when the truck is rolling even at speeds lower then 5 mph if i have the clutch to the floor and go for first gear i often feel the stick not wanting to go into first aswell as a vibration/shake in the stick.if you force it at all the gears will grind . I'm not an idiot i know you can't down shift into first unless you are not moving or barely moving . Also sometimes i'll be stopped at a light and go to take off and find i'm locked out of first gear . I have to put it in second, inch forward, then i can go into first . I have had the first gear lock out when not moving happen in other cars but the thing is when i got the truck brand new neither of these two things happened . in other vehicles being locked out of first seems highly unusual but locked out of reverse is very normal .when i took it to the dealer they said nothing was wrong . i've driven alot of manual cars and trucks but never have i had one do this. usualy in other cars say your going 15mph and coasting with the clutch in and you gently push the stick into first it will not go into first until the car slows down to about 5 mph and then it goes into first nice and smooth.if i do the same thing in my ranger when it lets you in the stick shakes and you can feel the gears coming together. does it sound like i have a problem or is this just how the ranger transmission is ?

i should also mention that i always follow the max downshift speeds listed in the owners manual and if i need power or something and i downshift at higher speeds than those listed it shouldn't matter because i ALWAYS double clutch and rev engine to match the rpms for whatever gear i'm headed for .its my understanding this retracts some pin or something that wears out and that protects the synchro from damage when making hard down shifts.i'm pretty good driving stick i can even do the double clutch tech where you let it out in neutural then rev motor and put in gear with no clutch consistently....I put the clutch in twice in my truck cuz its really easy to mess up and grind gears. every time gears grind its like a knife in my belly lol.... in the past i never knew there was max downshift and i never knew i should double clutch. In my mothers corvette i would go from say 6th gear at 80 mph to 3rd with or 5th at 55 into second gear all the time for many years and there was never a problem .

 

Most rangers are a little picky about going into first than others. I've found with mine that if I go to push it in and it doesnt want to go, just to pull it back an inch or so and push it into first again. I think sometimes the gates don't align properly. I've also found that not pulling the shifter all the way towards you when going to push it into first helps keep it from doing that as much. Ford made the Ranger's gearbox a little stiff to get into gear on purpose to 'prevent racing' or some other BS like that. Just try changing how you push the shifter into gear a little bit and you will probably find a way that it doesn't stick quite as much.

 

yeah i know what u mean to back it up an inch then go for it again. thats what i do .

 

By the looks of your sig, you have the same truck as me. I do the same thing you do with revving between downshifts to match rpm and I still have a little trouble with first. Its not all the time but every once in awhile I have trouble. I either pull it into second then go to first (seems to go in easier if I am stopped) or if I am downshifting into 1st, a good kick of the gas normally lets it go in. You may have to spike it a good bit since 1st is low with those 4:10s.

 

For the smoothest shifts, both up and down, it is best to try to match the engine RPM to the gear and road speed. However, there is no need to double clutch. The transmission has synchonizers on all gears.

Although most manuals can occasionally be reluctant to shift into gear when the vehicle is stopped, yours should shift easily into gear if it is rolling at all.

 

doesn't double clutching save the synchro when you exceed the max downshift speed ? i read alot about it a few years ago and thats the conclusion i came to . i know it has a synchro for each gear the thing is that it stops the wear and tear on the synchro so they will last longer.

i found it so much harder to shift smoothly with the 4.10's cuz you have to keep the rpm up even on the up shift . Now that i went to larger tires it shifts much easier , more like other cars .i guess now the rear end is spinning a little slower making it easier to match rpms.