Well I'm 17 and finally got my liscense and said to myself, hell I'll be smart and build my first vehicle! I replaced 80% of the body on a a 1992 Ford Ranger, and a lot of engine parts... then..

Well... $$$ in debt and this is where I stand..

I had the truck for a bit now running it back and forth from garage to garage, and it seemed to work fine.

But then the transmission start acting up, popping HARD when shift from P. After awhile I noticed it shifting late and the motor reving too high.. Then one day there was a massive pile of red transmission fluid everywhere underneath the truck.. Now it will not shift out of neutral.

I havn't had the time to check it out on the lift yet, but I am afraid I broke a line, or something..

I have a couple questions I am afraid about..

-What happens when you transmission runs out of fluid?
-What are the chances I damaged something?
-If a replacement is my only option.. What year trannys would fit a 92' custom? That one I'm scared to ask.. :P


Thanks a lot

-Ryan

 

When it runs out of fluid, the vehicle wont move. As long as you didn't keep trying to move it, you may have not damaged anything. What size motor do you have?

 

hmm.. naw it hasn't been moved yet since the leak.. The motor is a 2.9l 2wd

thanks for the help..

 

88'-94' 2.9L or 4.0L 2wd trans will work in your truck. The one thing you have to look for though is whether linkage arm is up or down. If it's a colomn shifter, the linkage should be up, if it's a floor shifter the linkage will be down. Also, some linkages have a rubber cromet that the shifer arm pushes into, some have a ball on the shifter and the cable snaps onto. They can be interchanged by pulling the pan and valve body and changing them. Hope this helps

 

yeah it did help, thanks!

I know the truck wont move, but without fluid, would it even shift into gear? I haven't even had time to put fluid in, or even move the truck busy weekend :P

 

Correct, with no fluid, there is no gear. If you put fluid in it, you should get a gear back. If it keeps running out of fluid while driving it, it will burn the trans up.

 

Well, all of a sudden the transmission fluid just exploded.. It doesn't shift now, but I haven't moved it. I'm hoping to pick up some fluid soon to find where the leak is. Hopefully I can repair it. Also sorry to mention, but it is an automatic... would that change anything about the "column shifter"