Problem with clutch?

[JaviM-BCN]

Hey there!


Since I have my Explorer, is having a really bad fuel economy performance, with a crazy consumption around 22.5 l/100 km (9.5 gal@100 mi). So I have here a question for professionals: is my Explorer 92 having a problem with the clutch?

I have been assuming that it is due to the stuck front calipers and bad condition of the spark plug wires. Unfortunately, I have not been able yet to get the spare parts to fix it and discard that causes.

Nevertheless, remembering the fault history of my truck, I'm beginning to suspect that the fuel consumption may be related to a fault on the clutch. Here is the history:

• It has a replaced automatic gearbox and clutch. The seller said it's an original one, from another Explorer.

• When I bought my Explorer, I brought it to my mechanic in order to perform a general check-up. He committed the big mistake of driving it in 4x4 mode on road. Having no central differential, you can imagine how did it ended up... Smoke, overheated gearbox and/or transfer case oil dropping from the overflows, and the truck tolled back to the garage. After that, the only thing that the mechanic did was replacing the oils, saying it was likely to be the cause of the fault. Of course he is not my mechanic anymore...

• Time later, climbing up a hill on a hot day in 4x4 mode, I had exactly the same problem, boiling oil dropping from the clutch. That time the fault was much less serious, and I could drive back home.

• In general, after on road 2x4 driving, I feel hot oil smell... But the engine oil temp. indicador never rises.

• Now I'm having a new problem: when driving the car in first gear and giving gas, for some seconds the engine rpm rises, but the car moves slowly, not proportionally to the rpm. It's the same feeling that when partially pulling the clutch pedal on a manual car, and the clutch slips. That made me remember past problems described above and begin to suspect about the clutch.

So guys, do you think is my Explorer 92 having a problem with the clutch?




Thank you!
Javi

 

[MakinJeepsWeep!]

What are you calling the clutch as you say you replaced the automatic gear box? Are you saying the torque convertor is at fault? To be honest if it has been drove all the time with the front brakes locked up that puts a lot more strain on the trans and engine in the first place. However none of that really matters if it is getting so hot the trans is spewing fluid it needs to be rebuilt any way and i cant believe it moves at all. What color is the fluid when you check it?

 

[JaviM-BCN]

Yes, I'm talking about the torque converter, the hydraulic clutch.

Of course the stuck calipers puts more strain to the transmission. But they are not really locked, just making some friction. So I'm not sure if that could be the cause of a consumption raised over 22 l/100 km.

The gearbox has spewed oil just a couple times, both times under heavy duty conditions. Nevertheless, I feel hot oil smell every time I drive.

After the first failure caused by my mechanic misuse of the 4x4, we checked the oil and it was coffee with milk brown color. We consider the possibility that the previous owner added some additive to the oil. But as the truck had been unused for a long when I bought it, we found more likely to be caused by moisture inside the box. So he replaced the oil.

May the problems be due to a incorrect oil type, or improper oil level?

Of course the first thing I have to do is to fix the calipers and the spark plug wires, and then see what happens. But as I still couldn't get the parts, I was just wondering if may be another additional cause failure that matches that "symptoms".