Hello All! I have recently purchased a 1986 Ford Ranger 4x4 5spd 2.9L. for $600. Sadly last night it went into first and then got stuck. I think the forks that move the gears inside the tranny got bent/tranny. When I let the clutch out I feel and smell the clutch engaging and then it stalls the truck. It will roll backwards when I depress the clutch but will not get out of gear. It is a high mileage vehicle with 230,000 Kilometers or 145,000 miles. It also has sloppy u-joints in the front end and on the front drive shaft. With the truck I got an extra transmission and transfercase that came out of a mazda b3000. I am not sure where the numbers are on the tranny to identify if the extra tranny could be swapped out for the broken one.
I am not sure it is worth having my shop at $65 hr do the swap. I am wondering if it's not time to retire it or fix it. I am a handy guy with a hanes manual and tools, is this the sort of thing a shade tree mechanic should attempt.
Any thoughts? (helpful ones please
-Richard