QuestionHi Ragu & Thank You for providing this service!
I have a 2000 Ford Ranger -a great truck. I'm having a few issues though.
1. When I am almost to a full stop, moving very slowly, I can hear a noise at my front brakes -sounds & feels like the caliper(s) opening up. The brake pedal pulses a bit & the brakes "give." I then have to push real hard to finish the stop. I'm guessing this is some kind of issue with the anti-lock mechanism, but I can't guess any further than that. Note that I have a warped rotor(s) up front, though it seems I'm past the worst of it. I don't know if that may be related in any way to the issue.
2. The truck is an extended cab, and the rear doors won't open. One door was a bit challenging to open because the hinge was clearly failing, but on the other side I had no problems whatsoever with the door opening. Then, this past spring all at once, neither door would open! It may be pure coincidence -I don't know. But I still can't open either door. It's odd that the door that wasn't having any problems won't open. Any suggestions? I have a Haynes manual, but I don't think it addresses this.
3. I've owned this truck going on 3 years and I had a lot of work done to it when it was new, including having the serpentine belt replaced because there was a good squeal coming from under the hood. The noise was almost completely gone for about 2-3 months, then slowly started coming back. I replaced the belt and the same thing happened. The noise has been there pretty much the entire time I've had the truck, and it hasn't gotten better or worse. I really don't think it's the belt, but rather, the automatic belt tensioner or its pully. But then, if that's the case, I would think it would get worse and eventually fail altogether because I'm assuming there's a bearing somewhere in there that's causing the squeal??? The sound kind of comes and goes depending on the whether -- whether it's damp, humid, wet out. But when it comes, it's absolutely consistent -- never any slipping of the belt or change in the sound -- it's always the same identical "squeal pattern." This makes me suspect it's something other than the belt. Also, the belt doesn't have any real signs of wear or excessive tension, like glazing, etc.
3. The fan blower has 4 settings, and when I bought the truck the first two didn't work, so I had the blower control gizmo replaced. Even brand new, there was only an almost imperceptible difference between the first two settings. Anyway, just the other day the control went again -- same thing too -- the first two settings don't work. Coincidence? On the one hand one would be led to suspect that some kind of electrical issue is causing the control to go bad, but on the other hand, I'm not aware of any electrical issues whatsoever -- everything about the truck is always steady, just as it should be. No shifts in the electrical system, lighting, etc -- at least not that I've ever noticed.
Many thanks for your thoughts. Happy Holidays!
Frank
AnswerOk Frank first thing i would remove the master cylinder and see if you can see it leaking from inside if so replace it. ok now to address the door problem are you saying that the doors wont open up at all? and is it because the hinges are broken or is it that the handles wont work.Now the belt have you ever changed the belt tensioner ? This is a common problem with belt squeal.On the blower problem it wouldn't be the switch it would be the blower motor speed controller. Let me know
