In my 2000 Ranger 4cyl. I have recently noticed a knocking or ticking noise when hitting bumps at slow speed. Doesn't happen at highway speed. I also noticed it seems to happen when I let off of my brake then slowly the sound goes away as I increase speed. The sound seems to come from directly below my feet when driving.

Well... today, I was driving down a crap road, bumping all over, i started hearing it louder than usual, then heard a thud... looked in rearview mirror saw what i thought was a rock flying out behind me. BUT the ticking got constant and a lot louder, braking still worked fine, but the ticking is constant....

I start to look up my problem on the net, and find out that it may be the brake caliper bolts that are loose. That's fine, it probably is... my brother and I replaced the brake pads and rotors a while back, probably should have used lock tight or something. anyway... could the 'rock' i saw have been one of my bolts? if so, should I just leave my truck where it is? or could it be driven to a better place?

also, if you think the sound could be caused by something else please let me know. sorry for long post.

thanks for the help.

 

yeah id check and make sure that both bolts are there and are tight..

 

I would recommend checking the caliper bracket bolts while you are in there. Sounds like you have the same symptoms as me after I changed my pads and rotors two weeks ago.

 

thanks for responses, luckily i decided to keep it in the parking lot where it was and work on it there... I pulled off wheel and looked at caliper... lost the lower bolt entirely (think that rock i saw was it) and the other was loose enough for me to take out by hand... could have been trouble. oh well, spent 5 bucks at o'reilly for some new bolts and we're good to go.