This is my first post at the forums, and I'm terribly desperate. I have a '99 Ford Ranger XLT extended cab; 3.0 V6; 2WD; automatic tranny; approx. 89,000 miles.

Yesterday, I was on my way to my family's house (about 2 1/2 hours from mine) when my truck's tranny started acting up horribly. About 10 minutes before that, the ABS light came on, but I didn't think much about that, since that happened to me one time last year, and eventually went away. But about what's going on now: I was driving on the highway, going about 45 - 50 mph in a construction zone, when all of a sudden, my truck started going out of gear and back in gear, out of gear, back in gear, and so on - with my speedometer bouncing around and eventually going to zero while I was still moving down the road.

I pulled over to the side of the road, shut it off, and called my dad. He told me that he thought my tranny was going out, and told me to try to drive it back home with the Overdrive turned off. So then I whipped it back around and turned on the "O/D off" light, but instead of staying on as usual, it started flashing! Weird. After several attempts to get back up to speed, I noticed that my truck wasn't shifting out of 1st gear! The only way I could get my truck going was to manually put it into 2nd gear (with the shifter) and then once I wound that up as far as it would go, I'd put it back into Drive, and it would then go into high gear. I had to do this a few times to get home because of stop lights and such.

Some things to note: Once I got up to around 40 - 45 mph, my speedometer would kick back in and start working again! But when I went below that speed, it would quit reading just like when it first went out, and then go back to zero while I'm still moving. Also, I tried driving the truck with the Overdrive on, but it just wasn't going to happen. Even when I "forced" it into high gear, it was slipping back out to neutral like at first.

So last night my cousin came over and we jacked the truck up and changed the tranny fluid and filter. After doing that, we test drove it, and it was still acting up, just differently than before. Since we changed the filter, it *will* shift into 2nd from 1st, BUT it shifts VERY hard! It kicks waaay to hard to be any good. And it also kicks really hard when it downshifts from 2nd into 1st. 2nd to 3rd was a smooth shift, as was shifting down from 3rd, and I was too afraid to try going fast enough to get it to 4th. My cousin and I topped off the fluid after driving it to make sure it had enough, which it did. Still no difference.

What worries me is that, basically, this happened all at once - at least for the tranny giving me a fit. It's not like it's been slowly acting up for a while or anything. My dad hasn't had a chance to look at it, but he still thinks it's the tranny, but he really doesn't know a lot about that in reality. I honestly don't have a lot of money and I can't afford several thousand bucks for a new or rebuilt tranny, with college coming up and with all of my bills. I'm hoping it's something else.

So I'm here trying to see if anyone would have any ideas as to what the problem is and what would be required to fix it.

Thank you for reading all of this, and I GREATLY appreciate whatever help you can give me.

 

This happened to my Ford Explorer 4 years ago. Had to manually shift..OD light flashed..though for sure that the tranny was gone. Took it to a transmission place and they were going to do a rebuild. They hooked up the machine to read the codes for the tranny, and a few were listed, but I do not remember what they were. I was going to bring the Explorer back for the work, and after he read the computer codes it reset the computer. Tried that my self by disconnecting the battery but that did not work. when i went back out to the explorer to go home, the light was out, no more flashing OD light and the tranny shifted by itself normally..that was 70,000 miles ago and the tranny is still going strrong without the rebuild. Hope this helps

 

Thank you for responding. I haven't had a chance yet to take the truck to a tranny shop to be checked. Would the code-machines at places like Auto Zone yield the same results and be able to reset the computer like what happened with you at the tranny shop?

I did reset the computer manually myself just a little while ago (by removing the neg. battery cable), but the ABS light still stayed on after I started the truck. And then when I drove it around the neighborhood, the truck would *not* even shift into 2nd gear! Back tot eh drawing board I guess. On a more positive note, the "O/D off" light wasn't flashing today while I was testing it out. But the truck is still all out of wack and won't shift. Also, the speedometer still isn't working.

Has this happened to anyone else here, or does anybody have any ideas as to what the problem(s) might be?

 

I would suspect the vehicle speed sensor (VSS) located in the read end, a fairly easy thing to replace.If you replace it,remove the negative battery cable for 5 minutes to clear the check engine light.But before you go any farther,go to auto-zone and get them to read the check engine codes,then list them here. they will read them for free.

 

Some auto-zones have a policy that wont let them CLEAR your codes,but they will read them for you.Have pen and paper handy, sometimes you get ALOT of codes.

 

Yes, I agree, your problem is the speed sensor located in the top of the rear diff. Just look for an electrcial connector going towards the top, slightly to the driver's side of the rear diff. There is one bolt holding it in, after removing the bolt, twist it some, there is an O-ring on it and it fits tight.

 

I'll be darned. I just got back from Auto Zone, and there was one code on the computer afterall. P0500. Vehicle Speed Sensor. The only problem is that they don't keep the part in stock, and there aren't any competing parts stores in my area that are open today. So it'll be tomorrow before I can get the part, and from the looks of things, that should take care of it.

The guy at AZ said that it's also possible that my VSS could have come loose if the bolt wasn't on tight enough, so I'll try to check on that today as well. It's just so funny to think that a speed sensor would be the cause of my tranny not shifting. Anyways, I appreciate all the help I've gotton on these forums. If this ends up not fixing it, I guess I'll bump the thread. But in the meantime, Thanks, everybody.

 

This is a high failure rate item on Fords. I doubt that it came loose. The part is about $23 from Ford....

 

Xdrive,


I had the same exact problem with my ranger. 99, 3.0 liter, 2wd auto, 74k miles. The shop ended up having to rebuild the entire tranny. It was going to end up running me $2,500, but Ford came back saying that a transmission with that few miles shouldn't have that problem. They picked up the tab and I got a new transmission. You might at least ask if they could do the same for you. Might at least be worth a shot, at least it would be better than paying for a new one. Sorry man...

 

Is there anyone here who could give me some info on how to replace the VSS? I just purchaced one from the dealer (BRAB-130 part# F85Z-2L373-AC), and I can't seem to find what to do while looking under the truck. The link below shows the rear axle sensor as stemming from a single cable to the axle (presumably).

http://autorepair.about.com/library/faqs/bl220i.htm

But, on my truck, there are three different cables that all go into my rear axle. Two of the cables run together and are clamped together at different intervals, and the other cable goes into this metal brace-like fixture on the top of the axle (that brace-like fixture has a thin rod that runs across the back axle from one wheel to the other). I'm guessing that it's one of these three cables, but I'm not sure which one and I honestly have no clue what I need or what to do to replace this part. Am I looking at the right area? Or does the part actually go on the tranny somewhere instead of the axle (like I read somewhere else, though that might be different)?

I REALLY appreciate your help! Thank you.

 

The cables that run out to the wheels are the emergancy brake cables.what your looking for is kind of on top of the big round center that the drive shaft connects to.

 

If the speed sensor does not fix it check a large connector under the cab in front of the gas tank, it has a 10mm bolt that holds it in sometimes they can get wet and corrided and cause a bad connection, if it is corrided clean out best you can and use a thin layer of electric grease.

 

I found the VSS and I can tell, from looking at it, the angle that it goes in. Problem is, I can't get the old one out! I undid the bolt and removed that, but I can't get the old VSS pulled out from the axle. It wiggles easily from side to side, but when I try to pull it straight out, it hardly budges. Should I try to pry it with a screwdriver? I don't want to break the pins or anything. Am I suppose to remove the cable going into the VSS first? And if so, how? I don't see a way to do that without breaking the connector. Thanks for your help, guys.

 

There should be a small release tab on the connector it either pushes in or pulls out.once you get the connector off try twisting it from side to side with a pair of pliers while pulling on it.if that dos'nt work try puting a screwdriver under the pliers and pry up while twisting side to side.if you crack it,no big deal (your putting in a new one)as long as you get it out,but don't break it off cause then you will have a problem.P.S. try spraying some WD-40 on it first.

 

BOOM! Success!

Everybody, thank you! Your info has been invaluable. It turns out that there are two small "clamp rods" on either side of the connector. I just pryed them apart with a screwdriver and the connector slid off with relative ease. The rest is history. It was hard to see them from my angle - I had one side of the truck jacked up, and had to twist my way around the underside workings to reach up and around with one arm to get to the top of the axle, where I couldn't see without a mirror! heh heh

All of the malfunctions are gone now, and it's shifting better than it ever has. Again, thanks everyone. This was a REAL life-saver.