1998 Ford Ranger Transmission Problems

Which parts fail

• Automatic transmission
  13
• Driveline › Driveshaft
  12
• Manual transmission
  8
• Clutch assembly › Pedal/hand lever(motorcycle)
  5
• Axle assembly
  5
• Clutch assembly
  5

Components named in complaints (automatic and manual transmissions, CVT, axles, driveshaft, 4WD/AWD).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  00%
• 25k–50k
  360%
• 50k–75k
  00%
• 75k–100k
  00%
• 100k–150k
  120%
• 150k+
  120%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1998 Ford Ranger owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

1998 Ford Ranger, drive shaft broke on vehicle. After the drive shaft broke, it went through the gas tank can caused the vehicle to catch on fire. Ohio traffic crash report #10-0294-89 updated 05/03/10 updated 05/24/10 the rear axle pinion froze, the drive shaft twisted and broke in two. Updated 05/28/10

4wd stopped working some time ago, servo/actuator seemed to be free, recently started making grinding noises in the front right, sounds like hub is somewhere between locked and unlocked. Sort of pops out when coming to a stop HVAC does not work, fan speed only interior courtesy stopped working

Our 1998 Ford Ranger xlt with the 4.0l v-6 and the 5-speed automatic transmission experienced intermittent problems with shifting. On occasion the vehicle would hesitate when being shifted into park and would on occasion attempt to surge forward when the vehicle was stopped while in drive. The problems recently became worse after only 44K miles and began to impact the driving performance of the vehicle. The shifting of the automatic transmission while in drive would sometimes hesitate and had become unpredictable. The vehicle was taken to an aamco dealer and upon inspection of the transmission found that the center support had stripped and that the broken teeth were being circulated throughout the transmission. When the broken pieces came in contact with the other gears it would cause them to hang and create a pressure loss. …

While backing my 98 Ford Ranger 4.0 supercab with tow package (which has the beefier brakes) the aluminum bracket that holds the bar that the brake and clutch hinge on, broke away from the truck. This left me heading in reverse with no brake or clutch. I was in shock, imagine the steering wheel coming off in your hands while driving; that's how I felt. I didn't think to hit the emergency brake, but I was already halfway into the garage and had very little time to react properly before I crashed into the back wall (cinderblock) punching a hole in the wall which killed the engine. This happened at the fire station where I work! The police did a report. He saw and reported the brakes were broke although he didn't look very closely. Many of my superiors at the job saw that the brakes had broke away and were now dangling, useless. …

Driving on i90 west with no problems nor warning the rear end suddenly locked up completely, severing the driveshaft and rotating the differential so that it embeded itself in the spare tire (mounted under the vehicle). Result was an immediate loss of control, vehicle swerved to the left and ran off the freeway into the median. Rear wheels were completely locked up and un-movable. Investigated by wsp (report # 0570977). Clearly an extremely unsafe vehicle defect. Ford dealership (evergreen in issaquah, wa) mechanics all concurred they had never seen anything like it.

Front wheel drive intermittent even when 4x4 light is on and 4x4 switch is engaged. Most notable when below outside temperatures are 30 degrees fahrenheit and below. Multiple Ford dealers have tried but cannot duplicate condition. This condition is increasing in frequency and has created some dangerous driving situations due to lack of traction when driver thought 4wd system was engaged.

Consumer's vehicle was in park outside of store . Parking emergency brake wasn't on, and vehicle was in first gear. Vehicle rooled out of the parking lot into the street. Then rolled back to the same street and then ran into a 12foot drainage ditch. No injuries reported.

Rear differential locked up at 50mph, causing vehicle to skid and throw it off road down into an embankment. One occupant was injured. Vehicle was totalled. Dealer cannot duplicate the problem.

Problem 1: transmission clunks when starting out from stop, or when slowing down. While this is a problem that does not develop overnight,rather manifests itself over a peroid of time, when I reported it to the dealer, the mileage was past warranty but the time( 3 years ) was not. My complaint is that this involved a part that Ford knows to be defective in design. Ford has since redesigned the part, but will not replace the original because it was out of warranty. However, the poorly designed parts, known to be problem plagued, was installed as original equipment, well under the warranty-I.e. 0 miles, 0 months.problem 2&3 involve the electrical system-lane changer had bad contacts ( I could hear noise when engaging ) from almost day one, but finally failed completly after warranty. In addition the door ajar indicator has come on in wet conditions since less than 6 months old. …

I was driving my 98 Ford Ranger at hiway speed when the transmission case and transfer case exploded. It appeared as though the transmission had locked up for no reason at all. When it locked up it sounded just like a tire had blown out. I called the local dealer and explained the problem. I told them that I was out of time on my warranty but, I wasn't over on the allowed milage. They told me that they were quite sure if my truck didn't have obvious abuse that Ford would still cover it under warranty. After they disassembled my transmission they told me that it looked like I had put it in park while going down the hiway, which is totally ridiculous. The truck has been well taken care of. Ford decided not to help with the repair bill because of what the dealer had told them. …

Related recalls

Transmission complaints in other Ranger years