I put this guide together from a variety of internet sources. The line by line directions are both mine and from other online contributors. I've added as much context as I can.

This job probably took me 20-30 hours taking my time to ensure I got it absolutely correct. If you hurried, you could get by in under 10 hours as a first timer.

The entire guide is linked as a PDF document on a separate webpage in case something should go wrong: https://sites.google.com/site/autore...rd-ranger-2-5l

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Vehicle: 1998 Ford Ranger Splash XLT with 2.5L and Manual Transmission (M5OD) (Part I)

Sources:



Slave cylinder replacement

Bench Bleeding Master Cylinder:
Clutch and Brake Bracket: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=230092

Post-Bench Bleed Bleeding for Master and Slave Cylinders: http://www.therangerstation.com/foru...ead.php?t=9188
Bench bleeding master cylinder:
Burp bleeping master (use as a last resort, not referenced below but worth watching as it explains how to disconnect the master):
List of things and prices (without tax):
• LUK clutch (07-140) – LUK makes Ford clutches although this model is self-adjusting ($112)

• AC Delco Slave Cylinder ($56 - 386400) (apparently, AC Delco used to make a pre-filled kit that included the slave and master cylinders for under $100. Part # AC Delco 39022. Perhaps it’s still online somewhere for sale at a good price).

• Flywheel resurfacing ($45)

• The Right Stuff (~$20)

• Output shaft seal (Napa SKF 14900) ($36, cheaper online; this is optional, mine was leaking so I replaced it. It could be replaced later with little extra work.)

• Transmission front seal (Napa SKF 10661) sits just beneath the slave on the shaft ($12, same price or more expensive online)

• DOT 3 brake fluid ($2)

• 2.8 qts. transmission fluid (Mercon ATF) (~$9 on clearance)

• Synthetic (bearing and auto) grease with moly ($5)

This was a mechanic’s special off of Craigslist and boy was it special! See the slave cylinder image in the linked PDF above for an idea of what I was in for.

In the cab
• Make sure shifter is in neutral

• Remove shifter console – 4 screws

• Remove 17mm bolt and put on other side, tighten and then unscrew it a bit by hand, move bolt over to side it was on originally and unscrew it more towards driver’s side. Then bang it loose.

• Pull shifter up and set aside.

• Take cover off and unscrew 3 torque heads (t30) off.

• Pull out whole assembly and set aside. (note its position and how flat piece faces the seats).

Under the car
• Jack up front and rear of truck and place under jack stands. Check safety by leaning on vehicle from a variety of directions.

• Spray all bolts you’re going to remove with PB Blaster.

• Take a flathead screwdriver (small) and pop master-slave hose off of tranny (pop the white clip with the v-shaped ends [they look like the two symbols at the end of this sentence where they come together >> ] inwards towards the clutch slave cylinder. Small flat head screwdrivers will get it in and then it should release outwards with a tug once the clip is all the way in. You can see the clip is gone in this picture because it’s all the way in.)

• Unplug two sensors on driver’s side of tranny (one on front up top and other on back) and then sensor on pass’s side (back side up top).

• Disconnect any other wires.

• Unbolt the positive terminal on the battery.

• Unplug the electrical leads heading to the starter.

• Unbolt three bolts off of starter (2 bolts on passengers’s side just next to the tranny – top bolt is hidden above the starter recessed a tad)

• Drain the transmission fluid from drain plug (hint: remove fill plug for faster draining; the fluid shoots out a good foot this way at first, be prepared). Remove drive shaft.

• Mark the shaft’s bottom and the axle plate’s bottom (the pic is upside down; the scratches are very superficial even though they look deeper) so that when you put the shaft back in the bolts all line up with the holes in the same order they did before. Apparently, the shaft is balanced and putting it back in differently, however slightly, is not good). I just scratched lightly into the metal with a paint can opener but any sharp metal object will do. Even better would be the proper type of marking pencil.

• Unbolt 4 12-point (12mm) off on the axle’s backmost drive shaft. The shaft might slide right out but it might not if the axle plate has rusted to the shaft plate. Hit it with BP Blaster, wait, and then give it a few taps with a hammer to release it.

• Support transmission from its back with the jack stand. A ratcheting tie down can also be used to support the transmission from inside the cab, just make sure to run the tie downs around a 2x4 inside the cab so they don’t slip through. In fact, if you’re hard pressed for a transmission jack, two ratcheting tie downs could theoretically be used to drop the transmission as long as you can control the ratcheting release steadily and can work the transmission free and back while you’re underneath.

• Unbolt transmission bolts (13mm) from top half (10, 11, 1, and 2 o’clock – there should be others on the top half that are visible). Some bolt forwards, some backwards. But leave the four bolts on the bottom so you can drop the transmission mount from the other side of the transmission.

• Place a jack under the transmission to support it while you unbolt the crossmember support bar from the back of the transmission and sides of truck (19mm bolts).

• Put transmission jack stand under transmission and strap transmission to it with a ratcheting strap. In a moment of improvisation after I realized I could not get the plate off the top of my jack, I simply used oversized tie-downs (1.5-2 feet long) to secure a base plate of wood to the top of the 3-ton harbor freight jack. Four of these plus one that ringed them to tighten them up got it quite tight and it was solid enough to support a good hundred pounds with a foot test. It handled the transmission with ease although it had a little more sway than it would have had I bolted it in (but sway will be good when lining up spline and clutch disc and the transmission upon reassembly).

• Remove three bolts from transmission/motor union on lower side of transmission. Leave driver’s side bolt (at about 7:30 PM on the circle that the bolts run on) on transmission/motor union until you’re ready to drop the transmission but remove the other three bolts.

• Remove the last bolt on transmission/motor union and pull transmission back and out from under truck.

• Note that unless you use 6 ton or bigger jack stands, your stands are likely to leave your truck too low to get a transmission jack or floor jack and transmission out from under the vehicle. Consider making a DIY jack that allows you to slide the transmission off the jack while it’s under the truck. I put side supports along the sides of the transmission and the one on the driver's side was removable with only three screws so that when I lowered the transmission, I was able to remove the side and slide it off and down to the floor. Upon reassembly, I had to hoist the transmission back onto the stand from under the truck--a workable solution but it would have been easier just to buy 6 ton or bigger stands. Just be careful you don’t crack the bolt hole mounts on the transmission when you move it around.

Part 2
The clutch assembly removal
• Take 10mm bolts off of clutch but put key from new kit into the shaft assembly so clutch doesn’t fall down on your face. Make sure to remove lessen pressure on bolts gradually by removing them a bit at a time in a crisscross pattern.

• Inspect the clutch components.

• Remove the flywheel (18mm bolts)

• Inspect the flywheel for damage (scoring, is there a lip between where plate touches?) and clean it up with acetone just prior to install so there’s no grease or oil on it. Of course, resurface or replace the flywheel as necessary.

• Optional depending on if there is a leak or signs of a leak: Unbolt and replace main rear engine seal. A trusted local mechanic said don’t touch it if it isn’t leaking. That’s advice I followed.

• Remove bearing from flywheel with bread or wet toilet paper technique. Stuff bread in. Add tape to outside of 3/8” socket extension so it fits fairly tightly in the pilot bearing. Whack it in there evenly and the pressure from the bread should push the bearing out. Give it some good whacks. Clean out the bearing hole from the bread.

o Of course, this didn’t work for me and neither did any other suggestion from the web (extreme heat, extreme cold, puller, chisel and hammer). There was nothing left of the pilot bearing aside from a thin outer shell that was about 22-24 gauge steel. I ended up calling in the help of a pro from a local agricultural iron works outfit who used a special chisel that got behind the bearing while folding it down (tool is used on brass fittings; such a chisel can be made from a ¼” punch by grinding it down until just a sharp, stable, rounded lip on the outside of the punch’s tip exists, the ground down part should angle back to fullness over a relatively short distance so as the chisel is hammered in between the bearing and the crankshaft hole’s side it forces the bearing inward on itself). Once repeated from the other side, the bearing came right out. It probably took him all of 5 minutes and it only cost me $20 for removal. The eternal law of working on cars was upheld: it all comes down to having the right tools.

• Install pilot bearing with the internal plastic piece with the recess facing the differential. This means that the pilot bearing is inserted into the hole with the needle bearings and grooves closest to the engine. Tap with small sledge. When it’s flush, it’s done. You can tap it in with the butt of the hammer handle once it’s properly seated.

• Put flywheel back on (clean bolts up and put on very small amount of red Loctite or a decent amount of blue) and torque ]them down to 56-64 ft/lbs as per 2.0 / 2.3 / 2.5 Specifications

• Insert clutch plate and then insert alignment tool/clutch key. Make sure that the springs on the clutch (the raised area) are facing the rear of the truck.

• Clean off pressure plate with brake cleaner or acetone and wipe down. Install pressure plate, sliding it over the pins. As you bolt it on, make sure that the alignment tool is all the way back and that it is free and not stuck. Torque bolts in x pattern gradually and bit by bit to 15-24 ft/lbs as per Haynes manual.

• Pull key out.

In the transmission:
• Remove slave cylinder (2 10mm bolts)

• Remove entire plate that sits beneath slave cylinder (take 3/8” extension and insert it through viewing window on side and push it from side – this didn’t work for me; I had to clench a set of vice grips on a metal flange that’s not part of the slave cylinder seat on the plate and pull back; it did not take much force). Do not turn the shaft while the plate is off--it will likely grind as the whole assembly is lacking the tension from the plate, which is no longer holding the shaft in place. Otherwise, synchros or gears on the inside will grind a bit.

• As soon as you get it off, take a moment to take a picture of what you’re looking at as things have to be just right.

• Clean it up and put in new seal (use socket ~30mm to knock old out and new in). Be careful any metal rings you touch go back in the way they were when you pulled it.

• Put some grease into the inside of the seal.

• Pull off bottom ring and top ring in the seal (what was beneath the plate) and clean them and grease them up. Seat them back in well as they have to go all the way in to get the plate to seat and seal properly.

• There was some RTV plugging two transmission fluid exchange holes for each ring. I cleaned the holes out carefully with a pair of mini needlenose pliars.

• Put grey RTV all over bottom of removable steel plate and follow RTV instructions. Be careful not to get any into the small transmission fluid holes you just cleaned.

• Grease up the shaft at the end closest to the transmission.

• Clean up end of shaft with steel wool.

• Unbolt back case of transmission, clean it up, let it dry, and put it back on. There are pry locations that were included for your convenience so the Right Stuff shouldn’t mean they’re stuck together forever. A guess is that these bolts were torqued to ~50 ft/lbs as they took some real effort to get off. The transmission had to be turned so the bell housing sat on the floor with the axle output housing up in the air. Make sure to put the removable bracket back on in the right spot. Mark it with a sharpie before removing it.

• If leaking, replace back seal on transmission that is male piece to female. You can put Vaseline on outside metal rim of the rear seal if you so choose. Mine was a tight fit that required light taps all around from a 3 pound hammer to seat properly.

• Unbolt hat (shifter rail case) off of transmission.

• Remove three plugs (closest to the shifter hole) from its back side gently with pliers, put high temp RTV around the seal area and shove them back in. Read up on this to make sure you’re okay with sealing your transmission in this fashion. They took so little RTV and most of it didn’t even make it into the hole. At any rate, Napa should sell updated plugs that won’t leak.

• Clean and use shifter rail case’s original rubber gasket or replace with new but make sure it’s tucked up neatly into the recess that runs around the outside and bottom of the shifter case. There’s only one way to install it correctly to get the two center bolt recesses from either side to fit. A guess is that the case was torqued to 20-25 ft/lbs as it was quite easy to get off. Put the Grey RTV on it just on the rubber gasket as it’s seated in the shift case).

• Install the slave cylinder – there’s only one way to seat it properly so the hoses protrude through the side of the transmission.

• Put spline lubricant on spline and end of shaft and spread it around. Seat the clutch disc onto the spline a few times in different positions to spread the grease around.

• Get 2 3” grade 2 bolts (from your hardware store) that are similar in thread to your transmission bolts but that are slightly longer (SAE bolts are likely 1/10th the cost of metric and for this purpose will work fine as long as you don't over tighten them). Grind the heads off and slot the stump that remains for a flathead screwdriver. Then thread them into the top two bolt mounts on the engine. These are of great help when trying to line the transmission holes up with the motor transmission mount holes. They can be finger tightened so that the screwdriver is not necessary; the slots are still worth putting in as they give great grip for the fingers in tight places. Once lined up, install all bolts and then get the last two at the top. The bolt at 11:30 is accessible from below but it’s a very tight fit. I was able to access the 12:30 bolt from the top of the engine by laying across the engine and reaching in. It sucked but it got the job done. If you put these slotted bolts in it pretty much means you can't install the top two bolts with long extensions from over the top of the transmission. Pick your poison.

• Reinstall the transmission on the jack. Get the spline in, get a bolt in on the side, then go up and down with the jack stand, and ease it in. It may be necessary to bench press it into place. Also, if the splines won’t line up, then stick the shaft on temporarily and rotate it slightly and try again (repeat as necessary)—the transmission has to be in gear for this to work. Put all bolts on, getting bell housing bolts to 41 lb/ft.

• Reinstall the starter.

• Reinstall the exhaust mount, the crossmember, and the drive shaft. A 19mm box wrench is invaluable in holding the bolts in place so they can be inserted from the inside of the frame and through the crossmember. If it’s a ratcheting wrench, ensure it’s set to tighten when you start bolting on the bolts from the outside.

• Pull transmission jack away.

• Remove fill bolt from transmission. Pour transmission fluid into opening in cab where shifter was. Watch for fluid dripping out of transmission from fill bolt. When it stops dripping, put plug back in.

• Grease up the end of the shaft that goes in the tranny with some bearing grease. Bolt the rear axle shaft back together. Put a small amount of thread locker on the four bolts.

• Replace the seal at the base of the check valve of the master cylinder with the new one that came with slave cylinder kit. Insert end of master cylinder hose into female piece on transmission until it clicks. Verify it’s in by pulling it in and out. Insert the clip.

• Replace the plastic retaining/release ring around the check valve of the master cylinder with the updated plastic ring that came with the slave cylinder kit.

• Crack the bleeder nipple on the slave cylinder (8mm). Bleed the slave until air stops coming out. Let run for a moment. Tighten up and put cap back on. If you’re lucky, you’ll have a firm clutch pedal. If not, proceed with bleeding according to instructions below.

Part 3

Back in the cab:
• Reassemble the shifter.

• Grease the shifter and drop the shifter into place. The flat piece faces the seats. Grease collar with clip and set hollow inside part on top of the ball of shifter, ensuring lines are over the guides. Pack it with grease.

• Put grey RTV on top of the surface with 3 holes on it.

• Slide the top round cap piece over the top. Line up the holes.

• Install hex heads screws.

• Reinsert rubber top on top of cap piece.

• Put rubber boot and set it on top. Screw four screws into it.

• Install the shifter with hole. Line up the big hole with the driver’s side and the small hole with the passenger’s. Insert bolt with flat part forward (facing engine). Bolt on 17mm bolt to passenger side of bolt.

• Feed plastic surrounding console over rubber boot and into place.

• Screw the screws down.

• Slide rubber boot down.

Bleeding the slave cylinder (from fordrangerforum.com link above – edited slightly):
• When bleeding the new slave, I've had good luck with topping off the reservoir, leaving the cap off, opening the bleeder, then pumping the pedal only about 3" 3 times, top it off again, 3 small soft pumps again, watch the fluid dribble out onto the floor. Let it dribble until the reservoir goes down to just above "full level", then close the bleeder. Put the diaphragm back on, screw the cap back on, now pump the pedal with your hand slowly and softly then it'll get firm and you're good to go. Those little pumps really speed up the gravity bleed process.

Bench bleeding the master cylinder, if the first attempt at gravity bleeding didn’t work:
• First, check the bracket that holds clutch and brake pedal. It’s way up there so get flexible. The bracket has a history of breaking at the pivot lug for the clutch pedal. If this is broken, this can also cause a soft pedal feeling. See explorer forum link above for more. (Part number K863G and/or 6L5Z*2455*BB Pedal Asy).

• Disconnect master line from slave cylinder.

• Check pushrod in master for travel: 1/8” or less is desirable, anything more and you have air in your master cylinder. I had 1” of travel and an awful lot of air but got it down to almost zero travel by hand.

• Remove master cylinder (pop off clip up at where pedal and pushrod meet: it may be helpful to remove the console panel under steering wheel. This clip is easy to break so use caution.) From engine bay, turn master cylinder 1/8 of a turn and remove it. Note the position of the black tap that protrudes from where the master’s pushrod goes into the cylinder. It’s likely at roughly 1:30. From this point forward, the instructions for a new, unbled master are the same.

• Bench bleed the master. Use a screwdriver handle and tap it the bottom to the top from check valve to reservoir. Continue pressing rod until 1/8” of travel or less is attained. It helps to make sure the cylinder is vertical with the pushrod pointing up so travel goes towards the ceiling. Once you think it’s bled, bleed it again and again and again by tapping along the length. Move the hoses so as you’re tapping the length of hose in question is perfectly vertical. Once the big bubbles come out, little ones may follow. Watch closely and keep bleeding it until no bubbles of any kind come out.

• Reinstall and connect master to slave. The trick to getting it in correctly is to make sure you are turning it clockwise; it is much harder to install twisting it counter clockwise. Clean it all off once more; do not press clutch pedal until you have gravity bled two reservoirs of brake fluid through slave cylinder – see next step.

• Gravity bleed two reservoirs full of brake fluid through slave cylinder (a 5/32” wrench is what it takes). A hose over the bleeder nipple can be helpful in ensuring air doesn’t seep back in.

• Check slave cylinder travel (looking for a good 5/16” travel or more inside bell housing)

• Check that clutch pressure plate releases when clutch pedal is depressed and clutch disc is disengaged. Connect battery back up.

• Put it all back together and try out your new clutch.

Nice, nice write up! This is one job I have never done on a vehicle. With 101k on my truck, I know this job is on the horizon.

Only a couple of points I'd like to make. Is the Right Stuff the expandable foam spray? Your write up would be easier to read if you skipped a line between each step.

Otherwise, thank you. This has been copied for safe keeping and considered a reference.

__________________
2005 2.3L XL 5SOD 3.73 K&N
KYB Shocks Husky Toolbox
Alpine / Rockford Fosgate Sound

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subscribed!

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1999 xlt 2.5l 5-speed Supercab 159k
83 diesel 2.2l na
06 F250 6.0l psd
{click for lol}

Great write up. Subbed.

__________________
2008 Ford Ranger Sport 4x4 4.0L
-5 speed, undercoating, tinted windows, keyless entry, 3.73 gears
-Pioneer AVIC-F700BT GPS w/10" Pioneer woofer
-3 inch Performance Accessories Body Lift
-33x12.5 r 15 BFG M/T KM2's

I linked to a PDF that should be much easier to read than the bulleted version. Nonetheless, I went through and cleaned up the bullet points.

I used "The Right Stuff" from the half-sized caulking container and not the cheeze-whiz style container. It was only a couple of dollars more but you get twice as much. This stuff beats RTV any day of the week.