Spanky

Ranger newby here and first post. My '97 2.3 5 speed standard tranny is making a "chattering" noise. It doesn't matter if the clutch is in or out and noise is present in all gears. Noise is there when idling in neutral also. The tranny shifts through all gears good and the clutch doesn't slip but the noise is there. Any idea's?? Throwout bearing, input bearing, etc.?? Thanks in advance for any help.



Spanky

RickyO

From experience with a number of vehicles, I would first check for things rubbing that could sound like a tranny problem.

The whole drive train can move around quite a bit on the mounts and something touching the chassis can be quite noisy. I traced an annoying squeak once to a piece of wood stuck between the cab and the box. A friend swapped engines a few years ago and thought the new engine had a bearing going bad. It turned out to be the non-original oil pan contacting the frame when the engine was under load. A few well place smacks with a ball peen hammer solved the problem.

Spanky

Ricky,

Thanks for the tip.
I got underneath and checked everything out... turns out the tranny crossmember was twisted on the drivers side and it was rubbing against the frame. Looks like it got whacked pretty hard somewhere along the line. I picked up a good one from the junkyard for $25 and replaced it. No more "tranny noise". I guess I should have looked for the obvious things from the start.
Thanks for the help.


Spanky