1) I have a manual 5-speed in my Ranger. For awhile I thought it was a BW T-5 but someone was recently telling me it's actually made by Mazda. Either way, it is spec'd for Mercon III ATF as a lubricant, and that's what it got in the last fluid change. It has always been difficult to put into first gear unless I'm almost completely stopped, and sometimes when it is cold out it is hard to get into 2nd gear without double clutching. The last fluid change made both of these behaviors a little worse. It's not a problem, but certainly an annoyance. The fluid level is correct and doesn't look like anything is wrong with it.
It's due for another fluid change coming up. Would a refill of synthetic ATF make any difference in shifting? Will the transmission last longer?
2) I've spoken here before about my howling PS pump. These particular ones from Ford are notorious for being noisy, but mine is a screamer. Would a fluid change in the PS circuit to synthetic ATF make any difference in the noise? Once again, the fluid level is fine, it works fine, it's just loud like the turret on a WWII tank. It's been doing this for 150K miles and I'm tired of listening to it now.
re: your first question, if the vehicle is out of warranty I would check with Red Line and see what they recommend for your transmission. I suspect it will be MTL, but ask them. It will make a world of difference in cold shifting performance.
Now at the same time, you may want to make sure that your clutch is completely disengaging, because a dragging clutch can also cause that problem, and in that case it will specifically show up in the lowest gears, which you mentioned in your post...
You need to run ATF in this box. Gear lube will destroy it.
The 5 speed in the ranger suffers from a common leak at the top rear of the box, just below the shifter. There are three rubber plugs in that area that if shrunk will allow fluid to escape the gearbox. If they are leaking, take them out, coat them with RTV/RightStuff/ Silicone/whatever you have handy and put them back. Then check your fluid level. Low fluid will make it hard to change gears, so check that first.
I would also inspect your clutch system. Have you pushed fresh brake fluid through it? If not, this might be a good time to try it. If that fails, I have bad news. The slave cylinder is in the bell housing on the ranger, and cannot be replaced without pulling the transmission. The master cylinder, if you have to replace it, is an unholy bitch to bleed the air out of. Additionally, the pilot bearing in the crank is prone to failure because it is so small, which when failed will result in drag on the input shaft with the clutch depressed, which would make it hard to get into gear from a stop and probably screw up your 2nd gear shift too. The slave cylinder and the pilot bearing are both "transmission out of the car" repairs. If the pilot bearing fails it will damage the end of the input shaft. Fortunately you can usually fix that by dressing it with some sandpaper.
No. Ford PS pumps are notorious for being noisy. Either live with it, or replace it. Understand that replacing it may not fix the problem, they just tend to make noise...
It might be a good time to bail and get something more reliable if you're not tooled up to pull the transmission....but I should say that in my limited experience, the ranger clutch jobs I've done have been mostly painless. You will need a special tool to get the clutch pilot bearing out however..it hooks to the end of your grease gun. You can forget about using a puller, that just does not work. The pilot bearing presses into the end of the crank(Way to go, Ford!) instead of pressing into the flywheel....
It won't hurt to try one of the synthetics. Call the folks at Red Line or Royal Purple or Mobil and ask them what the recommended replacement for your vehicle is. It may smooth things out a lot.
If you have synchronizers going bad or possibly a clutch issue, it won't help. But it won't take very long to do and it won't cost all that much. Certainly a lot less time and expense than dropping it to check the clutch.
The answer to both is "nobody knows." However, there's some possibility of both, and it's not a lot of money to find out.
See if one of the aftermarket companies has made a quieter replacement. If your problem is the usual cavitation issue, synthetic ATF won't do anything.
Ironically, I'm hemming and hawing over whether I should replace the clutch this summer. It doesn't chatter or anything, but it's got 170K miles on it. I'm thinking it would be wise to do it now as a planned weekend project in nice weather instead of as a surprise repair in the dead of some winter. I don't even know how long a clutch is supposed to last, but I feel that asking it to go to 200K is probably much. Thanks for the head's up on the pilot bearing. It doesn't come with the clutch kit, but while I'm in there I might as pony up the extra $7.50 at NAPA for a new one.
Another weekend project will be rebuilding the front end. I've got 1 bad ball joint for sure, and I bet that the rest of it isn't too far behind.
Re: the "cavitation issue" that comes up sometimes with noisy ps pumps.... is it the case where you can pull all the air out with a vacuum pump, top it off, etc and bleed it out completely, but within another day's worth of driving it'll suck in more air and you'll be back to square one again?
btw I tested it out in the parking lot on level ground. Engine running, clutch in, I can shift from gear to gear without any trouble, and without the vehicle 'nudging' at all.
There's an old trick to getting pilot bearings out. All that is needed is a hammer, some grease, and a steel rod. Grease is packed in the hole, the rod that fits the hole is inserted, the rod is whacked with the hammer, POP... out comes the bearing conveniently on the rod!
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.