I have an '89 Ranger 2wd 5 sp. that is now whining in 1,2, and 3rd. It is also getting more difficult to shift into these gears. 4th is fine, and 5th just whines a little. It was quite low on fluid as it was leaking but topping it up hasn't seemed to solve the problem. Any ideas? Are replacements available if it's too expensive to fix?

Thanks.

 

I am no expert with that particular gear box, but I can tell you I have had similar problems with other makes/models. As far as the difficulty shifting into the gears mentioned, your synchros are probably toast. The problem happens over time with any manual trans but will be rapidly accelerated if the fluid runs dry. This can not be fixed by adding more fluid, and is quite costly to crack open the gear box and have them replaced. You are best off trying to find a used one that is in decent shape. And the whining.... well that could be a million things if the gear box was dry for a while, but it could be the carrier bearing in the drive shaft (assuming it has one). I had similar whining from an older 2wd mazda I used to own and it was coming from the carrier bearing. This is just a guess, I don't even know if the 2wd rangers used a 2-piece shaft in that year.

 

Tranny is soon to die! Find out wich one you got and go to ebay. There is a guy selling rebuild kits for a reasonable deal(pay the extra for the syncro's). There is a bearing at the end of the input shaft before the intermediate shaft. this bearing is probably about to catastrofically fail. if you rebuild it before it detonates you are cool to go. If it detonates, skip ebay and go to the junkyard. hope this helps

 

How can I tell which one I've got. The tag says E97A EA. There are drain and fill holes. Of course the only piece on the door tag describing the transmission is missing.