Help - 1994 2.3 L Ranger won't shift gears at idle

[94NewGuy]

I am not able to shift gears at idle but once I am rolling the truck is able to shift. I throw it into 4th, 5th, or reverse (whatever gear it'll go into) then its able to go into 1st if I switch really quick. The clutch was not completely disengaging and I was able to roll forward in first gear. I bled the clutch lines and the pressure plate was being compressed a lot more. However I noticed some brake fluid coming out of the top of the master cylinder when the clutch pedal came back up. So I decided to replace the master cylinder. I bled the lines and all looked good. I took it for a test drive and it was shifting into first gear without any problems. However about 20 mins of driving and then trying to shift from a dead stop it will not shift. I am back to throwing it into reverse or whatever gear it'll go into then quickly going to first. Is this a bad slave cylinder? The lines looked dry and no leaks that I could tell before I started working as well. The slave cylinder doesn't look wet just a little dirty? I was really hoping to not have to pull the trans to fix this.. so any ideas?

 

[scotts90ranger]

When you changed the master cylinder did you pull the whole master cylinder with hose or push out the roll pin somehow and leave the hose in place?

It sounds like there's some air in the master cylinder which this setup is notorious for... There's several ways of getting this bled none of which are intuitive... The best way is to bench bleed the master cylinder and hose assembly which is done with the hose weighted or something so that it is hanging down and constantly goes up to the master cylinder, and the reservoir hose is the highest point (it is not when installed, which is the problem) then pump the plunger until it is solid (about 1/8" of compression when pushing). Since that is a pain to pull out (I did it on a work night a month ago when I replaced my master cylinder on my '97) the next option that works sometimes is with the engine off or in neutral push the clutch pedal to the floor and slip your foot off 5 or so times, sometimes that will fix it up...

 

[scotts90ranger]

I forgot to add the third way that seems to be popular, pulling the master cylinder piston out with everything assembled, it's just a C clip after you pull the switch off. I've done it before I think but not my favorite method, although I haven't had a whole lot of issues with clutches that wasn't fixed with normal methods, the 3 master cylinders I've changed (both Rangers and the '91 Explorer I had for a while) didn't give me too many issues.

 

[94NewGuy]

When you changed the master cylinder did you pull the whole master cylinder with hose or push out the roll pin somehow and leave the hose in place?

It sounds like there's some air in the master cylinder which this setup is notorious for... There's several ways of getting this bled none of which are intuitive... The best way is to bench bleed the master cylinder and hose assembly which is done with the hose weighted or something so that it is hanging down and constantly goes up to the master cylinder, and the reservoir hose is the highest point (it is not when installed, which is the problem) then pump the plunger until it is solid (about 1/8" of compression when pushing). Since that is a pain to pull out (I did it on a work night a month ago when I replaced my master cylinder on my '97) the next option that works sometimes is with the engine off or in neutral push the clutch pedal to the floor and slip your foot off 5 or so times, sometimes that will fix it up...

I pushed out the roll pin and replaced just the master cylinder itself and it came with the hose that led up to the reservoir but thats it. I wanted to bench bleed the system but I couldn't get the quick disconnect that connects to the trans out. The way I bled the system was by pulling the plunger out of the master cylinder until it came out then closed it. Pumped it about 3-4 times then pulled the plunger back out. (Repeated this process 4 time) This seemed to harden up the master cylinder and it wouldn't budge past 1/8". Can you explain what you mean by with the engine off slip my foot off the pedal 5 or so times? Should I pump the clutch pedal? Also, the clutch pedal doesn't feel soft or spongy. It feels hard to push.

 

[franklin2]

How did this all start? Was it after you did some work and had the system apart? Or it happened all of a sudden? Did the system get low on fluid and it started after that?

If everything was ok, and then it suddenly just happened, I would lean toward a mechanical problem with the clutch itself. If you have no leaks in the clutch pedal system, and you can sort of drive it like you are now, it should get slowly better as time goes on and the little bit of air left works it's way out. If it never gets better, it looks even more like a mechanical clutch problem.

 

[94NewGuy]

I just bought this truck and I decided to replace the trans fluid to help extend the life of the trans. I mistakenly put in 85w140 royal purple since I had it lying around. I drove it around the block and it did not want to go into gear while driving. So I got STP mercon v trans fluid and replaced it all with that. This is when I noticed it will not go into gear from a stop. I never really tried putting it in gear from a dead stop before though. I didn't have plates and just drove it around the block. It slides right into 1st gear when rolling to a stop. Just before completely stopping. I would say it has gotten worse. I was able to throw it into reverse 4th or 5th before (whatever gear I could get) then throw it into 1st real quick. Now it is becoming where it won't find any gear. I sat there for 45 seconds trying each gear and nothing. I let off the clutch and keep trying and it eventually finds something. This is how it got the first time then I bled the lines and replaced the clutch master cylinder. Now its getting worse and is like how I just described. I personally feel 90% sure its the slave cylinder. 5% I got a another bad master cylinder and 5% more air worked its way in the line and needs to be bled again.

 

[franklin2]

It does sound like the tranny is turning. 5th gear should be the easiest to try to get in. What you are doing is making the synchronizer do it's thing and stop the trans from turning, which is not exactly good for the trans, but you have to do what you have to do. Once the trans is stopped, then you can quickly find other gears. Quickly is the key word here, too slow and the trans starts turning again.

I guess you could try draining the fluid again. That 85-140 is pretty thick. I wonder if there is still some in there.