Hello, I recently bought a 1998 4WD 5-speed manual Ranger and I am wondering if it is normal for the whole pickup to jerk and shudder when I press on the throttle quickly when I am coasting/decelerating. It seems that whenever an accelerating load is quickly put on the drive train while it is decelerating, there is some play somewhere that is racking back and forth causing the jerk. I can feel the play and movement when I rest my hand on the shifter but I can't tell where the play is located.

The U-joints seem fine with no wiggling and the drive shaft slip-yoke does not have any play. There is also no "clunk" sound usually heard with drive shaft problems when accelerating from a stop position.

When I rotate the drive shaft in neutral, there is some play in the differential (maybe 20 degrees??) but I didn't think this was enough to shake the whole truck when I stomp on the throttle. I know the pinion seal is bad because it's leaking and I recently had to top it off. The magnetic fill plug had a small amount of metallic sludge on it.

The transmission does not always shift very smoothly. Sometimes the stick glides into the gears and sometimes you really have to push it in almost as if the synchro gears do not want to align. So usually I just hold slight pressure on the stick for a few seconds until it glides into gear rather than forcing it past the sticky spot. Is this how all ranger transmissions shift or is this abnormal? The transmission fluid is full and the clutch fluid is full. When I checked the clutch fluid after buying the truck the reservoir was empty and there was a lot of fluid on top of the rubber insert (as if the last owner didn't remove the rubber thing when trying to top off the reservoir?) so I dumped that out and filled the reservoir to the mark.

I guess I have not checked the transfer case and I don't know if it has it's own fluid or shares the transmission fluid.

Are these just normal symptoms of driving a ranger, or is something wrong, or am I experiencing axle wrap? Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks!

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1998 Ford Ranger Supercab, 3.0L V6, 4WD, 5-speed manual, 160000 mi.

Last time this happened to me in my stick shift it blew the transmission, but that was a pretty violent movement. I know my truck does have axle wrap, but I am not sure if that is your issue. Does your tach change position drastically and the lights dim when you do this? Or is it a drivetrain shudder?

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And what part of MT? I graduated from Montana State University Northern.

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97 Ranger - 4.0 V6 auto, 4wd, 31x10.5x15s Wild Country XTX Sport All Terrains, Warn locking hubs, Pioneer deck with iPod attachment, Snugtop Topper, K&N filter, scan gauge II, Hella 500 Lights, More parts coming, waiting for the paycheck to get bigger!

Truck built in loving memory of Norm Howard
Outcast Racing
PNW Crew!!!
Afterhours Clan!!

Well I haven't looked at the tach when it does that and am not sure about the lights. The engine continues to run fine when this happens if that is what you are wondering. It is definitely a drivetrain shudder. I hope this isn't a major transmission problem, do you think I could tell if something was wrong inside the transmission by taking the top cover off? I read that some people pour their trans fluid in this way so maybe I could look in through the top...

I am in Missoula and graduating from UM next month!

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1998 Ford Ranger Supercab, 3.0L V6, 4WD, 5-speed manual, 160000 mi.

Hell yeah!! Do you know Talkington? He's down in those parts. He's got a white truck.

I don't think it is major, but it sounds like there is an issue. If I were still in Montana I'd come down and visit. I just graduated last May lol

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97 Ranger - 4.0 V6 auto, 4wd, 31x10.5x15s Wild Country XTX Sport All Terrains, Warn locking hubs, Pioneer deck with iPod attachment, Snugtop Topper, K&N filter, scan gauge II, Hella 500 Lights, More parts coming, waiting for the paycheck to get bigger!

Truck built in loving memory of Norm Howard
Outcast Racing
PNW Crew!!!
Afterhours Clan!!

I don't know Talkington.... this is actually my first post on this web site... and it seems like there are hundreds of rangers around this town.

Yeah, one main reason I got my Ranger is because I am graduating and planning on heading up to Alaska for a while. So my transmission/drive train problem hopefully will not cause a problem 2,500 miles away from my Dad's tools! I will just keep tinkering and keep an eye on any worsening symptoms.

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1998 Ford Ranger Supercab, 3.0L V6, 4WD, 5-speed manual, 160000 mi.

I'll help best I can. I know that there is usually a shake when you let off for sure. But I can't tell you if yours is above normal. If it's that noticable there probably is. I didn't look how many miles on your truck? Check all the bushings in your suspension, and shocks as well.

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97 Ranger - 4.0 V6 auto, 4wd, 31x10.5x15s Wild Country XTX Sport All Terrains, Warn locking hubs, Pioneer deck with iPod attachment, Snugtop Topper, K&N filter, scan gauge II, Hella 500 Lights, More parts coming, waiting for the paycheck to get bigger!

Truck built in loving memory of Norm Howard
Outcast Racing
PNW Crew!!!
Afterhours Clan!!

Ok, thanks! My truck has 160,000 miles. It doesn't shake when I let off the gas, only when I am back on the gas. So when I am just cruising in any gear and let off the gas, it just coasts as normal by slowing slightly as the engine slows, and when I press the gas again, (particularly if I stomp on it) it jerks pretty hard because the drive train is switching really quickly from being powered by wheel drag to being powered by the engine. With my hand on the shifter I can feel the transmission torque sideways slightly.

I will take a look at the suspension components and maybe try to figure out how to rig up a camera underneath to get a video of the driveshaft or something...

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1998 Ford Ranger Supercab, 3.0L V6, 4WD, 5-speed manual, 160000 mi.

My truck does that, check motor mounts, I have an extra strut on the engine that may have shit the bed years ago. Also transmission mounts

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97 Ranger - 4.0 V6 auto, 4wd, 31x10.5x15s Wild Country XTX Sport All Terrains, Warn locking hubs, Pioneer deck with iPod attachment, Snugtop Topper, K&N filter, scan gauge II, Hella 500 Lights, More parts coming, waiting for the paycheck to get bigger!

Truck built in loving memory of Norm Howard
Outcast Racing
PNW Crew!!!
Afterhours Clan!!

Did you ever find a resolve to the shuddering of your 1998 ranger. My 1995 ranger is doing same thing. Drives me nuts. Your original post was a couple years ago so by now what ever was wrong would have defined it self.