I have a 2001 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4. The Ranger does not always shift out of park, sometimes it would get stuck in park but if I wiggle the shift lever a little bit then it will shift, Which does not sound too bad but I would like to fix the problem before it gets worse. It would be great if someone could help me out.

 

Are you pressing the brake pedal?

 

i had that problam when i had the 2000 ranger i would take it out of park and put it in drive nd i had to wait 5-10 seconds then it clunked nd went into drive. i replaced the shifting linkage samething. the shifter was stiff to that was fix buy a sensor on the side of the tranny. im not sure what its called. but the delay on going into gear never figured it out along with others on that truck it was a lemon from the start.

 

It seems we are talking about 2 issues. Or at least I am seeing 2.

Not shifting out of park and

Delayed trans engagement.

 

I start the engine then press the brake pedal. When I try to shift into drive or reverse I have to wiggle the shift lever a little bit and then it will go into drive or reverse. This problem started sometime in early july but it only happened 4 or 5 times.

 

Are you shifting per the indicator or by the feel of the detents?

 

If you are talking about the shift lever getting stuck, thats easy. My wifes 02 exlorer had the same issue all you have to do is take off the plastic cover on your column and watch the linkage as you hold in the brake and try to put it in gear, you will see a small toothed gear drop that lets you actually move the shifter, that is getting stuck. lube it up with some silicone spray and that will fix it. worked on my wifes about 3 years ago and still working fine.

 

@ Blhde- I shift using the indicator.

@knife dude- I will try looking under the plastic cover to see if that works out.

 

The indicator can become loose or broken giving a false reading. This happen to mine.

Shift per the dentents, ignore the needle. The shifter should have a very noticeable position for every gear. Try this and see if it makes a difference.

 

hey, did you get a chance to check out that gear that i was talking about?

 

I had the same problem a few years back with a sticky shift out of park, I also added a bit of silicone. Its been fine ever since.

Good luck.

 

I haven't had much time lately cause I've been lookin for a job. I took a look at the cover but I'm not exactly sure how to take it off. It looks like I have to take off covers of the dash itself as well.

 

There is a bar under the dash that is holding the steering column bottom cover. Where could I find a socket for a 6 sided screw?

 

Pic please

 

You shouldn't need to touch that bar--there are (IIRC) 2 phillips-head screws holding the 2 halves of th steering collumn cover together. You access them from underneath. You'll likely need to wiggle the top half around a bit to get it to clear the dash panel and shift arm.
MikeR

 

I'm new and I have read some posts about this issue. I bought this truck used and I believe it has an after market cruise control. I park my truck on an incline where i back up the drive way. My truck gets stuck in park only when it gets cold, intermittently. It hasn't done it since early this year. This morning was cold and it got stuck.I have taken it to Ford last year and early this and they couldn't find any issues.My brake lights work. What the heck is going on? Thank you for any replies.