Hey all, I own a '99 Ranger, 2.3L, auto, sport, 151,000 mi. Good Truck. The thing is I hear a little clatter from up front under mild to moderate acceleration between 2-3000 rpm. My guess is the timing chain hitting the side of the front cover on the block. Any takers?

 

Being a '99, you have a 2.5L and it uses a TIMING BELT, no timing chain assembly. Has the timng belt ever been replaced? Possible that your timing is drifting just enough to cause pinging (could sound like clatter). Pinging could also be caused by carbon deposits in the cylinder affecting the SQUISH area which increases the compression. To verify carbon deposits, try running a higher octane fuel to see if the noise goes away. If it does, you need to get the carbon cleaned out. If it doesn't, then it could be a timing issue.