Hello this is my first post here and I recently bought a 1994 ranger 5 speed, 4.0, and 4x4 for 600 dollars. It also has just about 180k miles.

It has some issues but none larger than the trans being super hard to put into all gears of itch no grinding, also it grinds but will go into reverse.

I know it’s a M5od-r1,

I’m pretty sure it’s not the slave cylinder because I had a buddy press down on it and I looked at it from the little peep hole in the transmission. Looked like enough travel to disengage the clutch.

I took the transmission out today and the clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, and slave seem to be in good condition.

I opened up the top to look at synchros but honestly I have no clue what to look for.

I was wondering if I could get some opinion and maybe someone to look at the inside(pictures below).

- Leonardo

 

Nothing stands out as bad

1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear are pictured, there is no 4th "gear" as its 1:1 ratio so its just a sleeve that links input shaft to output shaft
The larger gear is the input shaft gear, its actually what powers all the other gears

Did it have ATF in it, can't use gear oil in this manual trans, have to use ATF Mercon V or similar

If a manual transmission is only hard to shift when engine is running its a clutch issue, if its hard to shift with engine off then its a shift linkage issue, so check the shift forks, see if they are sloppy

Manual Transmission's shifter's main job is to make sure the driver can NEVER select 2 gears at the same time
So shifter always has to go to Neutral first before another gear can be selected
There are 3 shift rails that are used to select 1-2, 3-4, 5-R
Trans is in neutral when the "-" line up in the center
If these line ups get sloppy then its hard to go from 2nd to 3rd because neutral is "fuzzy" not a clear position

 

Hey thank you very much for your answer,

There was atf in it when I drained it, definitely not gear oil.

the clutch, pressure plate, and flywheel all were in good shape no burn marks and the clutch still had a good amount of meat.

It’s only hard to shift when running, but I’ll definitely check slop in the shift forks
​​​
I’m able to shift gears no problem when not running and also I can feel neutral like normal

Right now I think it’s slave cylinder issue

again thank you for your answer

-leo

 

Hey thanks for you response

I know there was ATF in it got gear oil, it was definitely dirty but not super bad.

also It only doesn’t shift into gear while it’s running not when it’s parked

I will still check the shift forks for excessive play and what not

I also can feel it go into fear just fine when the truck isn’t running and also can feel neutral just fine.

the clutch and pressure plate seem to be in good condition.

Right now I’m thinking it’s the slave cylinder not pressing enough to release the clutch.

I think there may be a leak in the high pressure line going from the master to slave cylinder but I’m not so sure.

Anyway, thanks for the help!

 

It's for sure the clutch system

The transmission can't be disconnected from rear wheels, so transmission is always spinning at rear wheel speed
When stopped, transmission is at 0 RPMs
When idling engine is at say 700rpms

So to put transmission into any gear, when stopped, the clutch disk, and input shaft, HAVE TO BE at 0 RPMs
Clutch disc is 10", synchro gears are 5"
So if clutch disc is not FULLY released then the syncros have a hard time slowing the clutch disc, and input shaft, down to 0 RPMs, and you can then get grinding sound when you force it to slow down to 0 RPMs
The synchros are just softer metal "gears" used to RPM Match the input shaft RPMs to the rear Wheel/gear RPMs

Clutch disc sits between the flywheel and pressure plate, BOTH are spinning at engine RPMs always
If there is ANY rubbing when clutch pedal is down then clutch disc has a hard time slowing down to 0 RPMs
So FULLY released is important, any rubbing means hard shifting for sure

I like to use the SAC(self adjusting clutch) pressure plates, the pressure plate self adjusts as the clutch disc wears down so pedal engage/disengage stays at the same place in pedal travel through out the life of the clutch

If you have air in the clutch hydraulic system you still have the same issues regardless of pressure plate used
If the hose is removed at the transmission end, press down on the clutch pedal, it should be "hard as a rock" and not move a bit, if you feel it going down then you DO have a leak in that hose or a failing Master

 

Thank you for the information about manual transmissions it has been very helpful.

Today I tried pushing in the clutch, with it disconnected from the slave cylinder and it was good, hard as a rock.

so I’m thinking my master cylinder is good, and no leaks in the line

I guess the next thing to check is the slave cylinder to see if it is somehow losing pressure or not pushing enough.

The slave cylinder was dry so I suspect no leaks, but it could be failing.

That’s just my conclusion for now and i appreciate the help.

I’ll post once I have an update

 

Try gravity bleeding for a few minutes
Hook slave master back up

Open clutch reservoir in engine bay, remove the "air cup" if its in there, add some fluid to reservoir
Put a catch pan under slave bleeder
Open bleeder and it should start to release fluid
Wait a minute and then tighten bleeder
check if clutch is working better, you can start the engine to do this, you don't have to put cap back on the reservoir, fluid should NEVER flow from Master to reservoir, only the other way

If its still not feeling better then repeat
You can do this with brakes as well

Power bleeding is faster, but gravity bleeding can be better, just takes longer, lol