4th gear question on 1987 ranger

[Heavyfire14]

ok the guy says its hard to put the tranny in 4th goin 35mph (not that u should have to) but when your goin 55mph it goes in like butter. is this common with 1987 ranger 5 speed 4x4's?

 

[Heavyfire14]

anyone?

 

[homegrownranger]

All the trannys Ive gone through they go in every gear at any time. It should go in every time you try to put it in 4th. The only time I ever had a problem putting it in gear was when my syncro retaining spring was broke. When that broke than I had to have it above 1700 rpm to shift in 4th. Usually when the spring is broke the syncro will spin crooked on the shaft. Its not a hard fix you just have to know what your doing. If you need any help Ive rebuilt 6 fms and only one crapped out, go figure it had to be mine and not all my buddies lol.

 

[Heavyfire14]

um... how much will that cost? im very low on money.

 

[Heavyfire14]

and where is the syncro? transfer case? tranny? can i still drive it? i need to drive it 85 miles to my house

 

[schmoo]

it's in the middle of the tranny. once you get into 4th,
you should be able to drive a long ways, but i wouldn't
try 5th.

 

[Heavyfire14]

why not? will that hurt it? how much will this cost me to fix? should i just find a differnt truck?

 

[Heavyfire14]

???

 

[homegrownranger]

If you want to do it yourself it cost me 50 bucks to do all the syncros in my old tranny. It isnt hard to change just takes patients and tools. I have an extra few rings

 

[homegrownranger]

What tranny do you have?

 

[Heavyfire14]

i believe its the fm145 or fm146. so is it a retaining ring or spring?

 

[Heavyfire14]

and can i use fith gear or just 1-4?

 

[homegrownranger]

I wouldnt use 5 gear if I was you. Ive had lots of bad luck with them lol. Right behind the 4th gear syncro ring there is another ring that has two sprong like curved metal, like piano wire. All they do is keep the syncro rings straight. If they flex just enough it will break the ring and you will have bigger problems. I would open it up and show you how to do it if you were closer. If you take the bottom pan off you can see the rings. turn the shafts and see if anything is out of wack.

 

[Heavyfire14]

ok thanks much. do you have any spare parts? haha any pics, parts and info is alot of help thanks.

 

[Heavyfire14]

and can i replace it from the pan? or do i have to drop the tranny?