clutch or belt slipping?

[hercules25]

I have had this ranger for just over a month and it is the best truck I have ever owned. I have noticed over this month that the power has been slowly decreasing. I did a tune up when I bought the truck did all the usually spark plugs, oil, airfilter and water pump wich went in the first week. So getting to the problem, when the truck is cold it has lots of power and torque. I can romp and the gas it just goes np. As the truck gets warmer and I romp on it there is a hesitation from dead stop. feel like a pause before power is transfered to the wheels. Also at highway speeds (80-100km/h) it is prone to slipping and the revs will climb fast and the drop and I get some power back. I am not sure if it is the clutch or if the serpintine drive belt is slipping when the engine is warm or could it be the fan clutch????? Any input would be helpfull. This one has got me stumped and I can usually pin point a problem most of the time and I do not want to rip out the transfer case and tranny if I can avoid it. thnx

 

[MAKG]

Fan clutch? No FN way.

First thing, is the check engine light on?

Is the "low power" accompanied by smoke (you'll need someone else to look)?

Is the manifold vacuum in spec?

 

[hercules25]

engine light is not on or has ever come on since I have had the truck. Pretty sure it is not blowing smoke (just came back from a trip where a buddy was driving behind me and I even asked him if i was blowing smoke and he said all looked good from the tail pipe) What about the belt having a worn section or it just being old and streching?

 

[Donnie strickland]

Also at highway speeds (80-100km/h) it is prone to slipping and the revs will climb fast and the drop and I get some power back.

I want to make sure we're on the same page here -- so you step on the gas and your RPMs go up, but the truck doesn't speed up at first? And then the RPMs drop and the truck finally starts to speed up?

 

[hercules25]

yes that would be correct. but only under conditions of highway speed or heavy acceleration. when the truck is cold the clutch grabs with tire squealing force. but when warm it lags from a dead stop and on the highway if accelerate to change lanes it will slip and the rpms will go up to 3400 or so then drop and I have power back.

 

[Bird]

Sounds like clutch slippage - had a problem very similar once when towing in heavy traffic - accompanied by a horrible smell - stranded me in a horrendous downpour. Waited until everything cooled down and it was fine and made it back to the house. Tore it apart and the disk was FUBAR'd (11 year old clutch with approx 175k on it) - changed everything out and it was good to go for a long time after that.

Bird

 

[hercules25]

Ya I am leaning towards the direction of a wore out clutch. I probably am crossing topics in the same thread here but what clutch brand did you go with and how did you like it?

 

[Donnie strickland]

I had my clutch done when it started slipping like this a few months ago. Had 'em put in a Luk clutch (my transmission man says that's what he would've used anyway). He changed clutch disc, pressure plate, pilot bearing, release bearing, slave cylinder (which I knew was on its way out already) and master cylinder.

 

[skinner]

its the clutch. You must understand the basics before all else. A badly slipping belt will make accessories such as power steering or power output from the alt fail.
If RPMs jump and power from the wheels doesnt meet that, its the clutch.
Good luck...it aint too bad a job.

 

[MAKG]

yes that would be correct. but only under conditions of highway speed or heavy acceleration. when the truck is cold the clutch grabs with tire squealing force. but when warm it lags from a dead stop and on the highway if accelerate to change lanes it will slip and the rpms will go up to 3400 or so then drop and I have power back.

OK, you said "clutch," and then started talking about the FAN clutch.

If you have a stick and the RPMs EVER go up without a corresponding increase in speed and you can move the truck at all (even just sometimes), the clutch is DEFINITELY slipping. No two ways about it. If your foot is not on the pedal, the transmission MUST come out one way or another, and most likely it is going to require a new clutch and flywheel.

Any failure downstream from the clutch (such as the transmission or rear end) is just going to strand you permanently and probably quite suddenly and noisily.

You need a clutch, or I'll eat it.