1987 Ford Ranger Trans Problems.

[87Ranger_stx]

Hello,

I just purchased a 87 Ford Ranger I'm having a couple of problems with it and was wondering if anybody has had the same issues as me. Its a 2.9L engine, 5speed and extended cab. First promblem when I put it in first gear and I initially take off from 0-10 mph I can feel the rear shaking and I can feel the tranny shaking as well. After I go 10mph and above it stops and runs smooth.

Second problem when I put in in fifth gear I hear this weird grinding noise dont know what it is but its only in fifth gear when I down shifted to 4th gear to see if made the noise it stops its only when I'm in fifth gear that it make a strange whinning noise its not loud or anything but its noticeable.

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for the help.

 

[RyanL]

You could check out your u-joints (could be your vibration issue), but sounds more like the bearings in the transmission are going out. I had a '88 bronco II years ago which was making a slight high pitched wine. I drove it around for a little while like that and ended up having it rebuilt. Check out your u-joints first though - much cheaper.

 

[Halffast]

5 Speed Transmissions had bearing problems

I have a 5 speed 2 wheel drive 86 2.9L and the transmission is a Mazda. At some point they changed the lower front bearing to a fully caged bearing. The Nylon cage prevented oil flow from the front top bearing back down to the bottom of the transmission. the solution is to drill a 1/2" hole in the right right spot to fix this. A steel plate is used to protect the front gear so the drill bit won't damage it when it gets through the case. This caused a whine becuse the oil trapped in the front cover area broke down and was like water. I changed the top bearing because it got over heated. A transmission shop told me there is not enough lube in these trans to start with, so I filled it up over the shafts. They say you can blow the seals, never has, after all there is a vent on top of the trans! The trans used to get pretty hot on a trip but not after I put in "enough" lube. This is the two wheel drive problem, the four wheel drive transmission has a rear bearing problem, and that is all I know about that one.