I recently purchased a 1995 ford ranger xlt 3.0 for my daughter and have been working on a few issues. One is that the car seems to not want to shift beyond 3rd gear when driving at regular speeds. If i accelerate extremely slowly it will engage and get into 4th gear. Otherwise it will not go beyond third gear and slowing down and then trying to go slowly will not engage it. The only way to get it to move to 4th gear if it has already missed its chance is to come to a complete stop, turn off the ignition and then start again moving incredibly slowly. This is obviously not a way to live and it makes getting onto the freeway incredibly difficult if there is any traffic at all.

I had the transmission flushed and it seemed ok though they replaced a gasket but it did not help with the problem. The old fluid seemed fine so I am down to thinking that it is a transmission solenoid problem or possibly my pcm?

Any help as to whether or not replacing the solenoids could or should fix the difficulty? The problem really does seem to be that 3rd to 4th gear transition but it is possible that the 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd are also not as smooth as they should be.

 

Welcome to the forum

A 1995 3.0l Ranger will have a 4R44E automatic
4th gear is OverDrive(OD) and there is a button on the shifter arm to turn OD on and off, and a light on the dash will come on if OD is OFF
Test if the button works, turns on the light

When you first power up the computer(key off/key on) OD is ON, so it always resets to OD ON
The OD button is a 12volt momentary contact, so each time computer gets 12v from that button it toggle OD on or off, i.e. if OD was off then it turns on, if it was on it turns off
If there was a short between the 2 wires for this button the computer could get 12volts when key is turned on full time,so OD OFF and it would stay off

When you turn on the key all the dash lights should come on for 2 seconds, this is a "Bulb Test" for all the warning/indicator bulbs, does the OD OFF light come on?

You can get your 1995 Rangers owners manual here: https://www.therangerstation.com/manuals/
It will tell you where the OD OFF light is on the dash

Yes, could be a problem with a solenoid, but that would set a Transmission code, for sure, so have the codes read using a reader that can see Transmission codes, the cheaper code readers can not see these, the P0700 to P0803 codes
These types of codes would also cause OD OFF light to flash while driving, so bulb may be burned out or removed if previous owner decided he/she didn't want to fix the problem, lol

 

Thanks so much, RonD. I think I have a code reader that will read the 95 ranger. I will hook it up when i get back. If the reader does not return a solenoid code, what would be the next step? Would it signal a problem with the pcm itself?

The OD button seems to be working on my vehicle. It is a bit finicky but it does come on and off when I engage it. That hasn't seemed to be part of the problem unless the indication of OD on the dash is a false indication and it actually isn't working.

 

Look up the code reader model on line, it will say "reads transmission codes" if it does
Auto parts stores usually read codes for free, and will use a reader that can get all the codes

 

ok, so I hooked up my code reader and it returned two codes p1445 and p1443. I think both of these are electrical and not related to the transmission.

am I correct in assuming if it is reading these codes then the scanner is compatible with the vehicle (it is the innova 5512 and is supposed to be compatible)?

the ranger still doesn’t want to get past 3rd gear unless I am going incredibly slow building up speed.

I toggle the OD on and off while I am driving and the dash light comes on and off but no response in the engine.

 

innova 5512 says it can read transmission fluid temp and tire pressure(TPMS) but nothing about transmission codes

Ford P codes seen here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...trouble_codes/
Those other codes are for EVAP system so yes, nothing to do with transmission

OBD code readers are not universal, so it can "see" some codes but not others, it looks like a nice one but should mention transmission codes specifically
In its manual I saw P0743 on a page with is a transmission code
So maybe you don't have any transmission codes

Just to understand the problem with transmission
You shift into Drive, so in 1st gear now
As you accelerate normally it shifts to 2nd gear, engine RPMs should go higher before this shift, so shift #1
Then once above say 25MPH it shift again to 3rd, shift #2
Then above 45MPH it should shift last time to 4th(overdrive), shift #3

But no shift #3 into OD

 

Yes, that is correct. It shifts fine from first to second, drops the RPMs and you can feel it. Same from 2nd to 3rd. But unless I am accelerating extremely slowly (and that doesn't always seem to work), it won't go into OD. Even coming to a stop or slowing down to lower gears and trying again doesn't seem to work. The only way that I have seemed to be able to get it to go into OD would be to come to a stop, turn the car off and start again. I haven't done it enough times to know if that is an actual thing or not. Last night I drove it around and it was fine. Went into OD and drove smoothly. This morning I had to pull off the highway, stop the car and start again. It kicked in and drove fine to work.

 

I went by a couple parts stores and had them read my ranger. The only codes coming back are the ones above P1445.

the vehicle seemed to be doing better and more consistent in getting into overdrive when I accelerate very slowly. But just now on the highway at about 65 mph, it kicked out of overdrive and I had to slow way down to the next exit and it didn’t kick back in.

what are my options here aside from taking it into a transmission specialist? To be clear, I don’t have any problems with shifting into the first three gears. It is only OD. Is this a solenoid or is it a PCM?

 

In the absence of transmission codes it wouldn't be a solenoid issue

A solenoid is just a coil of wire that becomes a magnet when power is passed thru it, so electrically it is either connected and working or its not, if its not connected, bad wire or coil, its sets a code(see below)
The transmission solenoids each move a valve when activated, this is mechanical so can't be monitored BUT....................

Computer has engine RPMs(input RPMs and TSS) and it can see output shaft RPMs(in 1995, a VSS sensor on transmission tail shaft)
So as the computer changes "gears" it KNOWS what the output RPMs should be given the "gear ratio" and the input RPMs, its just Math

If computer activates OD solenoid and the ratio(RPMs) do not change then it will set a code
i.e.
P0730 Incorrect Gear Ratio
P0731 Gear I Incorrect ratio
P0732 Gear 2 Incorrect ratio
P0733 Gear 3 Incorrect ratio
P0734 Gear 4 Incorrect ratio <<<this one for OD not working with a 4R 4-speed trans

So hard to diagnose if computer is not seeing a problem




Each trans solenoid has these codes computer can choose from
P0750 Shift Solenoid "A" Malfunction
P0751 Shift Solenoid A Performance or Stuck Off
P0752 Shift Solenoid A Stuck On
P0753 Shift Solenoid A Electrical
P0754 Shift Solenoid A Intermittent

Just substitute "A" for B, C, or D, those are the 4 designations for the shift solenoids in this transmission
D is the overdrive solenoid