My sons 1988 ford ranger transmission seems to slip between 2nd and 3rd gears but only when it gets warmed up and you have been driving it around for a while. Then you let it sit and cool off and it will shift just fine. Checked fluid and it is fine. I was thinking maybe it needs a new trans cooler. Went underneath and the trans is hot to the touch after a short drive. Should it be this warm to the touch after a short drive?
The guy we bought it off of replaced the tranny recently with a rebuild that had about 30000 on it, so the trans should only have about 40000 on it. We just realized this problem, because he only drives to school and back, so he only drives short distances.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

sounds like the tranny is on its way out

 

change the fluid and the filter, make sure the vaccum modulator on the right side of the trans is not leaking (remove the vacuum line and make sure no fluid leaks out) adjust the bands and try again, 2-3 shift should be the band not clutches IIRC

 

Thanks for the tip. Will try this tomorrow.

 

That was it. Replaced vaccuum modulator (10.00 @ O'Reilly auto parts), replaced filter and gasket(12.00)and now it shifts perfectly. Thanks for the advise Toreador4x4 and thanks for the useless comment to djfllmn.

 

dude why are you being an ***? i just made a sugesstion! jesus christ!

 

What was your suggestion? Rip the trans out and start over?

 

well anytime a trans is slipping it usually means its on its way out...but i had no idea about the vac. modulator...im not a ford tech...i work at a toyota dealer lol

 

Thats cool. No worries. I only know about diesels and the Ranger is my kids. I am just glad it was an easy(and cheap) fix.

 

yea tranny rebuilds arent cheap...so your a diesel tech?

 

No but I own a 6.0 Ford F250 lol. When you own one of those, you become really familiar with egr coolers, head gaskets, oil coolers and everything else that is screwed up that came from the factory. Most of the stuff messed up under warranty, but some of it I had to fix or get help repairing. Its all good now, just stuff wants to break quicker when you start tweaking them out.

 

damn nice truck...have you had a lot of problems with your 6.0

 

Toyota makes throw away transmissions, most all new transmissions are throw away...older transmissions you can actually repair...imagine that! id adjust the bands too just for extra insurance

 

you guys will get a kick out of this...guy brings in an 09 corolla with 20k on it and its on its 2nd trans already and that one is junk...then we noticed the front tires were bald...the guy was neutral bombing it and toyota paid for the new trans!!should have seen the magnet at the bottom of the pan looked like a porcipine lol

 

Thank you. Blew out both the head gaskets, fan clutch, egr cooler and oil cooler. Fixed under warranty @ 50000 miles. Blew out egr cooler again (stock Ford ones are crap) and had a bulletproof one put in from Neal Technology's @ 70000 miles and have not had any problems since. I have a SCT tuner, 4" exhaust, no cat or muffler and a Banks intake. Goes like a bat out of hell. Toreador4x4: How do you adjust the bands on the transmission?

 

Pmed you about the bands

had a focus a few months ago, 2nd trans in 5000 miles, car had 25k on it. front tires bald and when i removed the air box i noticed there was a nitrous nozzle in it with silicone over it hiding it. i found all the sneaky pete system wired up and hidden and a small bottle in the truck....service manager covered it because he was too scared to confront the customer

 

lmao

Apparently your dealership is the place to send modded cars/trucks for warranty repairs!

It is retarded in some ways, but nice for the customer since it doesn't directly cost your dealership money. On the other hand, **** like that makes car prices and warranty prices go up.

 

I worked at a Ford dealership. Warranty work does hurt the dealership and the mechanics. Problem... too much warranty work will get your dealer to the point of being questioned on all the work you perform. Our dealership was being watched closely lol. Ford warranty hates paying out and they start criticizing and denying alot of claims. We went from throwing most stuff out to having to send everything back for them to verify there was a problem. Also it looks bad on the dealership for too much warranty work, and there are bonuses for low warranty claim levels.

ALSO... from the mechanics standpoint warranty work is BAD! example:
engine replacement customer pay - 13 hours, same job warranty - 6 hours

Warranty work SCREWS the mechanic>

SO>>>> I can tell you that if a car comes in with like (this is canadian) if it has a 5 year 60k warranty, and we can see leaking or problems and its at 55k or even 50 k and its not dangerous... it will NOT be told to the owner... Warranty claims = bad, so it will not be mentioned till it becomes customer pay.
Fair ... no. But it 100% definitely happens. aka.. IF you have a warranty concern... PUSH till you get it.. If not at one ford dealer, GO TO ANOTHER.

From what i have seen .... faithful customers get f'd the hardest. lol those that shop around get the deals lol.

 

yep its the same at work for me...every tech hates warrenty work cause it doesnt pay as much...but they LOVE to see a cust. pay engine replacement lol