I have a 2003, 2.3L Ranger manual transmission. It has about 136,000 miles and I just bought it September of last year. I have not driven it since last September. I just changed the oil and the transmission fluid. The old transmission fluid was almost black and smelled like burnt popcorn.

The transmission is making this whirring noise when in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear as the rpms increase. It does not make the noise when in idle or in 4th and 5th gears. It also does not make the sounds when switching gears.

Attached is a video I took while driving it. The file was too large to attach the entire thing, so the clip features 2nd gear. It starts when I just switch to 2nd gear and get up to 3500 rpm, then switch to 3rd gear.

Any help in figuring out what this noise is and if I can keep driving the car would be very helpful.

 

Welcome to the forum

You have an M5OD-R1(M5R1) transmission in your 2003 Ranger, used from 1988 to 2011 in Rangers, very reliable transmission
These are engine specific, integrated bellhousing, so while the same "model"(M5R1) was used the housing was different to match the engine
2002-2011 2.3l Ranger or Mazda B2300 would work for you if you need to swap trans out, used M5R1s are a safe bet they really are that reliable, lol

Did you use Mercon V as transmission fluid?
Yes, Automatic transmission fluid in a manual trans, gear oil would cause those sounds, way too thick

Mercon V or synthetic version is recommended

Not a common issue but known issue was input shaft bearing, and input shaft gear would strip because it was wobbling
Input shaft gear is used in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and reverse
Not used in 4th

It should make a noise at idle if clutch pedal is up and trans is in Neutral, because input shaft and gear are spinning at engine RPMs, REV engine and see, but may be quieter with no load
And in 4th there is no load on input shaft gear either