4.0L Manual 5 Spd

[JimJa1943]

Three years ago bought a used '05 4.0L 5-spd w/34,000 miles. Changed ALL fluids, installed an e-locker rear and have been driving it normally ever since. Transmission fluid was replaced with Redline manual transmission fluid. The transmission is not "banged," just driven like the adult I am.

Truck now has 80,000 miles and am beginning to experience difficulty shifting into and between 1st, 2nd, & 3rd gears - up and down. 4th and 5th...no problem up or down. Difficulty includes shifting in to first when stopped. Situation occurs whether hot or cold. Recently bled the clutch - again (did it when first purchased too) and no difference was detected afterwards.

I've never seen any discussion about syncros and if they tend to be a problem with this transmission. Are they?

If a transmission rebuild is needed, what sort of money would be expected? Might it be cheaper to find a used unit and just replace the existing unit?

Thanks for any input.

 

[canyoncritter]

car-part.com to get a ideal of wrecking yard prices in your area with out picking up the phone.

 

[pcollins]

Your slave cylinder is most likely shot. bleeding the clutch will not always help. Theres nothing wrong with your synchros or trans in general.

 

[gw33gp]

You said you put Redline manual transmission fluid in it. Is that gear oil? That transmission is supposed to have automatic transmission fluid in it.

If you did put automatic transmission fluid in it, change it again to see if that helps. I use Royal Purple Sycromax and it needs to be changed at around 60,000 miles or it gets hard to shift into 1st and and 2nd. If you put gear oil in it, you still need to change it. Either way you should change the fluid and see if that helps.

A clutch slave or master cylinder going out can also give similar symptoms but that usually results in more of a problem going into first when stopped.

 

[JimJa1943]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

The Redline was ATF.

Not looking forward to replacing the slave cylinder, but may have to do it. Guess a warn slave will not release the clutch as it should. Am also glad to know the syncros are not generally a problem with this transmission. Good info here.

Guess my plan of attack would be to first replace the transmission fluid, then if the problem is still there, replace the slave. If I'm going to do that I'll replace the entire master/slave assembly.

 

[gw33gp]

If the slave is not leaking you probably don't need to change it. The master can leak internally and not leak but will still not release all the way. Another thing to look at before you start changing parts is the pivot bracket for the clutch and brake pedals. It has been known to crack and cause clutch release problems.

 

[pcollins]

The slave can have an internal leak as well and you wouldn't see it. This was the issue on my first ranger. I had absolutely NO noticeable fluid loss and the bell housing was dry. But when I took the T/O bearing off there was just a tiny bit of fluid in there causing my issue.

 

[Srphatness]

Yea it's probably your slave cylinder.
I just went through my second slave cylinder. make sure you buy the highest quality replacement you can get (it will be a $20 difference). Try Pump-bleeding the clutch with two people like you would your brakes, this is a cheap quick way to tell if you have a leak.
If pump bleeding restores it your clutch action temporarily then you have a leak some where.

If you open the bleeder on the slave and fluid starts flowing out immedatly and not just a bunch of air, I would start looking at the master cylinder. Start with bench bleeding it. It gets air trapped inside, because of the angle it sits at, causing it to not work.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Another thing to look at before you start changing parts is the pivot bracket for the clutch and brake pedals. It has been known to crack and cause clutch release problems.

On a similar note, I've had problems with the ears on the master breaking off. Also noticed in a parts truck, cracks in the fire wall indicating flexing, could be enough to cause similar problems.

Richard

 

[Buckeyeman]

Truck now has 80,000 miles and am beginning to experience difficulty shifting into and between 1st, 2nd, & 3rd gears - up and down. 4th and 5th...no problem up or down. Difficulty includes shifting in to first when stopped. Situation occurs whether hot or cold. Recently bled the clutch - again (did it when first purchased too) and no difference was detected afterwards.

I've never seen any discussion about syncros and if they tend to be a problem with this transmission. Are they? Thanks for any input.

I have a 2010 2.3L w/18K miles and my truck is at the dealer right now with the same problem. I have difficulty shifting into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The dealer called with an update and said the transmission is all torn apart that they have all the parts on order. He said the synchronizers were bad. I'll give you an update when I get it back.

 

[Explorin94]

If the problem lies in 1st, 2nd and 3rd and not 4th then I don't think your problem lies in the synchro's. It is a slave cylinder/clutch problem like PCollins said. Although it may not be leaking externally it may be passing by internally. With that low of mileage I would be hard pressed to say that your transmission has anything wrong with it at all. The first rebuilt of my M5OD-R1 in my 92 was at 290,000 and it cost a toal of $430 in parts and me rebuilding it. As long as it has never been run low or out of oil 80,000 miles is close to the life span of the slave though. If you do the slave may as well replace the clutch as you are already there.

 

[Buckeyeman]

If the problem lies in 1st, 2nd and 3rd and not 4th then I don't think your problem lies in the synchro's. It is a slave cylinder/clutch problem like PCollins said. Although it may not be leaking externally it may be passing by internally. With that low of mileage I would be hard pressed to say that your transmission has anything wrong with it at all. The first rebuilt of my M5OD-R1 in my 92 was at 290,000 and it cost a toal of $430 in parts and me rebuilding it. As long as it has never been run low or out of oil 80,000 miles is close to the life span of the slave though. If you do the slave may as well replace the clutch as you are already there.

I understand what you are saying, and you may be right, but it's under warranty so they need to figure it out. I did suggest a slave cylinder when I dropped it off, but you know in the eyes of a service adviser a customer don't know s***.

 

[Explorin94]

I understand what you are saying, and you may be right, but it's under warranty so they need to figure it out. I did suggest a slave cylinder when I dropped it off, but you know in the eyes of a service adviser a customer don't know s***.

I wasn't doughting what you said a bit. I have been through many of these transmissions and have only seen 1 or 2 sychro failures.

 

[Froggmann]

Try Redline MTL. I put 2 quarts of that w/about 1/2 quart of D4 in my 99' recently. Big improvement in shift quality.

 

[tx3nc]

Three years ago bought a used '05 4.0L 5-spd w/34,000 miles. Changed ALL fluids, installed an e-locker rear and have been driving it normally ever since. Transmission fluid was replaced with Redline manual transmission fluid. The transmission is not "banged," just driven like the adult I am.

Truck now has 80,000 miles and am beginning to experience difficulty shifting into and between 1st, 2nd, & 3rd gears - up and down. 4th and 5th...no problem up or down. Difficulty includes shifting in to first when stopped. Situation occurs whether hot or cold. Recently bled the clutch - again (did it when first purchased too) and no difference was detected afterwards.

I've never seen any discussion about syncros and if they tend to be a problem with this transmission. Are they?

If a transmission rebuild is needed, what sort of money would be expected? Might it be cheaper to find a used unit and just replace the existing unit?

Thanks for any input.

I pulled my 5 speed transmission from my '93 and rebuilt it. New bearings, and syncrhos. The synchros were probably not needed and the bearings possibly could have been cleaned and reused.

A few thoughts on what you are facing.
1'st and second are activated by the same shift hub.
3rd and 4th also share a shift hub.
5th and reverse are on their own shift hub.
The shift hub is what you move with the shift lever. It presses against the synchro ring and causes it to drag against a cone on the gear, spinning the gear up to the same speed as the shift hub. When the speeds are 'synchronized' the shift hub can smoothly engage the gear.

My transmission would not synch 3rd gear when I was done. Pulled the trans 2 more times (total of pulling it 3 times... sucked). Found the 3rd/4th shift hub would not move freely on the main shaft. There is no mention of this in the service manual, but all shift hubs MUST be free to slide forward and back on the shaft. Eventually replaced the main shaft and 3rd/4th gear shift hub. But get this, the NEW hub and shaft would not slide together. Finally used some lapping compound and a press to press the hub on and off until I lapped enough material off the hub that it would slide onto the main shaft easily. My 3rd gear shift is now the smoothest one in the trans.

I'm wondering if the 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th shift hubs in your transmission might be sticking or stuck.

These transmissions are not difficult to rebuild. It does require some gear pullers and a hydraulic press comes in very handy. But I've found several more uses for that press since I bougth it. One of those tools I wonder how I did without it.