Manual rebuild, now no 5th gear

[Rowesouth]

97 Ranger XLT, 4.0 engine, M5oD trans.
Did complete drivetrain overhaul a month ago, all went fairly well except now fifth gear won't stay engaged. Had trans all apart, replaced bearings & syncs; reassembly went well, all shifting seemed fine.

Get it all back in the truck and first road test i have reverse and 2st four forward gears. But 5th pops out of gear. Shifter seems to go all the way (and it looked engaged when i was assembling), but as soon as i let the clutch out it pops back to neutral.

I'm guessing I've got something in backwards or an adjustment is out of line. Before i tar it back apart, i'm hoping for a bit of advice on what to look for.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Shran]

Worn out 5th/reverse shift fork would be my guess.

 

[BlackBII]

Shift fork or possibly the lock ball on the shift rail. See parts 16, 17 and 18 in this diagram

 

[Renegade Jeeper]

97 Ranger XLT, 4.0 engine, M5oD trans.
Did complete drivetrain overhaul a month ago, all went fairly well except now fifth gear won't stay engaged. Had trans all apart, replaced bearings & syncs; reassembly went well, all shifting seemed fine.

Get it all back in the truck and first road test i have reverse and 2st four forward gears. But 5th pops out of gear. Shifter seems to go all the way (and it looked engaged when i was assembling), but as soon as i let the clutch out it pops back to neutral.

I'm guessing I've got something in backwards or an adjustment is out of line. Before i tar it back apart, i'm hoping for a bit of advice on what to look for.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

I know it's been a few years, but did you ever figure this out? I have a 2002 Ranger 2.3L that's doing the same thing after a rebuild. Pulled it back our and everything appears to be fine, and I can even spin the input shaft by hand without it popping out of 5th or binding.