Hello- NB to Rangers and so far, I like it.

Spent the last couple hours sifting the forums and found great info, but not quite what I'm going through (found the great 4x4 troubleshooting guide, but its only up to 93).

Problem 1- 4x4 noises:
- 2wd works fine
- When dash "dialing" to 4wd, I can hear the xFer case doing its thing, and the light comes on the dash.
- When I start moving, there is a grinding/light rattling noise. Like something isn't quite engaging
- When returning to 2wd, there's a ticking sound for awhile, and then it goes away (sounds like playing card in a bike's spokes)

Problem 2- Tough Tranny:
- The tranny is incredibly hard to get into gears (manual trans)- especially 1st
- If I ease it into 3rd and then 1st, its easier
- I tried changing the clutch fluid with no luck (it was pretty scuzzy)

Car description:
- 1996 Ranger STX 4.0 4x4 manual trans
- I've changed the clutch, xfer case, and tranny fluids (yet to do the diff)

Thoughts? Thanks!
- Mr. Bill

I can only answer on the part of going into gear hard.
I had a ford dealer change my slave cylinder and after that it would go into gaer harder.
I took it back and they re bleed the clutch and it made it normal again.
From what I gather these units are a bugger to get all of the air out of.

Problem 1. All the info you found should apply to your year Ranger, as nothing changed between those years (except the actual dash piece).

Problem 2. Very common problem which will slowly get worse, you will eventually need to replace the slave. Bleeding may help, do a search here for proper techniques as it can be a bitch to do well.

Welcome to the forum. :thumbsup:

Hey Guys- Thanks for the info. Since reading this, I've found plenty of info re: slave cylinder and bleeding problems. Will take care of sooner to avoid other problems.

As for the 4x4- thanks. I'll use the other 4x4 summary.