ford ranger tick and clunking only when on the gas
Hey y'all,
I have a 2003 Ford Ranger with the 3.0. It currently has 169,000 miles on the dash. I've been driving it for a little over a year now and have put about 35,000 miles on it since I bought it.
A few weeks ago, I was driving and it overheated. To my knowledge, this is the first time it has ever overheated. Right after that happened, it developed a lifter tick and a clunking noise whenever I stepped on the gas.
This past week, I replaced the heads, gaskets, timing chain, water pump, thermostat, head bolts, and all the related parts. The only things in the top end that I didn't replace were the camshaft and roller lifters.
My thought process is to replace the rollers and inspect the camshaft, but that still doesn't explain or fix the clunking noise.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. I'm 17, so please forgive me if this is a simple or dumb question.