As time has passed, my truck has been getting harder to shift into gear - sometimes I have to jam it into gear, or I'll have to shift into a different gear before I can get the one I want.

Recently I've developed a noise when I'm shifting into second and fourth gear (I haven't listened for reverse). The noise sounds like the squeak you get when something wet is forced to pass over rubber. I'm thinking it could be my shifter rubbing against a rubber seal, but I've got no very little experience in dealing with my transmission. Can anybody tell me if I'm dealing with a major problem here, or something that I can live with for a while?

 

I'd start by changing the trans fluid .
With the cold,wet weather this year it could have moisture in it.
Change it while the fluid is hot.

 

It's been a while since I changed the fluid in it, so I'll probably do that anyhow. How would that cause the rubber-type of squeaking I'm hearing?

 

Take your shifter boot off and check, I have the same problem with my truck, not the squeaking but shifting. My clutch has been slipped numerous times and my slave is probably shot....So I won't know until I change it...

 

My clutch and slave were changed out about 23,000 miles ago, so they should be fine. It was giving me problems going into gear before I had that work done, so that rules them out. I'll pull off the boot and see what I find.

 

Check this thread for some info that may help .
https://www.ranger-forums.com/showth...moving+shifter
Take note of the second post.