1998 Ranger 4 cylinder 5 speed, 186000 miles. Drive train backlash or timing belt?
230

Asked by Nerrawgnitnuh Jul 27, 2014 at 10:38 AM about the 1998 Ford Ranger XLT Extended Cab SB

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Pulls fine up the hills, but just as it tops the hill and is not under load, and begins to coast, I feel an irregular backlash, before it starts coasting against the engine.  I can't find any lost motion in the U joints.  Wonder if it could be in the clutch disk?  Or is the timing belt suspect for making the engine run irregular under no load?

2 Answers
199,865

dandyoun answered 9 years ago

Possibly an issue in the rear end. Might try jacking both back wheels off the ground(properly supported of course) and with truck in gear roll your rear wheels over forward and then backward. Feel anything that might resemble what you are describing? Hear any unusual noises? Just a thought.

Mark helpful
199,865

dandyoun answered 9 years ago

Oh and watch wheel movement with driveshaft movement. Forward and backward. Is there a lot of play in it when you change directions?

Mark helpful

Your Answer:

Related Questions

  • 1998 Ranger 4 cylinder 5 speed, 186000 miles. Drive train backlash or timing belt? 2 Answers

    Pulls fine up the hills, but just as it tops the hill and is not under load, and begins to coast, I feel an irregular backlash, before it starts coasting against the engine. I can't find any lost mot...

    1998 Ford Ranger XLT Extended Cab SB

    -

    Maintenance & Repair

  • 95 ford ranger 5 speed 1 Answer

    I went town the other day my truck started to hesitate and jerking for no reason the hesitating starts when i take off from a stop light but runs perfect when i have it in neutral then it runs fine...

    1995 Ford Ranger

    -

    Maintenance & Repair

  • 96 ranger 5 speed 4.0 1 Answer

    I just recently rebuilt my shifter in my 96 ranger because when I go to third or forth gear it passes the gear up and it’s like it is in neutral but can barley pull it down and it will go in gear a...

    1996 Ford Ranger XLT Extended Cab 4WD SB

    -

    Maintenance & Repair

  • 1998 Ford ranger manual 5 speed 2wd 4 Answers

    I changed the clutch a little under a year ago. And it’s worked fine since then. By now it won’t shift into any gear but 4th. Sometimes second. Not like it slips out of gear, but it won’t go into g...

    1998 Ford Ranger XL Standard Cab SB

    -

    Maintenance & Repair

  • timing belt 2 Answers

    On a Ford Ranger Wildrak 2015 model. What mileage is the timing belt change scheduled for ?

    Ford Ranger

    -

    Maintenance & Repair

Own this car?

Share your experience with others.

1998 Ford Ranger

Write a car review

Review another car

Shortcuts

Search Ford Ranger Questions

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Gene Arnett
    Reputation
    4,390
  • #2
    Bob Beaman
    Reputation
    3,000
  • #3
    Jennifer Gorham
    Reputation
    2,560
View All

Know more, shop wisely

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Ford F-150
6,137 Great Deals out of 134,875 listings starting at $900
Used Toyota Tacoma
1,991 Great Deals out of 33,867 listings starting at $2,990
Used Nissan Frontier
747 Great Deals out of 23,439 listings starting at $2,988
Used Chevrolet Silverado 1500
4,138 Great Deals out of 131,513 listings starting at $1,000
Used GMC Sierra 1500
1,980 Great Deals out of 67,207 listings starting at $1,100
Used Jeep Wrangler
3,227 Great Deals out of 60,485 listings starting at $3,000
Used Toyota 4Runner
1,226 Great Deals out of 18,699 listings starting at $1,300
Used Ford Mustang
908 Great Deals out of 22,679 listings starting at $1,000

Used Cars for Sale

2024 Ford Ranger For Sale
5,897 listings starting at $28,510
2023 Ford Ranger For Sale
34 Great Deals out of 409 listings starting at $27,442
2022 Ford Ranger For Sale
73 Great Deals out of 801 listings starting at $21,628
2021 Ford Ranger For Sale
175 Great Deals out of 1,824 listings starting at $17,988
2020 Ford Ranger For Sale
131 Great Deals out of 1,368 listings starting at $16,833

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.