man trans hesitates then slams into gear

bfrost · Mar 29, 2015

hey all,
This is my first post here looking and I'm forward to talking to the other ranger brothers and "sisters" out there.
I have a 99 ranger 2.5, 5sp. with 242 k miles that is going into all gears fine but slipping when first releasing the clutch then slamming into gear. If I am easy on the release it wont do it so much. Also getting some mechanical noise from the tranny on the shift between 2nd and 3rd. The drive shaft is an alum 1 piece. I just replaced the u-joints last week which were original but actually still ok. Another question I have is, is it worth it to break the tranny open to replace the parts or just exchange it. This is my work truck and can't be down for more than a weekend.
If any body can point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated..

RonD · Mar 29, 2015

Reads more like clutch issue than transmission issue.

Does it do it when shifting into 4th gear?
4th gear is 1:1 ratio so input and output shaft in the transmission are directly connected when in 4th.
If you still feel the "slipping" then clutch is the issue.

Repair or buy used is always a tough call, depends on local used cost and cost of parts to repair.
Ford M5OD-R1 manual transmissions are pretty reliable, so wouldn't be too afraid of used, but with used you are taking a leap of faith, lol, but pretty easy to inspect a manual trans before it goes in.

bfrost · Mar 31, 2015

i'm thinking clutch also. am going to pull it today and have a look. hearing a lot of different noises at different times. could be a broken spring. thanks for the reply though. will update when i know more.

Mikel89us · Mar 31, 2015

Sounds like you.might be metal to metal on the clutch, and it grabs once you get the pedal out so far. I'm sure its clutch also.

bfrost · Apr 1, 2015

update

pulled the trans and flywheel. looks like the flywheel has about a 32nd of an inch indent with a wave in it. looking at the clutch there are no broken springs but a couple of them have a little wear on them. possibly from scraping the flywheel due to wear? also a couple of them are slightly loose, is this normal? the clutch disc pad looks fine. the pressure plate has uneven wear/discoloration on it. visible wear on the fingers, not sure if its excessive. can't find any solid info on finger wear. i'm going to replace all components. $250 from auto zone.

RonD · Apr 1, 2015

No, not normal.
Pressure plate should be self adjusting model, it's 3 springs shouldn't be loose, if 1 or 2 are then that was probably what failed and caused the flywheel wear.
Usually a flywheel can be re-surfaced.
But for sure replace the pressure plate, clutch disc, slave/throw out bearing, and pilot bearing(in center of flywheel/crank)

kimcrwbr1 · Apr 1, 2015

Be sure and replace the rear main seal while you have the flywheel off. Putting a new input shaft seal on the tranny could never hurt either. You dont want to be back in there any time soon I imagine!

ElectraRider · Apr 1, 2015

ditto on what RonD said.

bfrost · Apr 5, 2015

update #2

Here's what went down. After replacing the fly wheel, pressure plate and clutch it was doing the same thing. Noisy, occasional clunk, and the slam as i started to move. So it's not the clutch. I took the cover off the rear diff and found that the pinion shaft that holds the spider gears in place had broken at the bolt. It was sliding out of the carrier and hitting the ring gear. Hence the slam when I started to move. When I removed the keeper bolt it was bent and two pieces of steel from the top of the shaft fell into the drain pan. Both ends of the shaft were so screwed up it wouldn't come out on its own. I drove one end out and cut it off with my angle grinder. Then did the other end. On the Ford 4/10 diff the ring gear stops the shaft from going past the flat spot. Thanks to the Ranger forums the trick is to grind about 1/8th to 3/16ths of tooth off the ring gear to let the shaft go past. I would advise covering the diff as best you can while doing this. The damage to the ring gear is slight. Just the tips of some of the teeth broken. Pulled a new shaft from "pick and pull" today and got it all back together. I am going to replace the whole third member as a unit with new bearings and seals in a couple of weeks. I pulled the shaft from the yard because the store had to order the part and it wasn't going to get here in time. Gotta get to work ya know. For a $100 I can get the rest of the third member the shaft came out of. It looked pretty decent. Anyway it drives fine. Just hope it holds up a little while longer. Thanks for the tips and tricks. Keep up the good work. brian :icon_thumby:

Ps. The loose springs I was referring to were the clutch springs. My pressure plate has multiple "fingers". they were not loose. The clutch was only 2 yrs old. Cash flow is an issue so I didn't replace the seals as suggested. I would have otherwise. Took a good look at them while exposed, no leaks. My apologies for the inaccurate description of the problem. It's not easy to tell where the noise is coming from sometimes.

Collin9338 · Apr 23, 2015

maybe this is happening with my 95 2wd. is yours 4x4?

man trans hesitates then slams into gear

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