1996 Ford Ranger-Manual 5spd tranny problem

I just purchased a used 1996 Ford Ranger extended cab, 2 wheel drive. I took it out for a test drive and everything seems great, shifts nice, no hesitation, through all gears, and purrs like a kitten. PROBLEM is, on occasion, when I come to a stop, I have the clutch in, and put the truck in 1rst gear, it grinds. It doesn't happen all the time......about 1 in 4 times. I hate to think I made a bad choice, my instincts have never let me down, but with age, you get "stuck in stupid" mode (had to have it), and burned. What may be the cause, and is it a minor....easy fix? I was figuring the clutch may be an issue, but it shifts beautifully,......So I am confused. ANY IDEAS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!!!

Always praised the FORD TRUCKS..........hope I still can.

Does this problem happen also when you put the gear in reverse? It sounds to me like your clutch does not fully disengage when you press on the pedal. Could be the actuating cylinder but also could be the throw out bearing. What's the mileage on the vehicle? Do you know if it ever had a clutch job?

Haven't noticed a problem in reverse, and as for the original mileage, was informed the motor was swapped for another(only has 180,000km), but the original mileage reads 285,717km. The person I bought it from stated he had it for 4 years, put 40-80,000km on it while he owned it and never did a clutch change. He bought it from a dealer, and had no record of one being done. I have no problems shifting, and no slippage, but just the occasional grinding when put back in first when completely stopped.

Update........Drove the truck for a trip out of town, and didn't have a problem with shifting into first.........pushed the pedal, to the floor, and it seems to work properly....so......could it just need the clutch cable adjusted, and how, where do I check this, and adjust it. I don't remember my 83 thunderbird's clutch pedal touching the floor when I owned it, and thats when I thought about the cable adjustment..........any other thoughts would be appreciated, money is short....so is my patients.

If adjustment is the proble, shouldn't you experience similar grinding in other gears? I suspect that because you only experience this grinding problem in first gear, that it could be a gear problem inside the tranny. Afterall, never know when was the last clutch job if any. In the meantime, just keep a watch on it and if it gets any worst, you may have to do clutch and/or tranny job.

I assume your 96 ranger is the same as my my 94. It has no adjustment its a hydraulic clutch and slave cylinder set up. the slave cylinder is inside the manual transmission. the master for the clutch is on the firewall. I would make sure that it has the fluid level topped off at the right level in the unit on the firewall

Well.......now that I didn't know, my car had a cable, I will use your knowledge and check the resevoir. Thanks for your response, all answers are appreciated.

Well.......now that I didn't know, my car had a cable, I will use your knowledge and check the resevoir. Thanks for your response, all answers are appreciated.

A word of warning, if it is using hydraulic fluid you may have to eventually replace the master cylinder (under the dash) or the slave cylinder (in the bell housing). If it's the slave, you will have to pull the tranny to replace it.

Before doing anything major change your transmission oil. Use ATF mercon. Who knows if it has ever been changed

Changing the fluid on my 94 5 speed is pretty simple it has a bottom drain and a fill plug about half way up on the tranny. dirty fluid can make it harder to shift in extreme cold. It could'nt hurt to put clean in it. I cut a piece of tubing about 4 inches long and stuck it on a filler cap from 90 weight oil bottle and sqeezed the ATF fluid in that way

I thought ATF, Mercon and Dextron are automatic tranny oils. Doesn't manual tranny use the standard Hyphoid-C gear oil same as differential?

The 94 5speed use ATF, I believe its dextron Would have to look in manual. I change mine about every 50k.

My girlfriend have a 2000 Ranger with grinding sound for about a month and yesterday it blew up "pop" and the gear is not catching anymore. Did the clutch just went out? or needs a entire rebuilt?

Does it not shift once its moving or doesn't shift at all? What speeds specifically.You need to be more specific. What engine, mileage? Sounds like a sychro problem in which case you would need a rebuild.

How solid does the clutch pedal feel? Have you tried to bleed the clutch? If you have just a small amount of air in the system, I could see you having occasional problems with first gear.

My 2 cents, good luck!

i have a 96 ranger had the clutch replaced about 2 years ago then sat for a little over the a year i changed all the fluids in the truck but now tht it has been cold the last couple of weeks the clutch isnt working properly i seen someone said something about it not working in 1st nd reverse and thats what its doing it doesnt want to go into first alot of the time 9 out of 10 times but if i push the peddle about 5 times to get the clutch resistance back then it will go into gear and reverse it just grindes and i feel so bad for the truck :( what should i do i dont wanna tear it up anymore but its my only transportation to school.

i have a 96 ranger 5speed v6 4.0 its just started getting snowy here in illinois and i want to think the cold has something to do with it well i hope anyway my truck ever since it got cold outside 9out of 10 times will not want to go into 1st nd will just grind if you try putting it into reverse. 1st gear doesnt grind it just acts like somethings in the way. i seen someone mention the clutch wasnt engaging all the way. the clutch was just replaced about 2 years ago then sat for over a year and i have been driving it for about 3-4 months no problems ever before it just kinda feels like theres ice on the clutch line somewhere and the clutch isnt returning to full resistanse if that makes sense

i have a 96 ranger 5speed v6 4.0 its just started getting snowy here in illinois and i want to think the cold has something to do with it well i hope anyway my truck ever since it got cold outside 9out of 10 times will not want to go into 1st nd will just grind if you try putting it into reverse. 1st gear doesnt grind it just acts like somethings in the way. i seen someone mention the clutch wasnt engaging all the way. the clutch was just replaced about 2 years ago then sat for over a year and i have been driving it for about 3-4 months no problems ever before it just kinda feels like theres ice on the clutch line somewhere and the clutch isnt returning to full resistanse if that makes sense
The Rangers I've worked on had a clutch master and slave cylinder. To replace the slave cylinder you have to pull the transmission. Check the brake fluid in the clutch master cylinder. Make sure its full check for leaks their is a bleeder on the side of the transmission where the lines goes into the transmission. I think you need to replace the clutch master and slave cylinder. Its very hard to bleed get prices at various local garages if you can't do it your self.

I thought ATF, Mercon and Dextron are automatic tranny oils. Doesn't manual tranny use the standard Hyphoid-C gear oil same as differential?

Hypoid gear oil is usually too heavy for tranny's. Using too heavy an oil weight in a trans will cause gear drag/clash and grinding. Try delaying the shift slightly between stepping on the pedal and actually putting it into gear.Then try bleeding out the clutch slave cylinder per OEM proceedure. The slave cylinder is inside the bell housing not inside the transmission. The trans does have to get pulled back to replace. If it's coming close to clutch time replace everything, flywheel,press plate,disc,pilot bearing,throw out bearing,slave and master cylinders. Even a rear crank seal on the engine. And check all mounts too. Inspect,clean and lube the tranny input shaft also. HTH

The clutch master cylinder is close to the fire wall under the hood is has about a 2 inch diameter cap on it, the previous comment explained where the slave cylinder is located.