92 Ford Explorer Clutch Problem in Cold Weather

Clutch doesn't seem to work in cold weather only until car warms up or
sometimes I can add a little fluid to the resevoir and w/start working.
Problem doesn't occur at all in warm weather (say, above freezing). Slave
cyl. has been replaced within last 3 yrs., master was replaced last yr. to
try and fix the problem.
Anyone with any ideas, a similar problem, or can pinpoint the problem
before I spend big bucks?

sfstrickland wrote:
> Clutch doesn't seem to work in cold weather only until car warms up or
> sometimes I can add a little fluid to the resevoir and w/start working.
> Problem doesn't occur at all in warm weather (say, above freezing). Slave
> cyl. has been replaced within last 3 yrs., master was replaced last yr. to
> try and fix the problem.
> Anyone with any ideas, a similar problem, or can pinpoint the problem
> before I spend big bucks?

When you say "doesn't seem to work" do you mean the pedal goes to the
floor with little effort, or does the pedal feel normal but the
transmission grinds when you try to shift?
-Paul

My son, who drives it says that the pedal goes to floor easy and feels like
no pressure is on it and the transmission does grind when trying to put it
in gear.

"Clutch doesn't seem to work" is a pretty broad statement..... A brief
description of what is actually happening might go a long way to helping.

If adding fluid to the reservoir helps, I can only assume that there is a
leak somewhere.... we can only add fluid so many times before the system is
overfull - this IS brake fluid we are adding, right?

These systems are amazingly simple.... I cannot reconcile "trying" a part
during the repair process....


"sfstrickland" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
> Clutch doesn't seem to work in cold weather only until car warms up or
> sometimes I can add a little fluid to the resevoir and w/start working.
> Problem doesn't occur at all in warm weather (say, above freezing). Slave
> cyl. has been replaced within last 3 yrs., master was replaced last yr. to
> try and fix the problem.
> Anyone with any ideas, a similar problem, or can pinpoint the problem
> before I spend big bucks?
>

If we add a little fluid, it is only a very small amouont. There are no
visible signs of a leak and the only time the resevoir gets low at all is
in the winter when it is cold. No problem whatsoever when weather is
warm. If there was a small leak, seem like it would leak all year around.
The only answer poeple can give me is that there is moisture in the system
somewhere. However, system has been bled to try and solve the problem.

sfstrickland wrote:
> If we add a little fluid, it is only a very small amouont. There are no
> visible signs of a leak and the only time the resevoir gets low at all is
> in the winter when it is cold. No problem whatsoever when weather is
> warm. If there was a small leak, seem like it would leak all year around.
> The only answer poeple can give me is that there is moisture in the system
> somewhere. However, system has been bled to try and solve the problem.

The clutch is different from brakes, as the clutch disk wears and gets
thinner, the fingers on the clutch plate move the slave cylinder back.
So the master cylinder doesn't get lower as it wears, it actually gets
higher as fluid is gradually pushed back into it. This is mentioned in
the owner's manual.

So if you are adding brake fluid, you must have some sort of leak. All
there is is the master cylinder and slave, and the connecting hose.
That's it. It has to be one of those.
-Paul

Thanks for the help. I understand the system and the possible leak.
However, I would like to know why why it doesn't give problem when
temperature is above freezing nor do we ever need to add fluid. Thanks.