I'm having problems shifting my truck to lower gears. Pumping the clutch pedal doesn't help. When I'm rolling , I can't shift at the right speed, but if I stop, and I'm not in gear, I have to go to 4th, then down to 3 rd, 2nd, 1st. I don't know if there's an easy fix or not. Clutch was replace in 17 , and they replaced other parts - slave cylinder, I know, and resurfaced the flywheel. Is it low fluid, or do I need to look for another transmission?

 

Welcome to the forum

Reads like you have air in the clutch's hydraulic system, so you aren't fully disengaging the clutch disc

I would try bleeding the system, you may need to pull Master out to bleed it completely

Google: Ford ranger bleed clutch
Loads of videos and How-Tos


The rear wheels are connected to the transmission, so transmission is ALWAYS turning at rear wheel speed, no disconnect for that
The clutch disc is connected directly to the transmission

The clutch disc is sandwiched between the Flywheel and Pressure plate, these spin at engine RPMs, ALWAYS

So clutch disc spins at engine RPMs
When you press down clutch pedal the Master pushes fluid into the Slave, the slave expands and pushes on Pressure plate springs which releases the pressure holding clutch disc against flywheel
The release allows clutch disc to spin at a different RPM than the engine(flywheel/pressure plate)

When you are stopped rear wheels are at 0 RPMs, so transmission is at 0 RPMs
Engine is at 700rpms
So to shift into any gear, the clutch disc MUST slow down to 0 RPMs
It can only do that if its not touching/rubbing on the flywheel or pressure plate

If there is air in the hydraulic system then Slave doesn't expand fully, so pressure plate is not released fully, so clutch disc is rubbing and is very hard to slow down to 0 RPMs

Higher ratio gears have a bit more leverage to slow down the clutch disc, which is why using 4th gear might work better to slow down a rubbing clutch disc.
And once its slow down to 0 RPMs you can shift into other gears.

While moving you still need to RPM Match transmission RPMs with engine RPMs, so clutch disc STILL NEEDS to change RPMs when clutch pedal is down, so it can be hard to shift, but stopped would be the hardest

 

Well Ron, you sure pointed me in the right direction. I'm not a mechanic ( yet) , but I looked at a Youtube video, and then found a diagram of the master cylinder/ resevoir assembly. Then I went out to the truck, and found the reservoir, opened it , and it's dry. So, I'll start with the obvious, and then get a friend to help me bleed the line if necessary ( and it probably will be). I had the clutch replaced last year, and they had it nine days. They mentioned having trouble bleeding the line of air- only thing I can think of is they never did a Ranger transmission before. Anyway, thanks because if this is all it is, I use the money for the dentist instead.

 

If reservoir was dry then air in the system IS the problem for sure.

But where did the fluid go?
Check bottom of bell housing for the clutch fluid(brake fluid), Could have a leaking slave or connector.

But as long as you keep fluid topped up it should be fine until next clutch change

 

I'm going to get under it and look for fluid-as soon as I have time. Meanwhile, I'm going to check the reservoir again. I think it's shifting a little better, but it does need bled. When I stop in neutral, it won't shift to anything but fourth. Thanks again.

 

Yes, 4th doesn't have "gears", it is 1:1 ratio so input shaft and output shaft are connected directly together in 4th, so much easy to match RPMs

But once in 4th Clutch disc is at 0 RPMs, if you are stopped, so you should be able to shift to any other "gear" if you do it quickly, don't give rubbing flywheel and pressure plate enough time to get clutch disc spinning again.

 

Right on. Wish it wasn't so cold and damp all the sudden, but I think we still have a couple of warm days coming this season. I'll look at it, and I have a friend with a decent floor jack who can help me do the bleed.