker so i'm pretty sure I tightened the bolt to the same pre-load.

 

Ok so I broke down and took my Ranger to a local garage. Guys was an ex-ford tech and knew what it was almost as soon as he heard it. Turns out the new pinion seal I installed was rubbing on the dust cover between the pinion flange and deferential. He opened it up, removed the dust cover and no more squeal...

You can actually see exactly where it was rubbing, I never in a million years would have caught that.