I have a Ranger with 149,000 miles. It runs great but I have noticed that when shifting from reverse to drive on a cold engine my truck seems not to immediately engage. It seems to be in neutral for a second. I am planning to flush and change my transmission fluid. What would be my best choice for a replacement fluid? Is there something more I should do? Thanks for any help!
I would forget about FLUSH. Take the truck to a reputable independent transmission shop (not a chain!)and have the fluid DRAINED and the filter replaced, and the inside examined. That means taking off the pan at the bottom of the transmission. This MAY cure the problem, but if you have not done any of this (fluid and filter cange) before, your transmission is likely on its last legs.
We say this because countless times we get this same story, and the subsequent failure is blamed on the fluid change. A flush will almost guarantee the transmission to fail, since all the debris will be stirred up and plug the filter!
Unless you are a qualified mechanic, don’t do this yourself, since you won’t recognize what the problem is.
In any case, budget for a possible rebuild, if the rest of the truck is good.