distributor gone bad? or what's that chirping?

[sts]

RangerX -- my 3.0 liter Ranger is making a loud chirping noise at the distributor. If you put hand pressure on the distributor it somewhat goes away. I had some work done on my Ranger and a mechanic told me I needed a new distributor and that a bearing was going out in it. I believe he said a new distributor was something like: $235.00.

Somewhere on this forum I saw someone write that when you hear a loud chirping noise at idle towards the back of the engine that it could possibly be a cam sensor going bad and I mentioned that to the mechanic asking him about that because at the time I couldn't hardly hear the chirping until I got home and jumped back into the truck to take a short trip, then it was pretty loud, and I got under the hood and applied a small amount of pressure against the distributor and it somewhat quietened down until I released the pressure. So my question is; is that the sign of a distributor gone bad? And if it is, are those "Cardone" distributors any good that these parts stores sell - that are a lot cheaper than the $235.00 he quoted me?

I'm a little upset because I don't know if this is a coincidence that the distributor or whatever started making a loud chirping noise right after I had work done by a mechanic, and I just need a second opinion on all this.

Oh, and thanks for the bed-bolt-adjustment tips I asked the other day when asking about the gap between my bed and cab.

Thanks
sts

 

[RangerX]

I do moderate the Ranger part of the forum, but I am far from an expert!

So I changed you thread title to something that might get you more help with this.

 

[sts]

Ok, thank you. I'm just now learning all this and I found that on a '94 3.0, the "distributor stator" is the CMP/camshaft position sensor. But what I don't know is, is this part of a new distributor? ie: a built in part? I'm assuming it is, but problem I have is some of these people that work at these parts stores know as much about this stuff as I do, and that ain't too much. Here is a pic of those "Cardone" distributors and I don't know what a "stator" even looks like. Maybe it's the top piece shown inside the distributor on the top view photo?

 

[mrboyle]

There are two seporate parts. The drive (which is basically the lower half of a dristributor) and the cam pickup. The drive is what is making the noise, but it is not uncommon for it to take out the cam sensor. You will likely have to get the drive from the dealer and the sensor can be purchaced at any auto parts store.

 

[sts]

There are two seporate parts. The drive (which is basically the lower half of a dristributor) and the cam pickup. The drive is what is making the noise, but it is not uncommon for it to take out the cam sensor. You will likely have to get the drive from the dealer and the sensor can be purchaced at any auto parts store.

Thanks for your replies mrboyle and RangerX. I replaced the distributor the other day and my truck is running much smoother and quiet. I don't want to get an argument going on about the cam sensor and distributor, but wouldn't it be the opposite, that you can get a distributor from a parts store, and have to get the cam sensor from the dealership? Because I did a search for cam sensors for my '94 3.0, at AutoZone and AdvancedAuto, just to see what happened and I couldn't find a cam sensor at one of those parts stores and then read up on it all and was to understand that the cam sensor for a '94 3.0, is in the distributor aka as the "stator" and it comes attached to the distributor as one part when purchased.

"On the 1991-94 2.9L and 3.0L engine, the distributor stator is the Camshaft Position (CMP) sensor, and it is a Hall effect magnetic switch. On the 1995-99 3.0L engine, the CMP is mounted on the oil pump drive assembly, located towards the rear of the block. it is also a single hall effect magnetic switch and it is activated by a single vane, and is driven by the camshaft."
http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/0d/3a/43/0900823d800d3a43/repairInfoPages.htm