# 2001 Ford Ranger - I changed the filter now it won't work **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** transmissions, ford\ **Created:** [May 26, 2021, 8:36am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086 "2021-05-26T08:36:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![UhOhOreo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/eb9ed0/32.png) [@UhOhOreo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/UhOhOreo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 8:36am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086/1 "2021-05-26T08:36:45Z")
Truck is not wanting to shift out of neutral. This started happening after I changed my transmission filter. ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 8:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086/2 "2021-05-26T08:54:47Z")
Just a WAG, but the shift linkage got knock out of alignment or disconnected. ---
**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086/3 "2021-05-26T15:42:57Z")
Whatever you did, you did it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086/4 "2021-05-26T15:51:04Z")
It does not roll in park? Does it roll in any other gear? ---
**Author:** ![eddo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/eddo/32/2594_2.png) [@eddo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/eddo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086/5 "2021-05-26T15:51:33Z")
> [@UhOhOreo](#): > > Truck is not wanting to shift out of neutral. please explain a little bit further: The shifter won’t move from neutral? Or the shifter moves, but the truck doesn’t? Did you add the proper amount of trans fluid back into the transmission? Why was it in Neutral and not park? Were there issues going on that made you decide to change your filter? Does this ranger have overdrive? If so, is the OD light flashing on the gear selector handle? ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 5:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086/6 "2021-05-26T17:27:12Z")
You may have misaligned one of the O-rings. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/4/0/407a8825ab87fe6f2e10bc1844c2e939aa64ac21.png) ---
**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 5:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086/7 "2021-05-26T17:34:08Z")
How soon after you finished the work did the problem occur? ---
**Author:** ![pleasedodgevan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@pleasedodgevan2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pleasedodgevan2)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 7:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086/8 "2021-05-26T19:50:53Z")
This happens a lot in many different ways. Sometimes you have to shift into all gears a few times. Other times there is a shortage of transmission fluid and you have to recheck it after going through the gears fails to make it work. I had a 69 Satellite that I drove for five minutes and then needed four more quarts. Other times you’re out of luck. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s-Me](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/it_s-me/32/12660_2.png) [@It\_s-Me](https://community.cartalk.com/u/It_s-Me)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086/9 "2021-05-26T20:45:49Z")
Is your Ranger a 4x4 ? Possibly used a RWD filter in a 4x4 The pan is deeper in the 4x4 so it has a different filter. ---
**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 5:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086/10 "2021-05-27T05:19:32Z")
Is an ‘UhOhOreo’ what you have for dessert after _Spagetti-os_? ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086/11 "2021-05-27T15:22:48Z")
I suspect that you did not seat the filter fully or dislodged it during the installation of the pan. Just curious, but was this fluid/filter change normal maintenance or an effort to fix a known problem with the transmission? ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 8:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086/12 "2021-05-27T20:54:09Z")
> [@ok4450](#): > > was this fluid/filter change normal maintenance or **an effort to fix a known problem with the transmission?** +1 AKA… a _Hail Mary Pass_. Unfortunately, many folks won’t do a fluid & filter change until the trans is on its last legs, and then, when it fails right after maintenance, they blame the fluid and filter change. 🥴 ---
**Author:** ![TomTaylor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce7236/32.png) [@TomTaylor](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TomTaylor)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-ford-ranger-i-changed-the-filter-now-it-wont-work/177086/13 "2021-05-31T00:52:57Z")
Even if the filter is not on correctly if you put enough fluid in it it should move that’ll give you a good idea as to what is wrong you can’t leave it that way but we will know the transmissions not broken. I had a 400 trans in one of my cars and I put the wrong tube in and put one in for the Short pan not the deep pan. Some old guy told me put a couple extra quarts in it and see what happens and it started to move so I didn’t I knew what I did wrong the filter fell off the tube