Can anyone tell me what the symptoms would be if i lost a cylinder? Would it seem like i am having a problem with my transmission? I find the truck having to rev higher to go the same speed. It seems more like i am slipping in first gear tho. The problem isnt happening on the highway. At higher speeds you generally cant notice it. I went camping the other weekend and had to go up a very steep hill after driving 200 miles in very hot weather. I could barely make it up the hill, it was at 4000 rpm's at the top. I just about overheated, i had to pull over and wait an hour before i could drive again. I noticed some kind of watered down oil leaking too. Looked like it was smokey black. The problem also seems to get worse the hotter it gets. Can anyone tell me whats wrong with my truck? Its the 6 cylinder OHV engine in my 92 Explorer.
Thanks.

 

Pull the transmission dipstick & see if the fluid is black. Sounds like the trans is slipping.

 

Yea, the fluid is black and its also very low. The reason i'm asking about if it could be a cylinder problem is because i brought it into a very good mechanic and he says my problem is a cylinder is out. I'm like wtf? It seems obvious to me that the problem is my tranny..... yea, a cylinder could be out, but my symptoms wouldnt be hitting the gas and the truck doesnt go anywhere....

 

When I lost two cylinders in my '92 (low compression due to bad rings), I almost couldn't tell they were bad, except for a slight miss at idle. Give him the benefit of the doubt and run a cylinder balance test to verify that all cylinders are contributing, but it really does sound like a transmission problem. Might just try bringing the fluid up to the right level. Low fluid level can cause slipping.

 

Another thing you can do is hook up a vacuum gauge, if a cylinder is dead you will know it in a couple of seconds from the bouncing needle & need to investigate further as Mr shorty sez.

 

I'm not doubting it is a bad cylinder, i was told that a while back when i got a tuneup and i saw the spark plug all full of cruddy oil. I pretty much know my #5 cylinder is not working. But it just seems to me that when i shift into Drive from a stop and hit the gas and the truck doesnt move till about 3000 rpms, its a tranny problem, not a cylinder problem. Although a cylinder out would cause less power, but not going from a standstill until about 3000 rpms sounds like a tranny problem to me.

 

Try tightening the intake manifold bolts, this engine is known for having problems with the intake manifold gasket leaking especially at the number 5 cylinder.

 

Yea i know, i already had the same guy fix a leak. The intake gasket was all broken up. He replaced it and tightened it down about a month ago.