i have a 98 ranger 4.0 xlt 2 wheel drive 5speed<br>i raced a neon and lost because i couldnt find 3rd gear, i think i redlined in second, is there some safety feature or something that doesn't let you shift into the next gear if you are rev'ing to high? it's fine if say i shift at 4000rpm but i think i was a 4.5 or 5000rpm when i wanted to shift. i'v had the ranger for a while and i know how to drive a manual so thats not the problem.<br>has this happened to anyone else?

YES!! This did happen to me. I have a 93 with a 4.0 also and there is a fuel cutoff at 4850 RPM. The fuel system shuts down until you ge back under that.<br>Some advice......I raced my 4.0 extensively in NHRA competition and I found that it's best to shift around 4300 RPM. If you go higher the engine may shift good from 1st to 2nd, but the rpms fall out of the power band and the shift from 2-3 is not as good. Also, I had just the 3.08 gears and I found it was best to stay in 3rd gear throught the finish line.