2007 5 spd Troubles
 

I have a friend who bought a 2007 Ranger Sport(new) earlier in the year and he's had nothing but trouble with his 5 speed. He says there's a miss at the bottom of 2nd gear, but I haven't driven it so I can't be any more specific about it. He also said he has heard of this happening in other 07 Rangers and 07 Explorers.

I have a 2007 FX4 Level II(my first crack at owning a Ranger, by the way and a step up from my 2007 Cirrus) on order from the factory and I was curious as to whether or not anyone else has had any trouble with their 07 5spds. Is this something I should keep an eye out for? Or did my friend just have the misfortune of buying a lemon?

Cheers,
D.

no problem here except the slave went out which is pretty common

please....gotta be a little more specific.....I mean I know what you mean. 5spd manual trans, right?? They have a 5spd auto, and explorers don't come with a 5spd manual anymore.

I'd bring it into Ford, and have them mess with it. Mine was just out of warrentee when the slave cyl went out.

I have had no problems with my 5 speed other than the slave that needed to be replaced, but as mentioned, thats common. I don't understand what you mean about a miss at the bottom of second gear??

Any technical bulletins or recalls been put out on these?

I have access and see nothing that applies.

My 04 had a bearing whine since new that I thought shouldn't be there, but I chose to just turn up the radio :biglaugh: , other than that no problem.

~HJ

Sorry, 5spd manual. I can't really be more specific - I haven't run it myself. As far as the "miss" goes, my friend says it lurches in second just after he lets the clutch out, as though it doesn't grab right away. He could've snapped a tooth off I suppose, but I'd think that would whine a fair bit at higher speeds.

I've run a few manual transmissions, from pick-ups to 5-and-4 Eatons on rigs and I've never run into a problem that sounds quite like this. The closest I can think of is a bad clutch. Not that I know all the intimate workings of a transmission, I just know when they're right or wrong.

Anyway, I think he just ended up with a defective truck. I'm not really concerned about having bought a Ranger and running into the same problem. I was just curious if anyone else has had anything similiar happen to them.

Cheers,
D.

What do you mean snapped a tooth off?

Has he ever drove a 5 speed? Maybe he just doesnt know how to shift into gears and keep rpms up. If he's shifting into gear, without matching or trying to match engine/tranny speed, the truck rpm will drop way down, and pull the truck down in speed. Now if he's mashing the gas immediatly afterword, this may feel like the "miss" he's experiencing where there is no power or acceleration for a split second because he's waiting for the motor to come back up in the power band to make power to get moving along.

Sometimes people don't know how to drive 5 speeds.

If your talking about the clutch sliping a little bit when he lets it out going into second gear, that is common I think on the wimpy factory clutch we have.

Gear teeth in the transmission can break. Happens as a result of metal fatigue, a defect in the gear itself, horrible driving, or poor design. I've heard of it happening with truck drivers on poorly maintained dirt roads when the driver goes to grab a gear and hits a bad pothole at the same time. Sounds a little far-fetched. One would think that rig transmissions were more robust, but considering the weight these trucks move and the terrible lease roads I've seen in the oilpatch up here, it isn't surprising. Even the best of truck drivers can't beat just plain bad luck.

As for my friend, maybe he's making too much of this. Could just be clutch slippage, as mentioned. Either way, I'll find out on Monday when I see him. His truck went into the shop yesterday.

Cheers,
D.

Keep us posted.

Talked to my friend today. He gave up on the
Ford dealership he was dealing with. First they told him it was the rear end. Then it could have been the leaf springs. Then a sloppy shifter. Then the transmission. My friend called Ford Canada about it and was told by one of their service reps that the tech from the dealership told Ford that nothing was wrong with the truck.

So he took his truck to another Ford dealership.

Rear end most likely. Diff gears aren't meshing properly. The tech at the second dealership said they could even hear ticking from the rear end when one of them stood outside and listened. It goes in Thursday to be replaced.

Meantime, I'm still waiting for my truck to arrive. It's only been two weeks, but this waiting is hell.

Cheers,
D.