93 Ranger won't make it out of first...

[rangerdriver]

hello all. i have a 6 cyl 93 5-speed that refuses to shift gears. i mean, both hands on the shift knob, foot pressin down as far as the clutch will go, and she won't go into second. this is not too much fun. now, it is bitterly cold in ohio right now and my question is: could the weather be playing a factor here or am i just s.o.l.? does this sound like a clutch problem? clearly, i'm dumb and any help would be greatly appreciated.

[EVH5150]

The only time I have problems shifting from first to second is when it is colder than hell out, but once the truck warms up, shifting returns to normal. Could be the fluid, possibly. I would think that if it were a clutch problem, shifting would be difficult through all the gears. But yeah, when it's REAL cold out I really have to pull on the stick to get it to second. If anyone has a cure for this, I'd like to know too.

[lakerfan1784]

Hey, I've got a 92 with the 5 speed that had similar problems. The stick would barely move in very cold days (sault ste marie, MI; -25 sometimes!!). I decided to do some investigation...

The clutch was replaced recently, so I eliminated that option. Then I decided to have the fluid changed, and that fixed it. When the fluid begins to break down, parts of it actually freeze, causing the harder-than-normal shifting. Try replacing the oil in the tranny, that may help. It is relatively easy to replace, but it must be warm to completely be drained out.

[rangerdriver]

hey, many thanks for the advice. i ended up having to take a greyhound to cincinnati for a meeting, but the bus only smelled like urine on the way there. tomorrow i'm gonna try the ol' new fluid trick and see if that remedies the situation. as it stands now, i can't put the vehicle into first unless the engine is off. the only gear i can get into when the engine is running is reverse, and when i jam it on in there, the wheels start a-spinnin' even though i've got the clutch to the floor. thankfully, i'm parked on about 4 inches of ice and have no weight in the back so that's not a problem. will advise as to results of fluid replacement and thanks again, magical intarweb....

[rangerdriver]

yep, gear box service and a little clutch service went a long way and i'm back up and running. thanks again...

[klaatu62]

I had the same problem on my 98. Seems that the hydrolic clutch can be a pain as it wears out. The seals start to leak and you will notice that the truck moves ahead when you have the clutch fully depressed with no breaking on flat land...

the short term cure was adding oil to the clutch and pumping like a crazy man before changing gears... Long term was a new master and slave cylinder...

Hope your fix cost less than the $800 it took to get mine back on the road again!