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[doctordeeptrack]

Found on Roadside Dead, Fix or Repair Daily, F..ed on Re-Election Day. I guess I am doomed to be a Ford guy so here we go with my second Ranger. The first one was an 01 2wd beater with 2 bad cassettes. I cut my teeth on an engine pull, valve job and install. Had to do it twice because of some keyway mess up on the balancer, Afterwards it ran like a scalded dog. I regret selling that fun machine. This time I got a 2011 from a family member. 4.0L 4x4 silver 87K. Timing chains sound good on this one. Yaaaay! On my first look at this forum I was sold on the solid info. Thanks to all as this "new" truck only seems to have three gears. Also there is no dash light when you twist the 4wd selector knob. This is day one and it is 953pm so I'm glad to get it home. It's running 2200rpm at 60mph (approx. I will confirm later) I dont think it is in 5th gear do you? Do they call this the Mazda motor? Would a band adjustment help? Could it be stuck in 4WH? I tried reverse a couple of times in the dirt. Does no 4wd dash light mean no 4wd? where is the light on a 2011? This is all stuff I will figure out tomorrow. I still have a Blue 72 302 Ranchero, a white 71 302 Bronco short cab P/U, a 53 Big Body P/U with a Mark HO 5.0 and a Grand Marquis front susp. and what would I be without a 67 gt coupe Mustang with a 289? Oh yeah......(2) E-350s to store parts in. Big brother is the 7.3L F-550 flatbed 2001. Cant wait for more Ranger fun!

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Pics please.

 

[sgtsandman]

Found on Roadside Dead, Fix or Repair Daily, F..ed on Re-Election Day. I guess I am doomed to be a Ford guy so here we go with my second Ranger. The first one was an 01 2wd beater with 2 bad cassettes. I cut my teeth on an engine pull, valve job and install. Had to do it twice because of some keyway mess up on the balancer, Afterwards it ran like a scalded dog. I regret selling that fun machine. This time I got a 2011 from a family member. 4.0L 4x4 silver 87K. Timing chains sound good on this one. Yaaaay! On my first look at this forum I was sold on the solid info. Thanks to all as this "new" truck only seems to have three gears. Also there is no dash light when you twist the 4wd selector knob. This is day one and it is 953pm so I'm glad to get it home. It's running 2200rpm at 60mph (approx. I will confirm later) I dont think it is in 5th gear do you? Do they call this the Mazda motor? Would a band adjustment help? Could it be stuck in 4WH? I tried reverse a couple of times in the dirt. Does no 4wd dash light mean no 4wd? where is the light on a 2011? This is all stuff I will figure out tomorrow. I still have a Blue 72 302 Ranchero, a white 71 302 Bronco short cab P/U, a 53 Big Body P/U with a Mark HO 5.0 and a Grand Marquis front susp. and what would I be without a 67 gt coupe Mustang with a 289? Oh yeah......(2) E-350s to store parts in. Big brother is the 7.3L F-550 flatbed 2001. Cant wait for more Ranger fun!

Welcome to the site. We'll try to help you sort through things.

On the transfer case, it could be a wire issue or a shift motor issue. It's going to take some troubleshooting to see where the problem is. With no light coming on, that is a good indication the transfer case isn't shifting. If it was stuck in 4X4, you would feel binding and jerking when turning on dry pavement. Since you haven't mentioned it, I figure you are in RWD.

On the engine, it is based on the Cologne family of engines. So it is a European design with a German touch (added complexity). At 87,000 miles, it getting about time to change the timing chain tensioners so as to keep the timing system healthy.

Transmission, is going to be a can of worms. It could be that it just needs a fluid and filter change with a band adjustment. 2,200 rpm at 60 sounds like it is making it to 4th gear but not into overdrive (5th). My frame of reference is on the manual transmission. So, I may be incorrect on that. Automatic transmissions aren't my strong point either.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Transfer case usually gets stuck in 2hi because the electric shift ones need cycled regularly or they tend to stop. I just repaired dad’s one Ranger. New shift motors aren’t exactly cheap so I took a shot at fixing his. Tore it apart, cleaned the contacts, put it back together and it worked. Actually worked better than ever.

Transmission may not fully be doing its thing or the torque converter may not be locking up. Going to need to do some troubleshooting. Fluid/filter and band adjustment is something that’s typically overlooked. Fluid on that should be every 50k or so and band adjustment should be every 25k.

Personally, I think a shift kit (and for your vintage a one-piece separator plate) is a worthy investment. Heat and slippage is what kills these automatics and reduction of that with a slip kit is designed for. I’d also change the reverse servo gasket and o-ring while things are apart.