I have a 1996 Ford Ranger with 95k miles on it. Recentley, my truck's automatic transmission has been slipping really bad. I'll be driving down my road and while going around a turn, the clutch feels like it randomly disengages, so when I press on the gas, it feels like I'm revving my truck in neutral, and then it will all of a sudden get back into gear, violently a lot of the time. However, once the truck is warmed up, the it runs perfectley and never slips. I've checked my oil multiple times and even changed the oil filter in the transmission. Thank you.
P.S. Im not sure if this has anything to do with it, but if I let my truck idle in park for a little bit, the RPMs will increase and if I shift in to reverse or drive while the RPMs are high, it'll do the same thing.

 

Welcome to FTE.
Did you use the specified & Licensed Mercon tranny fluid & Motorcraft/Filtran tranny filter when you serviced the tranny, so you know the fluid meets the temp viscosity & friction specs????
How many miles on the old fluid & how did the old tranny fluid look, smell, feel & what did pan deposit & pan magnet load look like???? Notice any varnish, gum, or sludge deposits on the valve body or pan???
Were you having any signs of this problem Before you serviced the tranny???

 

I used the correct fluid, however, the filter I bought was car quest brand. I am not sure how many miles I had on old fluid, i hadn't changed it since I've bought the truck so 30k miles or so. The fluid was dirty and the magnet had a lot of gunk on it and it was in a wavy pattern. I was already having this problem before I did anything with the transmission.

 

OK, good feedback on the problem being present Before the tranny service & the fluid, pan & magnet being dirty. Kinda sounds like deposits & or debris has managed to clog up something important in the valve body, or maybe you have an acting out solenoid, or something like that, but we need some trouble code clues to know where best to have you look next on your trouble shoot????

Is your 96 OBD-ll, with the 16 pin diagnostic connector in cabin, under dash to the left of the steering wheel??? If so, consider investing in the inexpensive ELM scan tool using FORScan, or the like diagnostic software mentioned here https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post13891901, to scan the tranny & other controllers for trouble codes & post up All trouble code clue Numbers found. You can pay to have a tranny shop scan the tranny computer, but it'll likely cost a good bit more than the ELM.

 

I checked right now and there is 0 codes.

 

Do you have the ELM327 scantool running FORScan or the like, that can access the tranny computer/controller, as well as the engine computer/controller????
Your 96 is supposed to be OBD-ll, with the DLC in the cabin & most after market code readers, or scantools only read the engine computer codes & most won't read the mfgrs specific codes, or live PID's, so we can't get all the trouble shooting code clues, or info that might be present, but the ELM will. If the OD light flashes when its acting out, then you have trouble code clues stored in the tranny computer that can help with your trouble shoot.

 

No mine says CP9125 OBD II PocketScan, im assuming this won't work?

 

What's the weather like where you are? I've had similar issues with older vehicles when the temps dipped down into the single and negative digits...

 

Yup, the Actron CP-9125 is just a code reader, it won't scan the tranny, abs, body, anti-theft, ect computers/controllers, or display any live data, like the ELM327 running FORScan will do. SO, maybe consider investing some meager funds in the ELM327 scantool & pair it up to your laptop, smart phone, ect & let it have a look at whats going on with the tranny, that may be stored in its controller.
Again, do you have a flashing OD light when it acts out????

 

It's not too cold, no lower than 40s

 

Alright I'll invest in a scanner asap, and the OD light came on once but no other time.

 

OK, if the OD light lit up, you should have a trouble code clue stored in the tranny computer IF you haven't disconnected the battery, or erased any codes with your CP-9125 since it was lit. Will be interesting to hear what the ELM discovers. The ELM can be used with any OBD-ll vehicle & number of software choices out there if you don't want to run the no cost FORScan.

 

Alright I am for sure going to get the ELM327 reader. I am currently looking for one but none have great reviews and I can't seem to find the LYL WiFi reader.

 

The symptoms sound like what one would see if the fluid level was too low. It sounds like you are sucking air when the fluid sloshes to the side when you turn with cold fluid, and when the fluid warms up and expands you no longer have a problem. Do you check the fluid with the engine running and the shifter in park?

 

The folks over on TCCA(TaurusCarClub) speak well of this ELM source Elm327 Bluetooth OBD2 Reader for Android. I didn't order from them last year because they didn't have the Wifi model that I wanted.