Thanks dor the reply folks. The tensioner wasn't too bad. 10 minutes and a busted knuckle later it was on. I did a little trouble shooting yesterday, taking the belt off and briefly starting the truck. The noise was gone but then again it doesn't do it ALL the time (its only quiet when your trying to find the dang thing causing it) so I may be chasing dead ends. While i was doing that i bumped into the idler pulley and it sounded like it was shot. Anyways, I would check the cam synchro but I honestly don't know where mine is at. Checked where a typical Ford distributor would have been and didn't see anything. I may change it just to have some peace of mind. Truck has 154xxx on it and needs some serious tlc (its been played with hard and put away wet).

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2000 Ford Ranger ext. cab 4.0

BONE STOCK haha