stuck in 4th

[Kevin1980]

I have a 5 speed 4x4 Ranger that's stuck in 4th gear. What's the most likely cause for this? The clutch still works, but there's no budging the shifter. Any chance this could be a simple fix that won't require removing the transmission?

 

[Rick]

After a quick search I found this:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126902

I also have a 91 2wd that had the same problem - I removed the shifter from the top of the tranny to take a look. (4 screws, upper rubber boot, pinch bolt, upper shifter, lower boot, three torx screws, then lower shifter.) When I did, I noticed that the transmission was actually in third, but the shifter was in fourth. I relocated the shifter to third gead, put it back together, and it shifted. It seems that there is something bigger that caused the shifter to get out of wack, because it is sometimes hard to shift now and I have no 5th gear (the shifter will go into 5th, but it just whines and won't pull). I will let you know if I find out anything further.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your tranny!