I actually don't have even 7K miles on my 2002 Explorer (6,950 as of this morning). My Explorer is sort of rare because it is a factory 5-speed, but I figured I can't be the only one with this setup. I was wondering if anybody had heard of a tranny problem that possibly makes the synchronizers wear out prematurely? I am having a little more resistance shifting into 3rd gear than in any other gears. Otherwise, the 5-speed tranny is very smooth. Almost as nice as the one in my Toyota The synchros aren't gone, but they certainly aren't performing like they should be.

I talked to a buddy this past weekend and he said that his friend had a 5-speed 3.0 Ranger and he lost his 3rd gear synchros by 20k miles. Anecdotal information, but I was wondering if there is a more widespread trend with the Ford manual trannies. I haven't been able to find any recall information.

I am still under warranty for a couple more years and nearly 30k miles, so I'll keep an eye on the situation. Would I be better off telling the dealership about it just so that they can put it into my records if it ends up getting much worse? I don't want them to tear into it unless they really have to. I also don't want to lose my truck for a month while I'm still paying insurance and making payments on it (unless they give me a Thunderbird or Cobra to drive in the meantime) My dealership also had never seen a 5-speed Explorer before mine, so they have little to no knowledge of how they are supposed to run.

Tim