Hello Everybody,
So I am having this issue with my 2004 ford ranger 2.3l 5 speed manual transmisson where at times its like there is something blocking me from going into first second and reverse the most but I can feel it in all the gears just not as bad. its mainly when I am sitting at a stop light or about to take off, parking, ect. and I have noticed when i get it to go into 1st gear after a while the speedometer jumps like I just started up the vehicle. I just wanted to make sure what I am doing before I rip the trans out and what not, like if it could be something more simple then needing a new transmission or clutch. If I need to provide more info about what it is doing I will happily do so but i think ive described the issue alright

 

The issues you are describing sound a lot like a bad bearing, or air in the clutch line.

When parked, level surface, truck off, is the issue still present?
When parked, level surface, truck running, does the issue come back?
Start, park truck on level surface, and let idle for 30 seconds, with the clutch engaged. Disengage the clutch completely, and then wait 10 seconds.

If the truck is still really hard to get into reverse without a lot of extra effort (a single gear change to "align" the gears is not what I would consider "effort") I would look into at least bleeding the old brake fluid from the clutch line. Completely flush it. You may also use my method outlined in my signature to bleed the system as well. Usually clutch disengagement issues start with 1st gear, then "work their way up" the gear selection, as it is much harder to get a gear to completely stop than it is to merely "slow it down". If your clutch disc is dragging, your synchro/blocker rings have to work extra hard to brake not only the input shaft, but the dragging clutch disc as well.

If bleeding the system does nothing to alleviate the problem, I'd consider transmission removal and inspection/rebuilding.

 

it usually shows up after a bit of driving, cold started its almost completely fine.
also at times it when it doesn't go into gear, I can feel in the shifter what feels like the gears its trying to go in and not like lightly feel it, I have to completely go into neutral.

 

after driving a bit and parking it, turned off the problem isn't there unless its in gear when I park. then it feels like something is holding onto it. like gripping it into the gear. i noticed that same issue rolling up to a stop light and stopping in gear

 

When you have the clutch disengaged (pedal to the floor) with it in gear, how far from the floor is the pedal (while lifting) when it starts to engage (vehicle starts to move forward)?

 

about half way lifted, normal I think

 

I feel nothing going on with pedal, guessing its alot like brakes. it's all on the shifter

 

Then, I suspect it could be your pilot bearing. The needles in the pilot bearing can get crossed up and clamp down on the front end of the transmission input shaft. This can make it feel like the clutch is not disengaging. That can make it hard to put in gear and can hang when tying to shift out of gear. I've had it try to lock down with the clutch disengaged and in gear at a stop light and my truck tried to take off. Fortunately, the brakes can out power your engine if that happens, but can be kind of scary.

The part is not expensive but you still need to take to the transmission and clutch to get to it. It is not hard to figure out if it is bad once you get to it because the needles in the bearing usually fall out.

 

Someone had suggested that maybe my trans speed sensor was bad... but manual don't have those or am i wrong?