question before i spend money to fix trans

good morning./evening i have an 01 ranger 3.0l 5 speed, that has roughly a 140,000 miles on, my dad acquired the truck in November and then gave it to me last month, he once had to have the transmission bled due to it not wanting to go into first gear and then it worked fine, here recently i have noticed it not wanting to shift smoothly. nor want to go into gear first thing in the morning , also on a couple of occasions after around 25 mins of highway driving it doesn't want to shift into any gear without having to force it a little, with the car turned off it goes into all gears. yesterday morning, i work third shift after getting in the truck and trying to leave it didn't shift into second gear had to turn it off and down shift to first then turn it back on it did this a few times and then worked OK until i got home using all gears, any input on what this could be its due to be put in the shop come Wednesday just want a little input on what it could be thanks,

Welcome to TRS


Clutch pedal isn't disengaging the pressure plate all the way, fairly common issue.

Rangers use a hydraulic clutch system, so if ANY air gets into the system, you lose full clutch pedal, simple as that.

Check clutch reservoir first, in engine bay, make sure it is not dry.
Then you will need a helper to push in on the clutch pedal while you open the bleeder valve on the bell housing.

Google: Bleed ford ranger clutch
Lots of videos, as said common issue




Why it is hard to change gears?
The engine is directly connected to the flywheel and Pressure plate, the Clutch disc sits in between flywheel and pressure plate.
The clutch disc is directly connected to the input shaft of the transmission
Transmission is directly connected to the rear wheels: tire, axle, driveshaft and transmission....all connected

Neutral basically disconnects input shaft and output shaft, so input shaft can spin at any RPM, but transmission(output shaft) is ALWAYS at tire RPM

So........when you are stopped, transmission is spinning at..............yes, 0 RPMs, tires aren't moving so 0 RPM
Engine is idling at 700RPM
So to put transmission into 1st gear, the Clutch disc(input shaft) MUST slow down to 0 RPMs, to match output shaft.
Clutch disc is 10" wide/across
Synchro-mesh gears are about 4" wide/across, Synchro-mesh is the softer metal "gear" that you are pushing on when you shift into any gear, it is there to MATCH RPMS so a gear can engage, without grinding.
So clutch pedal down all the way, you push on that 4" mesh to slow down that 10" clutch from 700RPMs to 0 RPMs, can't/won't go into gear until clutch disc is at 0 RPMs

So..........if there is ANY RUBBING of the clutch disc on the flywheel or pressure plate, then it gets VERY HARD for the 4" mesh to slow down that 10" disc.
If you shut off the engine then BOTH shafts are at 0 RPMs, so easy peasy to shift gears

If there is air in the hydraulic system the pressure plate doesn't move back far enough so clutch disc RUBS and can't slow down easily.

While moving the RPM matching is usually easier, but can still be hard to shift.


There is also a Pilot Bearing, it holds the end of the input shaft in the middle of the flywheel, if Pilot bearing were to seize up then input shaft would spin at the same RPM as engine, no slowing it, or clutch disc, down easily
But there is usually a noise associated with bearing issues, and you don't mention a noise

ill tell ya that also when i put it in first and take off there is a ringing bell sound coming through the shifter, also sometimes when going into third the clutch tends to rake as im putting it in gear. is that any more info to go with?

If your dad did it before, the assumption I'm making is you're not mechanically inclined which is okay, that is not a put-down.

You don't say if you have 4-wheel drive.

did you check the clutch fluid?

did you check the fluid in the transmission?

At what level of clutch pedal, does the clutch start to move when in first gear? (High, low, Middle?)

If you don't have a shop that you or your family has trust it for many years may have to be prepared to spend a lot of money a clutch job in a ranger this expensive a clutch job in a four-wheel drive is even more expensive! good luck!

Its 2wd the clutch fluid is full in the res. Trans. Fluid not to sure about pedal goes about half way down when the clutch grabs

I dont mind spending the money. I was quoted around 1100 to do the job i just dont want to think it is one thing and it be something else like needing a new transmission