The other day I lost second gear for a few minutes... it's been working fine since.

I just dropped the pan to check things out and found this stuck to the magnet. It appears to have broken at one end... other end looks like factory shear. Can anyone identify this and suggest a likely source?

I changed the fluid and filter a few months ago. There is very little else on the magnet and no signs of any friction material in the pan.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

That would be a broken snap ring. Tear it down before serious damage occurs.

 

After looking at the drawings (and holding the fragment flat against a straight edge) I'm pretty sure that it's a piece of one of the clutch pack snap rings.

I have never had a truck with so many problems in my life! Every time I get one problem fixed another comes up!

It's back together now... it's going to have to last until I can afford to fix it. If it goes it will hit the dumpster and hopefully get replaced with a 5-spd!