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I have searched google, this forum and others and have been able to find answers to similar problems, but nothing identical to mine so I was hoping yall might be able to point me in the right direction.
I have a 2004 Ford Ranger 4x4 with manual 5 speed transmission.
The truck WAS driving fine...I was driving home from work, stopped at a stop sign and down shifted to 1st gear. I let off the clutch to get going again and it sounded and looked (the shifter moved) like the truck just popped out of gear and then I heard a grindingnoise and the truck will not move at all. I tried gears 1-5 and reverse and it does the same thing...no movement, just a grindingnoise until I push the clutch back in. I originally though I just broke the rear u-joint so I put in in 4 high to see if I could get it to move with the front wheels, but it does the same thing- grindingnoise with no movement.
Another thing I noticed was that the speedometer was moving up with the RPMs when it was in gear and I let out the clutch.
When I put the truck back in 2wd / neutral so I could try to push it off the road I noticed that it would roll for a few feet and then it felt like the wheels locked up. I had to unhook the rear drive shaft to get it to roll freely.
I am just trying to see if someone that has more mechanical experience might be able to help me pin point where the problem might be before I tear into it so I know what I am getting into.
I was thinking it could be the transfer case or the transmission, but at this point not sure how to narrow it down to one of the other. I figured since the noise goes away when I push the clutch back in and the speedo is moving with RPM, that might confirm the clutch is engaging and dis-engaging properly..
See if it will move in 4th gear
4th gear doesn't use the input shaft gear, it uses a "sleeve" to connect input shaft directly to output shaft, 1:1 ratio
1, 2, 3, 5, R use input gear which can strip and make that grinding sound
If you have 4th gear then input gear is the problem, trans will need rebuild
Although the M5OD-R1 is a very reliable transmission so a used one is not a big gamble
The 1354 transfer cases were fairly trouble free, not sure where the Speed sensor(OSS) is on the 2004 model but should be on the rear output shaft of transfer case drivers side 2 wires
Did the 4WD light come on when you switched it to 4high?
And did it go off when you switched back to 2WD?
The lights means the shift motor actually moved into correct position
pic 5 you can see the hole where speed sensor should go
And I can't see that location showing speed if drive shaft is not turning
But again I don't know where speed sensor is on a 2004
For 2001 and later 2.3, 3.0 and 4.0 Rangers, the raw speed signal source is the Output Shaft Speed Sensor in the transmission tail housing/extension housing. So, if the speedometer still works, then the disconnect should be downstream of that point in the drivetrain.
With no other info to go on, I would say that the T-case is suspect. Another possibility might be a sheared transmission output shaft between the OSS and the t-case input.
Last edited by V8 Level II; 10-21-2017 at 09:45 AM.
I will have to check when I get home from work if anything happens in 4th gear. I tried several gears, but cant remember for sure if I specifically tried 4th.
I tried it in both 4 high and 4low, the light came on in both cases and turned back off when I put it back into 2wd.
You mentioned the OSS, I can look and tell you were that is located also. Is that something that could be causing this issue on a manual transmission?
Thanks again for the advise, I will check 4th gear a little later and post back either tonight or tomorrow morning.
No, OSS wouldn't cause the problem, you just mentioned the speedometer needle was moving, but vehicle wasn't, when "in gear" and above idle.
Because there is a "low range" on this 4x4 the speed sensor needs to be on final drive output or rear axle, because trans output ratio is changed when in 4low
So I checked 4th gear from 2wd, 4high and 4low and get the same result with all of them--It still does not move and still makes the grinding noise.
I did notice that when I tried reverse, for a split second it seems like it wanted to move back. It didn't actually move anywhere, but I felt a quick bump like the gears "hooked up" for a second and then started grinding again.
So this eliminates the input gear and it is going through all the gears ok, do you think that eliminates the problem being the transmission?
Because there is a "low range" on this 4x4 the speed sensor needs to be on final drive output or rear axle, because trans output ratio is changed when in 4low
Ford did it differently for the 2001 and later 4x4's. The PCM senses low range from the 4LO indicator lamp circuit and adjusts the speedometer signal to account for the 2.48:1 gear reduction.
The raw speedometer signal of a 2001+ 4x4 originates from the OSS in the extension housing between the transmission and transfer case. It's on the driver side.
Last edited by V8 Level II; 10-20-2017 at 07:23 PM.
Its been a while since I've had time to do anything with this
I was pretty sure the problem was with the transfer case because the last time I messed with it, it got stuck in 4low. I also had someone else put in gear and let out the clutch while I listened below, it sounded like all the grinding was coming from the transfer case, not the extension housing.
So I had a couple of hours yesterday to drop the transfer case. Now I am not sure if it is the transfer case or the shaft in the extension housing.
When I got the transfer case off, I noticed that the teeth looked a little rounded off on one direction on both the shaft coming out of the extension housing (going into the transfer case) and the teeth on the transfer case looked a little rounded (curved going one way) There was no metal shavings in the housing or transfer case so I am not sure if this is normal or not.
-Transfer case- I have it off and able to spin the input that hooks in with the extension housing shaft- When I spin it, both the front and rear outputs where the drive shafts hook up spin. No grinding or odd noises coming from it- not sure if that is just because it is not hooked up and no resistance or if this rules out the transfer case?
I have attached a couple of pictures of the extension housing shaft, could someone that knows better than I do tell me if this looks normal or do you think this is where my slipping / grinding noise is coming from? If so, Can I replace the shaft coming out of the extention housing or does that do directly into the transmission?
That is not normal at all. I think the reason you don't find metal chips is because all that metal was ground to Iron Oxide powder. You can see that reddish dust all over. I think you found the problem.
You probably need to replace that shaft and the mating piece.
Okay, thank you.. That's what I thought, I was just hoping it was the transfer case because I already had a replacement lined up.
Next question- How hard is it to replace that shaft, that goes all the way into the tranny doesn't it? I would have to drop the tranny and open it up to replace the shaft, right?
10-19-2017
