04' 5 Speed shift

[Engine7]

Seems since I have purchased my 04' the trans is really hard to shift. I have taken by the dealer a couple times, and they say everything is fine. I've worked for a Ford and Chrylser dealer for the past 12 years, they shouldn't be this hard to shift. Some mornings reverse to first is so bad, I have to double clutch to get it into first. Anyone else having the same issues?

 

[metalmacguyver]

none that i have heard of. did you buy it new? have you conisidered clutch issues?

 

[Jspafford]

Does it have ATF in it and not 80/90 weight? If you bought it used, hard to tell what the previous owner did to it.

 

[Engine7]

I bought it used with 40k miles, still has remainer of warr. I believe it has 80/90, but have yet to check. I relied on the dealer to check, first mistake. A buddy that runs the parts dept. at my old Chrysler dealer, put Amsoil for a nv3500 trans in his Jeep with good result, so I may try that if it has gear oil in it. I need to put it up in the air and find out for myself. If it has warranty, then I use the hell out of it.

 

[metalmacguyver]

if it has gear oil in it, change it as soon as possible! drive it a few mile and then change it again! i have heard about some people putting 30wt in thier transmissions but i dont know what the long term results have been.


also, if you have the maintenance records, see who it was that put the gear oil in it and make sure to drop the tranny on thier head if/when you have to replace it.

 

[V8RangerBoy]

I'm not sure what the newer Rangers run for a tranny, but my pickup has the M5OD in it. I had a very frustrating and similar problem for a while, until it finally gave up the ghost and we solved the problem.

My pickup would be really hard to get into first (from stoplights usually), and when I would go to shift from first to second it would hang really bad as well. The times it wouldn't go into first, it would grind really hard going into reverse. Ended up being a slave cylinder issue in the clutch. After about 6 months it finally failed. We checked everything out before it failed (dad's a 35 yr mechanic and shop owner) and it all looked fine, but finally it just "popped" and that was the end of it.

It's somewhat different in my case though, as I have a 3.0L master cylinder pushing on a 5.0L slave and pressure plate, so my system is under more load than it was intended for. However, it is entirely likely that you have the same problem. Since it finally gave up and we swapped it, my pickup shifts TONS better and it's alot more fun to drive. I love my truck, but when it shifted like sh!t I was getting really really sick of it and not being able to pinpoint the problem, so I hope this helps ya. I sure found it annoying.

 

[metalmacguyver]

after reading that last post, i would definately point you in the direction of your clutch.

 

[Jspafford]

The transmission was designed to use Automatic Transmission Fluid... Why not just put in it, what it is designed for. Think of all the other hundreds of thousand rangers out there that use it and have no problems.

Check it ASAP.

 

[MAKG]

Amsoil makes an ATF as well. But you simply will see no benefit whatsoever from using synthetic ATF in anything, unless your money is getting heavy.

It's a transmission, not a crankcase.