No reverse in my 1984 4x4 ranger

[84 4x4 ranger]

I was driving my ranger and reverse just disappeared, it's the original 4 speed manual. When shifting it feels like it goes into gear but won't move, sounds like it's in neutral doesn't grind or make any noise. all the forward gears work fine. Did the gear just fall out? Can I fix it or What can I swap in, in place of the current 4 speed t-k manual? It's a 2 liter 4 cylinder crate engine in it.

 

[Shran]

I haven't taken one of those 4 speeds apart but my guess is it's a roll pin that has sheared off of the shift fork - you may be moving the shifter and feel something but it truly is staying in neutral because the shift fork itself isn't moving. If it's not that, it could be a broken shift fork, missing teeth on the reverse gear itself, shifter issues........... hard to say. My money is on a broken roll pin since you say it just disappeared. Very easy & cheap fix, but you may have to pull the transmission and/or partially disassemble it to fix it unless you can get at it with the pan removed. My guess is you can't but I could be wrong.

What you have now is by far the easiest thing to use but you could swap in an FM-145 or 146 if you can find a 4 cylinder bellhousing for it (though not much of an upgrade) or a 4 cylinder M5OD from '88 and up trucks... those are very hard to find or you can custom build one with parts from 4 cylinder 2wd and V6 4x4 donors. In any case you will be looking at driveshaft length changes, using different clutch/flywheel/starter parts, and more than likely your transfer case shifter will need to be modified.

 

[Curious Hound]

I’ve got nothing useful to say here except what I told some motorcycle friends a few days ago. Reverse works much better if the vehicle is pointed uphill.

 

[Josh B]

I don't know what your shift fork set looks like but mine (on a 4.0 m5od) has a basic rectangular cover on top, 10 small bolts, and lifts out with forks and all

Going full circle

Wait, both shifter housings are in first but you're stabbing the shifter in the neutral location because the side pressure spring deal won't let you get the shifter in the first location, you might need to pry that pushrod deal over to get the shifter in there before the detents will release to...

www.therangerstation.com

I had two to tinker with though and you'll only have one, so don't make any alterations you can't undo

 

[Josh B]

I’ve got nothing useful to say here except what I told some motorcycle friends a few days ago. Reverse works much better if the vehicle is pointed uphill.

I used to have a little 2 stroke motorbike and it would die sometimes climbing hills and I would roll backwards and start it and drive it in reverse a while

 

[Shran]

I don't know what your shift fork set looks like but mine (on a 4.0 m5od) has a basic rectangular cover on top, 10 small bolts, and lifts out with forks and all

Going full circle

Wait, both shifter housings are in first but you're stabbing the shifter in the neutral location because the side pressure spring deal won't let you get the shifter in the first location, you might need to pry that pushrod deal over to get the shifter in there before the detents will release to...

www.therangerstation.com

I had two to tinker with though and you'll only have one, so don't make any alterations you can't undo

I believe they are constructed similar to the Mitsubishi transmissions, in that the shift rails are inside the case rather than in the top cover. Makes working on them a bit more inconvenient. Here's a parts breakdown.... by the look of things, the tailhousing may have to be removed to access them.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/pdf_documents/toyo83_87.pdf

 

[Josh B]

I can't figure where those forks go unless it's near the top of the main housing where those two holes are