Ford Ranger drivin me nuts

[Stevie-D]

ive got a 91 ranger that i am replacing an oil pump on. in order for the screwed up oil pan to come down, the tranny (manual 5-speed) must be unbolted and moved back about 3 or 4 inches. i have all the bolts out of the bell housing except one up near the top. i can get a wrench on it, but it wont freakin budge. so im attempting to remove the crossmember under the tranny so i can lower the tranny some so i can get about 2 feet of extensions and a socket up in there to try and break it loose that way. but the bolt holding the crossmember onto the frame seems to be rusted stuck. and i cannot get it to move. any suggestions either to get the bolt out of the bell housing or the one in the crossmember?

[kicken250x]

"if you havent broken a socket yet, you dont have enough of a breaker bar. if you have, get an impact socket"
-me

[MOFO]

if your socket breaks, your using junk tools or using the wrong tool.

I dont have a solution for ya other than spray the crap out of it with some lube... if that doesnt work, try a torch to heat the bolt up a bit... might help break it free.

As for the bolt on your bell housing, I feel for ya... a few weekends ago I changed out a clutch in a 98 S-10.... ran into the same problems... 2 of the 8 bolts were completely hidden and caused some major headaches.

[kicken250x]

you know they make a special tool for that bolt right? its a long curved wrench.

i do have to agree with u mofo on the lube and torch. thats about all i can think of other than jump like hell on it with a breaker bar.

but that was just a smart *** comment i said to my bro one day when he couldnt get a bolt out then he broke a craftsman socket on the breaker bar, then got one of my impact sockets and jumped on the breaker bar...it came out tho.

[ghak99]

I have changed a few ranger trannys in my day. There is a special wrench for that top bolt, but it is still a pain. If you can't get your hands on one, lower the tail of the tranny. Then you will need a 3 foot extension. Them cross member bolts are a pain, I have had to cut them or break them off with the 3/4 inch impact a few times. Hate to keep bringing bad news but more than once I have removed the cross member and it not went back in, due to it being sprung.

To be honest, I normally leave that one bolt out, to save me and the next mechanic about a good hours work.

[quad_quazy]

One word for you...air tools. Woops that's two, sorry. A good six point impact socket won't break. Lube it up then put down your purse and git' er' dun', lol, just pickin on ya. I had the same problem with mine back in the day.

[Stevie-D]

i was trying to remove the crossmember so i can lower the tranny to get to the bolt with the mile long extension.

[MOFO]

Originally posted by Stevie-D
i was trying to remove the crossmember so i can lower the tranny to get to the bolt with the mile long extension.


your on the right track. Thats how we got the remaining two bell housing bolts out of the S10 I was talking about.

When you do get the bolts out of the cross member, I'd recommend getting new bolts to replace the old ones.

[UglyMotha™]

i pretty much know rangers inside and out now, best way to get the two upper bolts in the tranny is to drop the tail of the tranny and use a couple of extensions and a breaker bar and to get the tranny crossmember out your goin to have to cut those bolts and then replace them with new ones

[Stevie-D]

to get the tranny crossmember out your goin to have to cut those bolts and then replace them with new ones

i dont understand how that will help. ive got the nut off, but the bolt wont move, even when pounding on it with a huge hammer. it doesnt bolt flat to the frame. its bolted to a mount that looks very similar to a leef spring mount. :confused:

[UglyMotha™]

Originally posted by Stevie-D
i dont understand how that will help. ive got the nut off, but the bolt wont move, even when pounding on it with a huge hammer. it doesnt bolt flat to the frame. its bolted to a mount that looks very similar to a leef spring mount. :confused:


yuuuuup, and it's not goin to come out because it is siezed in the steel sleeve that runs thru the bushing you'll have to cut the head off and so you can drop the crossmember out then you can press the remainder of the bolt out