A friend of mine with a 4cyl (sorry don't know the engine details) is having a strange transmission problem. I searched the archives and found similar problems but nothing exactly the same.

You can shift fine in every gear with the engine off. However, you can't change gears once the engine is running. If have it in first when you start the engine, the car acts completely normal, you can start and stop, clutch peddle feels fine, etc - just can't shift. If you force it out of gear, it pops, just like if you make a poorly executed power-shift (shift w/o using the clutch). And if I drive it around and power-shift it correctly, it works fine.

My instinct tells me that the clutch is not releasing all the way. However, if this was the case, then when the car sat idling in first gear at a stand still with the clutch in, I should feel it pull forward a little, right? I checked the fluid level in the hydraulic reservoir and it looked full.

He had it towed originally to a shop that told him the clutch and flywheel needed to be replaced. I am a little confused how it can be a clutch/flywheel problem if the clutch peddle feels so normal and allows me to start from a stand-still without any notable problems. Can the clutch/flywheel wear in such a way that they tend to "stick together" or something like that?

Any input on the topic would be appreciated. I am hoping to get out of this without yanking the trans, darn things are big and heavy in these trucks.

 

There have been a few posts lately concerning clutch (& transmission) problems. I agree with your suspicion, sounds like the clutch isn't fully disengaging. My first instinct, again as mentioned in several posts, would be to check the hydraulic system. You already found that the fluid level is good. Hydraulic clutches are supposed to be self-adjusting (even ones with manual adjustment provisions). However, it has been my experience that they don't always adjust themselves correctly. What year is your friend's Ranger? Is the clutch slave cylinder INSIDE the clutch housing? Or external? If it IS a hydraulic problem, and your slave is internal, it'll be almost as much of a pain to work on as replacing the clutch entirely. But do indeed check that out first. Can it be adjusted? Has it been bled lately? Is there an air bubble in the system?

 

Yea, I was going to give the hydrolic system a good look over as I actually saw this ranger for the first time last night. It is one of the last years of the older body style, I am thinking 90-92 ish. I have not checked where the slave cylinder is, or anything else yet. I am trying to get possible causes ahead of time as we are going to be tearing into over the weekend.

It was a recent purchase so he has no idea about when, or if the fluid was ever changed. I like the airbubble though, that seams like a probably cause, and a very inexpensive one as well! Thanks a lot for the advice, let me know if you have any further potential problems that I should look for.

>There have been a few posts lately concerning clutch (&
>transmission) problems. I agree with your suspicion, sounds
>like the clutch isn't fully disengaging. My first instinct,
>again as mentioned in several posts, would be to check the
>hydraulic system. You already found that the fluid level is
>good. Hydraulic clutches are supposed to be self-adjusting
>(even ones with manual adjustment provisions). However, it
>has been my experience that they don't always adjust
>themselves correctly. What year is your friend's Ranger?
>Is the clutch slave cylinder INSIDE the clutch housing? Or
>external? If it IS a hydraulic problem, and your slave is
>internal, it'll be almost as much of a pain to work on as
>replacing the clutch entirely. But do indeed check that out
>first. Can it be adjusted? Has it been bled lately? Is
>there an air bubble in the system?