I recently bought a 2001 ford ranger 130k miles ive noticed every time I take it for a joy ride offroading in the snow the truck works great 4wd works great it shifts smoothly makes it up the moutain no problem but when I'm all done and get back to pavement I have noticed two things I dont think the automatic hubs are disengaging as I get a whining noise from the front. second problem when the speedometer hits about 55 the truck seems to have a hard time shifting its only at that speed going up hill I never have this issue untill after I switch out of 4x4. Third I get a nasty burning egg smell believing it is my cat I only ever has these problems after offroading after ive switched off 4x4 and am driving back could the issue be caused by my cat clogging and heatimg up everything around it?

 

I’ve heard of this before, and it does seem that it’s caused by the lock-stops banging together and causing the noise you’re hearing. The lock-stop, meantime, is a simple, mechanical device that stops the front wheels turning too far, and to do that, it simply uses one piece of metal that literally bumps into another piece on full lock to prevent further movement. And that’s the noise you’re hearing. That it only happens on with the steering on full lock is the big clue here.

Greasing the bits of metal might quieten things down a bit, but I was under the impression that this model Ranger had little plastic caps on the metal parts to prevent the metal-on-metal contact and, therefore, the horrible noises. Either way, I’d be having an expert check the front suspension to make sure the noise isn’t coming for another, more sinister source. You can’t be too careful with this stuff and since the vehicle should still under warranty, what have you got to lose?