manual transmission shifting woes

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Ford SportTrac Forum

Help Support Ford SportTrac Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
W

Warren EB

Member
Joined
May 27, 2001
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Location
Suffern, NY
I have my 2001 with a stick and 4X4 since new. About 53K miles are on the truck. Every now and then, almost since new, I have great difficulty shifting between gears. The problem persists for a day or two, and then disappears only to reappear months later, although the appearance is getting more frequent. I actually had to push on the stick so hard that the shift knob came off, and the sudden release pretty severely injured my wrist. It still hurts from time to time. Obviously, I now have a loose shift knob,too. The dealer-absolutely inept when it comes to manual transmissions as demonstrated by a complete botching of my 1996 Explorer Sport at 25K miles with the same problem (and that bad penny has returned as my son abandoned it back at my home)-insists that there is nothing wrong. (Just like it found nothing wrong with the front end, so I took them for a road test, released the wheel on a straight and level road, and the truck changed lanes!). Anyone out there with a rare manual transmission STrac and, if so, what has your experience been? My private shop tells me there is nothing exposed to adjust, such as linkages or the shift gate. Thanks.



I haven't posted on here in years, so hello again to all.



Warren
 
Rodger has had the SAME issue, I know he can chime in..



Todd Z
 
I have the same problem. The answer I got was that the slave cylinder wasn't really big enough and that an aftermarket one would work better. I've also been told that better tranny fluid would help. I'd love to hear a good solution to this.
 
I think it may be the clutch slave also. Not fully disengaging the clutch. If it was internal to trans. Such as a syncro or slider, it would do it all the time.

Replace all the clutch hydralics and put in a hurst shifter.
 
When I had my manual tranny rebuilt a yr. ago the shop that did it specializes in manual transmissions, and made all the latest upgrades (not sure what the latest upgrades entailed). I hope the information below helps, and would appreciate any feedback when this is resolved.



I was doing a search on the Ford 5-speed manual tranny, and came across this on the Explorer Forum.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mazda 5 Speed Manual Transmission

Many Explorer/Navajo owners have went with synthetic transmission fluid hoping to extend the life of the transmission. I use Mobil 1 Synthetic fluid. Synthetic fluid handles high temperatures and pressures better then conventional fluids.

Another preventive maintenance tip is to replace the rubber plugs in the shift rail bores with steel freeze plugs. The rubber plugs have a tendency to dry up and leak, and/or fall out. The plugs are located in the transmission top cover and face towards the rear of the truck. The part numbers for the metal plugs are: Dana #219-3052 or Dorman #555-108, you will need 3 plugs to do the job.



The hydraulic clutch, slave cylinder/throwout bearing is another item you should pay close attention to. After time, the slave cylinder fails to release the clutch completely. If you are having trouble shifting into 1st and reverse while stationary or if your truck creeps forward with the clutch pedal depressed the slave cylinder/throwout bearing is probably at fault. Unfortunately there is no easy fix here as the transmission must be removed to replace the combination slave cylinder and throwout bearing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, have your drive shaft harmonically balanced and new U-joints put on.



R1ch999999 said:

The answer I got was that the slave cylinder wasn't really big enough and that an aftermarket one would work better.
Click to expand...



My question then is: Which Slave Cylinder was recommended to you? I ask that because that is the only thing that is still OEM, I think.

 
I had a similar problem with my 2002 Ranger FX4 5-speed just before I sold it. I thought I had it cured by bleeding the hydraulic clutch system but it came back shortly after the new owner took possession. The ultimate fix was to replace the "master" cylinder. It is located on the firewall where the clutch rod from the pedal passes through the firewall. Apparently there is a seal that wears out allowing fluid to leak out and air to get into the system. Bleeding the system is a temporary fix unless you replace the master cylinder. This is a common problem with manual transmission Rangers and since the first gen Sport Trac is just a re-bodied Ranger it makes sense that the same problem would be common to both. If you replace the slave cylinder only to find that it was really the master cylinder you will be very upset. The slave cylinder is located on the transmission input shaft and is actually an assembly with the throw-out bearing. Not only is the part expensive but you have to pull the transmission to replace it. Much less costly to replace the master cylinder at the firewall. In 90% of the cases the master cylinder is the problem.
 
blksn8k,



Which aftermarket master cylinder did you use?





Found this one at Summit Racing:



DHB-M390400 Dorman Master Cylinders

Master Cylinder, Replacement, Ford/ Mazda, Explorer/ Ranger/ B2500, with Cruise Control, Each

Today $139.95
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rodger, I didn't replace it, the guy I sold the truck to did. He works for the same company so I will try and ask him what brand he used but I'm thinking he just bought whatever his local auto parts store sold. Sorry for not replying sooner.
 
Rodger,



I think the master cylinder blksn8k is talking about is a clutch master cylinder.



Totally different animal.





Tom
 
Rodger, that's incorrect. The clutch master cylinder on our set up, is actually directly connected to the peddle. If you go to rockauto and look-up the part there's a pic. The clutch reservoir (sp) is located on the inner driver fender. The clutch master has nothing to do with the brake master. They are two seperate parts/pieces. The clutch master is accessed through the fender well and has to be detached from the pedal inside the cab. The master I bought from the dealer came with a loaded reservoir as well(filled with brake fluid and primed). Don't think it can be bled.
 
I have had the same problem on mine. Turns out both the master and the slave went bad. Changed it and it was good for a few months, then went right back to the same problem.
 
The master cylinder itself does not have a provision for bleeding air out of the system. To do that you have to access the slave cylinder bleeder by removing a rubber plug in the bell housing. The problem with that is it is difficult to get air to go downhill. The natural tendency is for the air to go up since it is lighter than the hydraulic fluid. May take several tries before you get all the air out but it can be done. Some people claim to have had better success by "gravity" bleeding the system. I don't like that method since it is easy to let the fluid level go too low and then you have to start over since you have now let a massive amount of air into the system. Definitely a two-man operation. Not a very well designed system to say the least. :rolleyes:
 

Latest posts

Top