1999 Ranger XLT 3.0 V6 Auto, not sure the trans number

So I havent been on here in a very long time obviously and ran into my first really big issue with my truck yesterday.

Truck has been running great and then all the of sudden last night I was pulling out of a driveway and noticed my ABS light had come on. Turned my truck off and back on and stay on so figured it was actually the ABS system. Pulled out onto the street and started going and my truck wouldn't leave 1st gear and the speedo refused to work. Because of this my check engine light came on. Eventually it did shift into second but it hit so hard I felt like the trans was going to drop out of my truck.

In the end I wound up with my ABS light, Check engine and O/D light flashing and with no rhyme or reason only being able to drive in first gear.

Now Im fairly positive that the speed sensor is on the transmission which makes me associate the problem with shifting and the speedo to be the same issue. Going out on a limb and going to say that the ABS is in the same area?

I probably should have checked fluids before posting this but if anyone here is friends with me on facebook you would know that my truck has taken some abuse at the hands of deer and I have been looking for new cars for the past month or two so Im not really devastated about the issue aside from the $1500 I had lined up for it.

Any advice would be helpful, Ill check the fluid when i get home and see if thats low so it may be as simple as that, but other ideas are welcomed before I get it towed to my mechanic.

 

ABS light, check engine light, speedo problems and automatic shift problems on 98~00 Ranger are often the result of a problem with the rear axle speed sensor.

 

excellent bob, thanks for the reply. I knew the one place/person to ask as soon as it happened. Any way to check if it is the reason for the issues or just replace and hope?

 

There is a resistance check for the ABS sensor but I don't know if that tells you that the sensor is definitely good if it passes. I think that a typical sensor is something like 1400 ohms resistance. If you want to try a new one, the swap is easy and it probably costs about $20 or less.