95 Ranger Splash

StormChaserEOC · Dec 31, 2012

I am not sure if the question I have should be in this thread or not but it is urgent to me. Two years ago we bought our son a Ranger Splash. I anticipated that it would be work in progress but it never quite ran that well. As long as his driving was only in town it was ok. Now he is a little older and is venturing out further and further. More problems started to surface and I finally threw in the towel and took it to a professional. I determined that the root of the problem was the transmission.

The truck now resides at the transmission shop. They have rebuilt the transmission completely for the tune of $1600. Now they state that they will honor a 1 year warranty however the truck has to be running correctly before it leaves, which it is not. The following indicates the known information. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am paying storage every day that it is there. If this keeps on I will end up having to forfiet the truck and walk away.

1995 Ford Ranger Splash
according to seller the engine, tranny and ecm were from a 1996 explorer
the shop says the tranny is without a shaddow of a doubt a 1997 tranny
the computer by number came out to be a 1996 explorer computer
the engine has a casting of 97JM6050CD

the shop states that the wiring harness that they took off has a 12 pin neutral safety switch and that I need to find a harness with an 8 pin neutral safety switch. and find a 1995 computer.

Can anyone please tell me what I need to look for and where to start.

StormChaserEOC · Dec 31, 2012

To futher explain what is going on. The shop is saying that the transmission is not shifting gears. This is an automatic tranny. The person we bought the truck from told us that the ranger is a 1995 Splash which is confirmed. He bought it as a rolling chassis. He harvested the running gear; engine, tranny, and ecm from a 1996 explorer. However the shop states that the tranny is a 1997 because of certain bearings in the transmission that were not present in 1996 or older models. The engine has a casting "97JM6050CD" on the left side under the spark plugs. They say that that indicates that the engine is also a 1997. The computer seems to be for a 1996 explorer so says several junk yards according to the number on the ecm. The tranny has a 12 pin neutral safety switch. The harness also has 12 pins. The shop states that I have to get a 1995 ecm and a harness with an 8 pin neutral safety switch and change over the switch on the tranny.

I am not convinced that this shop really knows what to do. They honestly seem to be guessing and at my expence.

I have looked for this wiring harness that they are telling me to get and I am not comming up with anything. The top of the harness has two large square plugs, one black and one grey. The closest match I have found with the 8 pin neutral safety switch has one square and one oval. I need experianced insight please.

adsm08 · Dec 31, 2012

If the last guy grabbed everything needed to make it run then nothing should have to be changed back to make it run right.

A 96 computer should run a 97 engine well enough, but that is a fully electronic trans.

If it the computer is for a 4R or an M5 and the trans you have is a 5R, that would be the root cause of your problems.

Now, does it shift erratically, or not at all?

StormChaserEOC · Dec 31, 2012

I am being told that it is not shifting at all now. Before it was shifting but erratically. I have a simple computer and it was kicking codes for shift soleniods a, b and c. Not to mention that it was constantly showing that OD was off. It was however shifting prior to going to the trans shop confirmed by watching the tach. The previous owner stated that there were some bugs that he could not figure out but it seems to be worse now. The shop tech is saying the he thinks that the harness has been changed in some way but he does not know how so. The problem that I have is that he will not allow me under or arround the lift when he has the truck in the shop and half of the time he has rolled the truck back out to work on other things while he "looks for answers" and has me look for this mystery harness.

adsm08 · Dec 31, 2012

Get me all the numbers you can off the computer. There should be a sticker on the top of the plug that has the numbers I need.

Also find out from them if this was a 5-speed automatic that they rebuilt.

The A4LD was used from 86 to 94. The 4R was used in 95 and 96. The 5R was used from 97 on. It can get along with the 4R computer, but it will frequently have erratic and sometimes no shifting.

StormChaserEOC · Dec 31, 2012

The transmission shop was closed when I tried to call. I will get the information but it will probably be Wed before I can.

Mazda · Dec 31, 2012

I would also on Wed call your states "BAR" (Bureau of Auto Repair). Or whatever you have in your state that oversees mechanic shops. What they are telling you at least in my state is against the law.

adsm08 · Dec 31, 2012

Mazda said:
I would also on Wed call your states "BAR" (Bureau of Auto Repair). Or whatever you have in your state that oversees mechanic shops. What they are telling you at least in my state is against the law.

That he can't take the truck until it is in working order?

I think that what they are saying is that if he takes the truck before it is working correctly they will not honor the warranty which is perfectly valid as the existing issues can cause damage.

As for the storage fees, yeah, that I would look into that. Far as I know in PA you can't charge storage if there is an open work order.

95 Ranger Splash

StormChaserEOC

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adsm08

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StormChaserEOC

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StormChaserEOC

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Mazda

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