Ranger Tranmission/Clutch Problems...NEED HELP PALEASE

Hi All! Most of the other forums didn't have much to say. Hopefully yall can help!! Sorry for long post but feel need to be specific.

First of all I’ll try to keep this short and specific as possible. I know this is a common problem. I’ve read bunches of forums, and talked to a few people, but still haven’t found the answer. Hopefully some mechanics out there can help me.

Vehicle Specs: 1999 Ford Ranger 2.5l 4 cyd 5 Speed 113,000 miles (Used as a commuter not work truck)

Problem:
Having common shifting stiffness/difficulty getting in gear. I think shifting slowly got worse over a few weeks until I noticed it. Had this problem before and after getting transmission work done. Driving me a bit crazy.

Analysis:
-With the car off: Shifts much much easier with the car off then on. A tiny amount of resistance when shifting with car off but this seems normal to me.

-With car on: Hardest to get in gear in 1st, 2nd, and reverse, 3rd and 5th next hardest, 4th is okay (I assuming because 1:1 ratio)

-While driving: Difficulty level to get in gear highest to lowest (2nd, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 4th, )

-While driving: Gets easier to shift in gear after transmission warms up but still feel resistance between gears

-While driving: Easier to get into any gear if I put it in 4th first.

The shop I went to was thinking it was the pilot bearing. The clutch was basically done so I had the clutch, pilot bearing, slave/throwout replaced, flywheel resurfaced and still no real difference. After having this done pedal felt a bit different: pedal felt like you had didn’t have the push it in as far and that the clutch grabbed sooner, but still shifting stiffness/difficult to get in gear.

I went back to the shop but they said that’s how rangers are. They said to come by and leave it for awhile so they can feel it when the car is cold because that is when shifting is worse. No idea how they didn’t feel the hard shifting. Maybe they are just denying it.

Possible causes:

I. Clutch master cylinder
a. Still air in master cylinder (the shop did not bench bleed or replace the master)
Question: Would air in master affect anything if slave cylinder is traveling correct (5/16) of an inch? I measured the slave travel through the inspection gap in the bell housing with the engine off.

II. Flywheel
a. Flywheel was resurfaced not replaced
Question: Would flywheel being resurfaced create travel issues (I know often flywheel are only cut about 1mm off)

III. Transmission problems?
a. Fork or bearing issues? I don’t think this is the cases as only has 113,000 miles and wasn’t used for towing or heavy loads, but could be.

IV. Other causes?
I have seen the following video. I measured the slave travel after having the clutch replaced (I did not measure prior). The slave looks to be traveling 5/16 of an inch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91IYY_YENRw

Questions In Order:
1. Would air in master affect anything if slave cylinder is traveling correct (5/16) of an inch
2. Can the slave travel more than 5/16 of an inch? To me it feels like the clutch is still partially engaged and the previous gear or input is still spinning when I try to shift to the next gear.
3. Would air in master affect anything if slave cylinder is traveling correct (5/16) of an inch?
4. Could there be other causes of this difficult shifting such as fork or bearing issues? I don’t think this is the cases as only has 113,000 miles and wasn’t used for towing or heavy loads, but could be.
5. Could the new clutch still be adjusting? I know it generally takes 500 city miles or so to break in a new clutch.
6. Should I try bench bleeding the master then gravity bleeding the slave.

Any suggestions and insight would really help me!

what fluid is in the tranny?

they take ATF, not gear oil. some do use syncro-mesh with good results.

Hey! Thanks for reading the post.

Using Motorcraft ATF Mercon V as recommended.


The fluid was changed twice in the last 2,000 miles. At the first change, the fluid was old but not terrible (still could see a bit of the original red in the fluid but definitely old). No real metal shavings that I saw.

YOHO said:

Hey! Thanks for reading the post.

Using Motorcraft ATF Mercon V as recommended.


The fluid was changed twice in the last 2,000 miles. At the first change, the fluid was old but not terrible (still could see a bit of the original red in the fluid but definitely old). No real metal shavings that I saw.

Click to expand...

On my phone so please excuse the brevity. Had a similar issue with my '88 Aerostar w/ M5OD trans. On advice here I went to Redline ATF D4 after changing fluid twice with Dex/Merc variants. Shifting was far better. Flushed and bled the clutch (all new fluid and then some) and it completely took care of the hard shifts. 2 to 3, 3 to 2 and 2 to 1 were esp. problematic. Fluid was thick and completely black. Bleed/flush procedure was a 30 min job by myself.

Thanks for the reply! I read a lot about what trans fluid to use and many were saying to still go with the Motorcraft ATV Mercon V. Changing the trans fluid could be an option still, but as it has been changed twice I don't think it is the issue, but I suppose shifting could still be improved.

To me it feels like the clutch still fully isn't disengaging, and thus the input shaft is still spinning. I was readying more and the quoted text below makes a lot of sense.

I'm thinking it may be worth a try to bench bleed the master, as that was not done by the shop and then gravity bleed the slave. I'm still not sure if the clutch disengagement is the problem as the slave cyclinder travels the "correct" 5/16 of an inch, but maybe I can get more travel out of it?



Quoted..

"Clutch disc is not fully disengaging so you have to manually slow down the transmission input shaft by pushing on the shifter.

The output shaft and its gears in the transmission are connected directly to the wheels, so if the wheels are moving that shaft is moving, if wheels are stopped output shaft and gears are stopped.
If input shaft is not coming to a complete stop with clutch pedal down then when you push on the shifter the syncro pushes against stopped gears and slows the input shaft down and stops it, no grinding because that's the point of the syncromesh setup.
When wheels are moving so are the output gears so still spinning input shaft gears can mesh up(match spin) easier.

Input shaft and it's gears are connected to the engine but can be disconnected by using the clutch.
The input shaft and gears are in trans fluid so will slow down and stop if "completely" disconnect from the engine.
Clutch is a friction material disc sandwiched between two metal discs(flywheel and Pressure plate)
When you press in the clutch pedal hydraulic fluid goes from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder, the slave cylinder expands and pushes on the pressure plate's springs, this moves the pressure plate away from flywheel so clutch disc is not held tightly against it.
Clutch disc is the only part attached to the input shaft, so if all is well the clutch disc and input shaft can stop spinning completely, so matches the output shaft speed when stopped, 0 spin.

BUT.......if you get a little air in the hydraulic fluid the slave doesn't push the on pressure plate enough so there is a bit of friction on the clutch disc that keeps it and the input shaft spinning.
Or there is the pilot bearing in the flywheel, this supports the end of the input shaft, this bearing allows the input shaft to stop spinning even though flywheel is at engine RPMs.
These can start to wear out and impart a bit of spin on the input shaft.

These are all common issues on ALL manual trans vehicles.

Rangers hydraulic clutches are known for air issues, PITA to bleed.
Check your clutch reservoir, if it is low check the bell housing for fluid leak.
Bleed system just to make sure that isn't the issue. ""

I've had trouble with shifting using Mercon V fluid also. The correct fluid for a '99 M5OD is called "Dex/Merc" now (Mercon V seems to be too slippery for the synchros to function correctly is my best guess).

Thanks for the info. That's what I've been reading a lot. I suppose it's possible the trans fluid that was in there the first time was getting old and maybe cuasing some knotchy shifting, and the replacement Mercon V didn't help much more.

I plan to call Ford dealer at some point today or tomorrow and confirm. I did a whole bunch of research on trans fluid for the m5od. Will post what I found later.

I think there is a chance there is still some air trapped in the master, as it wasn't bench bled at the replacement of the clutch. It could be a combination of that and the trans fluid.

I don't like guessing and just trying to change out parts (fluid in this case) so I'll try to get some more confirmation.

The Ford dealer will tell you Mercon V is "the correct fluid".


Air in the master doesn't sound like would be the case since you said you are getting the correct amount of clutch travel...

Years ago Ford insisted Mercon V was NOT a backward-compatible fluid for Mercon (with dire warnings about it too), then for some reason they suddenly decided to change their game and call it compatible, so they went and yanked the licensing of the name "Mercon" for the old fluid (which is why everyone now calls it "Dex/Merc"). Well, Mercon V might be OK in older automatics that called for Mercon (I don't have experience) but for stickshifts my (and a buddy's) experience indicates this to not be the case. My symptoms were almost identical to what you describe (difficulty getting it into any gear, not related to any clutch issue). Another observation was that if you put light pressure on the stick for about 4-5 seconds, it will then drop right into gear. Of course 4-5 seconds is often enough time to get you honks coming from behind lol.

There have been reports from other users here having great luck running synthetic engine oils (0W-30 or 5W-30) in their M5OD, so that may be another option you can try.

I went with RP Synchromax in one of my M5ODs that I think had a past encounter with Mercon V before I got it. It helped noticeably, but it's still not as smooth-shifting as my other M5OD that has never been subjected to Mercon V. I may try the engine oil at my next fluid change.

Of course it's always possible your trans may need rebuilt, though at 113K this seems unlikely unless it's been abused.

If you find a solution, for sure let us know.