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shifting problems with 5 speed manual


69machI

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First time on the forum. I have a 96 Ranger with a 2.3 L (4-cylinder), 5 speed manual transmission with 150,000 miles on it. Approximately 6 months ago periodically a noise was coming from the transmission only when you would engage the clutch. Over the last couple of months the noise has gotten louder & could be heard more frequently. We determine that it was either the throw out bearing or the pilot bearing. There were no fluid leaks after checking the entire clutch system. Last weekend we pulled the tranny out. Looked over the clutch system, it appears that it's all original. The clutch & pleasure plate looked really good, all wear marks were clearly visible. The slave cylinder was still working & showed no signs of leaking. The throw out bearing seemed a little loose but not enough to make the noise. We assumed that the master cylinder was ok since the clutch was working fine & tranny was shifting perfectly before taking it out. Flywheel is in good shape. But the pilot bearing had disintegrated. There was no bearings left. Just the sleeve. So it appears that we found out what the noise was. Since we had the tranny out we decided to put in all new parts; clutch kit & slave cylinder (Duralast), pilot bearing. Put new parts in & installed tranny. Bleed the clutch system. Started the truck up, tested the clutch & tranny. Clutch feels good, let's out about at half travel. But, we have a problem that some of you have experienced that I have read in the forum. Put tranny in neutral, push clutch in, start engine but will NOT go in 1,2,3,5 or R. It will go into 4th. But with engine off & the clutch engaged, then the tranny will go into anyone of the gears. So we can get it in 1st by pushing the clutch in, then starting engine. Starting out in 1st we can drive the truck go thru the gears but its hard to shift into the gears & only when the engine hits certain RPM's. Have done all different kind's of bleeding methods; gravity, pressure (both from the bottom & top). Took the master cylinder out, disassembled, clean & reassemble it. Bench bleed it, installed it back in truck. Still having same results. Did some more bleeding but still doing the same thing.
There was some information that came with the new clutch saying; …..(The new clutch is design to offer extended life plus the benefit of increased clamp load as the disc friction wears. The clutch supplied in the kit was manufactured by the same O.E. company that supplies the O.E. Clutch Hydraulic Actuation system in your vehicle).
Just wondering if the "increased clamp load" on this new clutch could be part of the problem? Could this increased clamp load be too much pressure for the stock hydraulic clutch system? Has anybody else tried using a Duralast clutch in their truck? And if so, how did it work out. Did you experience a similar problem like the one I am having. Open to suggestions.
 


MAKG

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Sounds like the transmission is dragging. 4th is very special to the transmission, but not the clutch. 4th is the 1:1 gear, where the mainshaft is directly connected to the input shaft. So, I'd suspect the bearing between them. Or perhaps a distorted 4th gear blocking ring or an off-axis (loose) input shaft.

Make sure you have the correct lubricant. ATF. Try changing it. Inspect the old stuff and run a magnet through it. If it doesn't help, the transmission needs closer inspection.
 

69machI

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Thanks for the info MAKG. We already changes the tranny fluid when we put the tranny back in. We inspected the old tranny fluid. It was quite dirty but found NO indications of ground metal or shavings. We suspected that the fluid has never been changed. Did replace tranny fluid with correct ATF fluid. We feel confident that we removed all the air from the clutch line. Kind of limited the problem down to new clutch not engaging completely which is not allowing tranny to shift into the gears or there might be something wrong with tranny. Trying to find out if someone else put a Duralast clutch in their vehicle and what kind of results did they have with it. But if I don't get any replies or hear of anyone else having problems with a Duralast clutch, then I will have to start looking at the tranny.
 

grnrngr

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Seems to me something made the pilot bearing disintegrate, I've seen ones with 100k + miles that were still "ok" , there's just no pressure on them. Unless it wasn't lubed when it was installed (and it appears you're working with original parts), I'd be suspicious of the input shaft...any chance the old clutch or pressure plate could have been out of balance?
 

MAKG

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There is nothing special about 4th gear to the clutch.

This problem is NOT any part of your clutch.
 

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