If this has already been discussed in another thread sorry! I tried looking but didn't see this exact issue. So to start its a 2000 ford ranger 3.0 V6 automatic trans. 210,000 miles on it. What's happening is that when shifting into drive (the only gear I have a prob with) it often is very hesitant or never full engages into drive. If I put it into natural or 2nd it engages with no hesitation and can then be put into drive and has no issues shifting from that point until I take if back out of drive at which point I have to go thru the same process. Any thoughts on what this could be. I recently changed the transmission fluid to see if that would help but still having the issue. Could it be something in the steering column with the gear selector? Thanks for any advice!

 

Yes, common issue on Ford trucks is a loose column shifter causing problems, model doesn't matter, Ranger, Explorer, F150, F250, etc........they all use same shifter and so have the same problem.

Google: ford column shifter loose
Or: ford ranger shifter linkage

Lots of videos to watch to see where to tighten it up.

Also check the shift cable where it comes out of the firewall and turns back to the transmission, it can split there, so cable length is shortened