1998 Ford Ranger 2.5 98,000 Transmission PROBLEMS. No reverse and no 3rd. or overdrive only 1st. & 2nd. It's been well maintained with filter and fluid changes complete. Fluid used by AMSOIL SYN. Is there any help for for this transmission? thanks

 

You may have assumed that a synthetic fluid was the way to go, but if this is what you are using, its the wrong fluid, and may have contributed to your failure.

AMSOIL - Synthetic Multi-Vehicle Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF)

Ford transmissions do not like multi-transmission formulas. They want a specific formula designed for them, because after all , the Ford engineers actually built the transmission around the fluid they intended to use. When you put something else in there, then things don't get lubricated the way they were intended to, line pressures do not rise and fall they way they were intended to, and the amount and type of fiction modifiers can be different from what the transmission expects.

I would start by looking at fluid level and condition. It is possible that a seal has blown out and your fluid level is low, which can cause issues.

Otherwise, it is difficult to diagnose a transmission over the internet, as we do not have the benefit of being able to drive it. So the best you are gonna get is mix of both educated and uneducated guesses. Check with local transmission shops, some of them have free diagnostics.

The correct fluid to use is a straight MerconV. I see a lot of multi-transmission formulas that say they meet Mercon V specs, and I just laugh. The different fluids they say they can replace have such different qualities from each other in terms of add packs, lubriscosity, viscosity, friction modifiers, etc. It is really not possible to make a good multi transmission formula unless the fluids its replacing are really similar to each other.

Straight Mercon V is the way to go, plus real Mercon V is at least semi-synthetic fluid, if not fully synthetic. You can use whatever brand you desire. I personally have used Mobil1 and Valvoline.

Most of your problems originate from the OE design flaws, and that is they designed your trans to shift smoothly instead of being durable. You need to replace the friction surfaces with better ones, raise the engagement pressures, and replace the seals in the valve body. If you upgrade the internals properly, the trans becomes about bulletproof.

 

WOW ! I got synthetic running in the whole truck. But I will change trans to Mercon V after I check the trans; all out. And Yes the fluid was low. Thanks may be a while before another post. Thank's Khan Tyanitar