I recently bought an 07 ranger. a little over a week ago...

Firstly...it's been a while since I've driven manual, and I think I may have been a little rusty in terms of learning this vehicle (where exactly the clutch lets out; going easy on the gas so as not to burn the clutch at launch; trying not to 'ride' the clutch)...

so I wondering if possibly I have have been a little hard on the drive train...but I don't think I've done anything absolutely out of the ordinary in terms of abuse...


the first thing I started to notice...transitioning to 2nd and 3rd gear...is that at the top release of the clutch pedal...I would feel/hear a scraping noise.... this noise kind of came and went during a period of driving....but was worrisome...

my intention was to get the car thoroughly checked out before this even started to happen, but now it was a little more urgent...

I stubbornly decided to still drive the car here and there....the problem would kind of go away...and then return...

On tuesday I noticed it enough to where I was intending to make a trip that I ultimately didn't make because I didn't want to do more damage if it was a serious problem

so yesterday, I stupidly decided (a little scraping noise never hurt anyone right?) to make one drive (from brooklyn into manhattan in nyc...during the day, at that...lots of stop and go) because I needed to use the truck to take a few things to a family member...

The pedal scraping issue seemed to warm up a bout half way into the trip, and I did my best to avoid the stop and go routes.... What started to concern me was that it was getting harder and harder to get the truck INTO GEAR. I would be at a stop, with cars behind me, and I felt like I was almost trying to force the stick into gear. I know forcing the stick is never good, but I had to find some way to get the vehicle moving...


I know I've been longwinded, so I'll try to sum up the symptoms, but basically ...half way to my destination and on the way back home... it was hard to get the truck into gear... a couple of times, I had to push the truck to get it started, and then I could get it into first or second gear. Also, I would have to pump the clutch pedal at times to switch gears when I was moving. When I stopped at lights, I didn't put it into neutral (after a few times of pushing the truck) for fear of not being able to get it into gear again. I think I stalled out once or twice, though, and was able to get the stick to enter into whichever gear with no problem!

I think the clutch pedal feels pretty normal. there is pressure when I press it down. No awkward noises... although, on the last leg of getting the car back home, there was some awkward "looseness" noises...I can't be sure exactly where those were coming from.

Are there any test I can do to figure out exactly where the problem is. I did research on the scraping noise initially and it seemed that the throwout bearing was the issue.

also, is there a way I can check my transmission fluid level? there is no dipstick. I feel like this is something that I probably should have done immediately when I bought the car. Is there some sort of orientation on here of how to do this.

any help/suggestions ....other than..."take it to a shop!"...would be appreciated...I would like to get some kind of grasp on what's going on before I go to a shop so I'm not price gouged ...also, at this point, I don't even know if I can make it to the shop!! It's parked outside my apt, and I have to move it for alternate side of the street parking regulations tomorow!!!

help please