My truck (2.3 5spd man.) has been giving me problems shifting into first. or any other gears. itll do it. but you gotta try real hard. you push in the clutch all the way, and it disengages. totally. I Flushed the tran. and put new fluid in it. now the shifting seems way easier. still a lil tough into first, but the other gears are back to norm.


also. lately ive had an odd sound, kinda like if you had a heat shield around a manifold and it was vibrating real fast. only happens when i let off the gas. or when im slowing down.

any ideas, or questions to further help me solve this will be fine.

PS. all fluids are fine. with no bubbles.

 

Hmmm...well the difficulty shifting sounds like a clutch problem and not necessarily a clutch replacement. Ranger clutches are hydraulic and it's a well known and common failing in our manual-equipped trucks. Mostly the slave cylinder -- the one in the transmission, more's the pity -- which is not easy to replace.

Not sure about the noise -- could just be a heat shield. I have an auto but the two problems manuals have are the clutch cylinder and synchronizer wear. My daughters truck fights 3rd gear and grinds a bit due to synchro wear. However, 1st and reverse aren't synchromesh so usually when you have a problem across the board, it's something to do with the clutch.

 

sounds about right. thanks lol. now about that rattling noise. its really really obnoctious. takes the sound of my truck and all its sexyness out the window. cause now you hear this friggin rattling.

any plates to check?

 

also, if im going to replace this thing im gogin to replace the clutch while im at it.

anyone have a liunk to a GOOD clutch?, and maybe a slave/master cylinder?
97 2.3 5spdman.