Busted transmission!

[theearthwasblue]

A few days ago the transmission on my explorer started showing some serious problems, and I'm trying to hunt down a replacement. I've been in touch with my mechanic and he couldn't track anything down locally, and he is recommending that I check out ebay. I'm doing my best and have found a few things that I'm waiting on a call back from, but in the mean time, I have a question about some other listings that I found.

I drive a 4L 1998 Ford Explorer Sport, with a 4x2 manual transmission.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/98-99-00-01-02-03-04-FORD-RANGER-MANUAL-TRANSMISSION-4X2-6-245-4-0L-707021-/111493602031?hash=item19f5895aef&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/01-02-03-04-05-06-07-08-09-10-11-FORD-RANGER-MANUAL-TRANSMISSION-4-0L-4X2-/171557170677?hash=item27f19aadf5&vxp=mtr

Among others, I found the above ebay listings which state that they are compatible with 02 Sports - do you guys think that it would fit my 98 as well?

here are the listings I've already called about, just for reference
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271596307402?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MANUAL-TRANSMISSION-1999-FORD-EXPLORER-4X2-/231567235860?hash=item35ea7b9b14&vxp=mtr

I'll keep looking, but if any of you happen to stumble on any listings you feel like sharing, or have any advice in general, I would gladly welcome it. With my work, my car is absolutely essential to me, and I would greatly appreciate any help you guys could offer - thanks.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! What kind of issues are you experiencing with your transmission? You might not need a new one. Sometimes it could be valve body related. This type of repair is capable of being performed while the transmission is still in the vehicle.

 

[theearthwasblue]

Thanks for the reply!

welllll I did something stupid. About 6 months ago I had the clutch replaced, and the mechanic warned me that some of the bearings in my transmission were wearing out, and although it wasn't crucial at the time, I would need to get it worked on sometime in the near future. This past week, I actually made the mistake of taking it on a road trip, and I started having issues with it about 20 minutes before I got home.

Basically, this is what happened: I got off the freeway in 4th gear, and on approaching a stop light, I realized I couldn't shift out of 4th. Eventually I was able to do it, but the shifter was "sticky" and almost wanted to snap into certain gears like it was being pulled around or something. I got the car parked in the shoulder and the shifter completely locked up in neutral. After revving the engine a few times, it started working again.

I was able to get it home, but I had to wrestle it the entire way because every time I would get the car up to around 40mph or so, the shifter would lock up again, and I would have to pull over and repeat the process. Oddly enough, revving the engine while stopped and in neutral seemed to almost knock it back into working order, though only until I got the car up to speed.

The way I see it, I needed a new transmission anyway, and this "getting stuck" business seems like it could be related. Unless this sounds like something else?