Fix It

Disconnect the cable from the negative battery terminal with a socket wrench to prevent you from starting the engine inadvertently. Remove the timing belt from its pulley and detach the electrical connector for the camshaft position sensor on the camshaft.

Insert a pry bar through the hole in the oil pump sprocket to prevent it from turning. Remove the mounting bolt for the oil pump sprocket with a socket wrench and disconnect the sprocket.

Remove the mounting bolt for the camshaft position sensor with the socket wrench and disconnect the sensor. Remove the four mounting bolts for the oil pump and detach the oil pump from the front of the engine. Discard the gasket for the oil pump.

Clean the mating surfaces on the oil pump gasket with a shop rag and lubricate the new gasket with clean engine oil. Install the new oil pump and gasket and torque the mounting bolts for the oil pump to between 90 and 123 inch-pounds with a torque wrench.

Attach the camshaft position sensor and torque its mounting bolts to between 45 and 61 inch-pounds with the torque wrench. Install the oil pump sprocket and tighten its mounting bolts to between 30 and 40 foot-pounds.

Connect the electrical connector for the camshaft position sensor and install the timing belt. Reattach the cable to the negative battery terminal with the socket wrench. Add 8 ounces of engine oil to prime the oil pump.

Raise the rear of your Ranger off the ground with a jack. Position a set of jack stands under the rear axle tube to support the truck. Lower and remove the jack.

Position a large oil drain pan under the rear differential. Locate the bolts around the outer edge of the cover. Loosen all the bolts with a socket and ratchet. Remove them one at a time, starting at the bottom.

Leave the top bolt in place and use a wide putty knife to pry the bottom of the cover away from the differential housing. Oil will begin to drain from the differential, so make sure the pan is under it and catching the oil as it comes out.

Remove the last bolt at the top of the cover and lift the cover off the differential. You can now perform whatever work is necessary before reinstalling the cover with a new gasket.

Disconnect the battery ground cable and lay it aside, making sure that it does not touch metal. Use the clutch coupling removal tool to disconnect the coupling at the transmission. Slide the white, plastic sleeve towards the slave cylinder with one hand and tug on the tube with the other.

Remove the lever, shim and bushing from the transmission with the appropriate sockets. Stuff a rag into the opening to keep dirt and debris from falling into the transmission. Disconnect the clutch master cylinder push rod from the clutch pedal with the appropriate socket.

Jack up the Ranger with a floor jack and support it on jack stands. Make a mark on the drive shaft and at the same place on the rear axle flange so you know how to line up the drive shaft when you put it back in. Remove the drive shaft at the axle with the appropriate socket then pull it out of the rear of the transmission. Plug the housing to prevent fluid from leaking out.

Unbolt and remove the dust shield from the clutch housing with the appropriate socket. Remove the wires from the starter and lay them aside. Remove the harness for the back-up light (near the starter). Unbolt and remove the starter with the appropriate socket. Unscrew the speedometer cable from the transmission and set it out of the way.

Place a block of wood on one of the floor jacks. Slide it under the engine oil pan and jack it up so that the wood just touches the bottom of the oil pan to support the engine. Place a second jack under the transmission. If you are using a lift, use a transmission jack instead.

Remove the bell housing bolts and washers with the appropriate socket. Remove the transmission mounting bolts and the damper retaining bolts and nuts with the appropriate socket. Unbolt and remove the cross-member.

Lower the transmission jack and, at the same time, work the transmission off its dowel pins. Pull the transmission towards the back of the Ranger then place it on the ground. If you are using a floor jack, you can leave it on the floor jack if it is stable on the jack.

Remove the clutch housing-to-transmission nuts then pull the housing assembly off the transmission. Remove the slave cylinder from the input shaft. Slide the new slave cylinder over the input shaft, making sure the tower part of the slave cylinder faces the transmission.

Reinstall the clutch housing. The clutch housing has notches that line up with the slave cylinder. Make sure the slave cylinder is located properly in the clutch housing notches. Clean the mating surface of the clutch housing and the rear of the engine, especially around the dowel holes, with rags and carburetor cleaner. If there are burrs that will not wipe off easily, gently go over them with fine-grit sandpaper. Clean the area with carburetor cleaner and rags after sanding.

Raise the transmission with the jack. Line up the input shaft splines with the clutch disc splines. Move the transmission in towards the dowels, adjusting the jack as needed. Push the transmission onto the dowels.

Install the bell housing bolts and washers. Put the washers in place so that the bolts do not damage the aluminum bell housing. Tighten the bolts to 33 foot-pounds of torque. Move the transmission jack out of the way.

Reinstall the starter and tighten the bolts to 17 foot-pounds of torque. Jack the engine up with the floor jack. Reinstall the cross-member, transmission mount and damper. Tighten the bolts firmly. Remove the floor jack from under the engine. Reinstall the drive shaft by pushing it into the transmission extension housing then connecting it to the rear axle flange. Make sure the marks you made earlier line up. Reattach the washer, lock washer and the nuts. Tighten the drive shaft-to-flange nuts to 70 foot-pounds of torque.

Reinstall the dust shield. Tighten the dust shield bolts to 8 foot-pounds of torque. Reinstall the starter, the starter wires, the back-up lamp wiring harness and the speedometer cable. Check the transmission fluid level. Add Ford manual transmission lube as needed.

Remove the rags from the shifter hole. Reinstall the gearshift lever, shim and bushing with the appropriate sockets. Reinstall the lever-to-cover bolts and the boot retaining screws. Reconnect the master cylinder push rod to the clutch pedal with the appropriate socket. Attach the battery ground cable to the battery ground terminal. Bleed the clutch.

Park the Ranger on a level surface. Place chocks in front of the front tires and behind the rear tires. Engage the emergency brake and shift the Ranger into neutral.

Peel back the carpet around the rubber shifter boot. This will reveal the shifter boots retaining bolts. Remove those with a socket wrench. Since you are removing the whole shifter, you do not need to remove the shift boot or the knob atop the lever.

Lift up the shift boot. Locate and remove the bolt holding the shifter to the Rangers transmission.

Pull the whole shifter assembly up and off the transmission.

Locate the negative cable on the battery of your Ford Ranger. Remove the retaining bolt from the cable end with a wrench. Lift the cable off the negative battery terminal and isolate it away from the battery.

Locate the serpentine belt tensioner on the front of the engine. The serpentine belt tensioner looks like a metal arm with a plastic pulley mounted on the end of it. Place a socket and breaker bar on the nut in the center of the idler pulley on the end of the tensioner arm. Rotate it counterclockwise to release the tension from the belt.

Remove the belt from the tensioner. Rotate the tensioner back to the home position. Remove the belt from the remaining pulleys and discard it.

Install the new serpentine belt over all the pulleys on the front of the engine but leave it off the idler pulley. Route the belt over the pulleys according to the diagram on the radiator support.

Rotate the tensioner counterclockwise. Slide the belt onto the idler pulley. Rotate the tensioner back to the home position.

Install the negative cable on the negative battery terminal. Install the retaining bolt and tighten with a wrench.