2004 Ford Ranger Power Steering Noise
Have a 2004 ford ranger 4×4 with 6cyl 4.0 liter. Owned it since it was new. has just over 50k miles, all pretty easy going just in town miles… dont really haul too much, I noticed when i was sitting in the truck the other day and all was quiet, while in park, the engine kind of stutters, maybe better described as “flutters”. you cant really hear anything abnormal, its nice and quite you can just tell that it doesnt have a nice smooth “purr” anymore, im not sure most people would even notice. im not much of an engine mechanic per se, but the first thing that comes to mind might be plugs or some sensor, oxygen or something, i honestly have no idea.. again, no strange noises, you can just kind of feel the truck shake or vibrate a litte to where you know the engine has that shutter to it… Any ideas of things to check or try first, I have done no maintenance to the truck other than oil changes to date..
One other thing, just though of, when you are moving very slow, like backing up out of garage or something, when you turn the steering wheel, there is kind of a “whining” noise, but not the power steer pump, it could almost be called a squeaking noise, but it would be a dull squeak sound, almost as if something is rubbing, doesnt do it when you are out on highway and such or moving probably over 10mph or so… in fact it probably mostly does it when the vehicle is still… like adjusting tires before backing or pulling forward… it sounds more as if it’s in the cabin, and not out at the steering pump, “i know what that sounds like and its not anything like that… the truck was in a front end collision couple of years ago, but all was repaired and I dont recall the sound back then after the repairs and there wasnt even any damage to my knowledge that got into the suspension or anything.. it was fairly minor maybe go into the radiator support or something…
Well, it sure sounds like it may have something to do with the wreck you had. Those power steering pumps are really touchy about having the pulleys bent slightly and then they make odd noises as they wear. SO, if I were you, I’d remove the fan belts and see if the noise goes away. If it does, then it’s got to be something the belt drives- -like the power steering pump. If the noise doesn’t go away with the belts off, then it would have to be something else. But it sure sounds like a belt driven noise to me.
i paid closer attention to the noise that my 2004 ranger makes when you turn the steering wheel, it sounds almost exactly like rubber rubbing against each other, its in the cabin, for sure, and you can feel the rubbing sensation in your hands when you turn the wheel, and you can also feel it vibrating the gas pedal if you have your foot on it, something is rubbing and must be vibrating the fire wall, which would work its way to the gas peddle, so something steering column…. but rubber rubbing would be a near perfect explanation of both what it sounds like and feels like.., you forgot to reply back about the engine not running completely smoothly, what do you think on that?
There are bushings and joints in the steering column that can wear and make noises like that. BUT, they are pretty expensive to replace and as long as you don’t have excessive play in the steering wheel, I’d personally leave it alone. On the other hand, if you can turn the steering wheel back and forth quite a bit without the front wheels turning in unison, you should fix it. As for the engine not running completely smoothly, there are a whole slew of things that can do that. From worn spark plugs to worn injectors to a worn mass air flow sensor to a weak fuel pump to even vacuum leaks in the engine. Have the vehicle scanned to see if any of the data coming out of the computer is really off, and look under the hood (and listen with your ears) for any vacuum leaks. Good Luck hunting, hopefully the computer will have stored some information that will help pinpoint the problem. If you do get any trouble codes out of the computer, feel free to post them here and I can analyze them