I have a 99 ford ranger, supposedly this model of auto (ford ranger) has transmission problems. I have an automatic and sometimes when the truck is upshifting it has trouble upshifting, like it will take 3-4 seconds of doing high RPMs in the lower gear before it upshifts instead of smoothly upshifting. this seems to happen more with the lower gears like going from 1 to 2 or 2 to 3 rather than something like shifting into OD. Im going to take it to a mechanic soon but id still like to get some opinions on what it could be, and/or how expensive it could be to fix.
I’m not a Ford guy, so the specifics elude me, but: When you say it ‘has a hard time upshifting’, do you mean:
- There’s a delay between pressing on the gas and having the shift occur
- It revvs freely when changing gears - I can hear the motor accelerating, but it isn’t pulling the car
Have you checked the level of fluid in your transmission? (follow the recommendations in your owner’s manual. Typically, you have to check the tranny when the vehicle has been driven.) Low fluid will bring about Rapid DEATH to your tranny (as will overfilling!)
its done this for over a year, it does it off & on though.
its the first example. instead of smoothly shifting into 2nd at 15mph, sometimes it will just run at high RPMs in first gear for about 4-5 seconds, then upshift. Once in a great while it wont upshift (and i dont want to press hard on the gas to make it upshift) so i pull over, put it in park, then put it back in drive. that usually takes care of it but thats only happened about 3 times in 2 years.
Here are 240+ TSBs (technical service bulletins) on the 99 Ranger. Inform yourself before you go to that garage, and you may well save some money. (If I had more time today, I’d track down the tsb that pertains to this, sorry)
Bolding mine.
Pressing on the gas may make the car stay in your current gear, or make the transmission downshift. When you stomp the throttle to pass another car, the transmission downshifts.
If this is out of warranty, and if you’re reasonably handy, you might want to consider changing the transmission fluid and filter before you go to a mechanic. New fluid cures lots of minor automatic transmission problems.
It’s a messy procedure, but it’s simple and cheap.
This suggests a valve may be sticking inside the transmission. A fluid service might indeed take care of it. If it doesn’t, some internal repair will be called for. In that case, a reputable transmission specialist would be your best bet.
FWIW, my 1995 Aerostar was exibiting the same symptoms recently. I found a plug had come off a vaccuum supply - the same supply that fed the transmission vaccuum line. The transmission was not getting enough vaccuum to shift properly. Simply re-plugging the open line solved the problem. I don’t know if the '99 Ranger still had a vaccuum controled tranny or not.
This is why I’m being quiet, by 1993, GM was putting the 4l60e in vehicles - it has a solenoid actuated valvebody and wouldn’t exhibit the same behavior for the same reasons as the transmission I rebuilt, a 4l60…which uses a cable to the trottlebody to determin when to shift…no vacuum actuation there.
But you still haven’t told us what its fluid levels are like…while you check the fluid, tell us if it’s honey colored or if it’s dark and smells burnt. :eek: