5speed Questions

[Bradf5]

Hello My 98 Ranger 2.5L 5 speed has been giving me hell every few shifts trying to get it into gear. Also when im at a stop I will have a very hard time going into first. Does this mean anything? Also how can I tell if my clutch is almost done? Its not slipping but ive put the last 60,000miles on it and havent put a clutch in it. It has 160,000 on it now. Im leary on pulling a trailer cuz I dont know when this clutch is gonna go. Thanks for any help.

Also which tranny is this?

 

[Earl43P]

It's an MO5D transmission and your symptoms sound like a bad slave cylinder (remove transmission, replace slave cylinder, install transmission). It could also be a bad Clutch Master Cylinder, which is easier to replace, but harder to bleed (invert it from its normally mounted position).

If you go to all the trouble to remove the transmission to replace the slave cylinder, you should install a new clutch at that time. A new flywheel is recommended too (some say to resurface the old one, but that costs 1/2 as much as a new one).


I picked up a 93 2.3 real cheap because its "transmission was bad". I found the transmission was empty (no ATF fluid drained out, just metallic sludge). I flushed it, refilled it and installed a new slave cylinder and drove it for several months (yeah, it whined). It finally did fail (stripped its internal gears). Long story short, check your transmission fluid level!!! It uses Mercon ATF by the way, not gear oil. Reason I say all this is, some have said bad synchros will make it hard to get in gear/shift. Well, synchros need fluid......if yours is empty/low, you have a leak, either the shifter bushing plugs or at the rear driveshaft seal ($8 part, easy replacement).

But if its full of ATF, I'd guess "bad slave", very common.