Disputing gas saving tips

[bjoehandley]

Re: Back to gas saving tips

Nobody's mentioned attempting to change, even slightly, the aerodynamic shape of the XJ. The front "skid" is supposed to help by acting like a front air deflector around the steering and track bar linkage.

Another option would be to put in a set of wind deflectors around at least front doors.

The relatively square shape of the back of the XJ must have some negative effect. Wonder what a line of these things: http://www.airtab.com/ across the back of the roof would do? Some of you guys are OTR truck drivers. ever see anyone using these?
.

You know, I've been wondering about doing something like pulling teh cross bars on the roof rack, leaving the rear lower seat cusion out, maybe either raising the rear and/or lowering the front even without downsizing the tire size. I've got airshocks on the back, and if I could find front Rubicon springs for free I'd be willing to try that next time the truck is appart for any work.

 

[FoMoCo]

torque multiplication doesn't have any impact at cruising speed (well as long as everything is working right) because the AW4 has a locking torque converter which essentially makes the fluid coupling into a mechanical coupling when it engages. at constant throttle cruising you should feel a "soft shift" in 3rd and 4th and rpm will drop 100-200 rpm, thats the TC locking, and if you tap the brakes it should unlock. so its almost like having 6 gears because it has 1-2-3-3L-4-4L

 

[Ecomike]

torque multiplication doesn't have any impact at cruising speed (well as long as everything is working right) because the AW4 has a locking torque converter which essentially makes the fluid coupling into a mechanical coupling when it engages. at constant throttle cruising you should feel a "soft shift" in 3rd and 4th and rpm will drop 100-200 rpm, thats the TC locking, and if you tap the brakes it should unlock. so its almost like having 6 gears because it has 1-2-3-3L-4-4L

The key phrase there is:

"well as long as everything is working right".

My TC quite locking up sometime in the last year, possibly before I started doing the latest rpm-gear-MPG tests, so my latest results were with a non locking torque converter.

I suspect I am not the only one with a non-locking torque converter. I am looking into the electrical end, brake switch specifically and wires to the TCU right now.

By the way, from what I read recently the locking torque converter is not a 100% lock up, as it has springs involved in the TC lock up to cushion the cylinder to cylinder firing and resultant impulse, but then again the mechanical manual tranny clutches have the springs too.

You make a good point for those whose TC locks up, but what about the unlocking, unlocked operation during mild to heavy acceleration and deceleration????

 

[Ecomike]

The C10 wire is the wire that the brake switch trips to unlock the torque converter. I tested mine today and found a 1.2 to 2 volt standing volatge (leak) on the wire when it should be reading 0 volts. Looking for the source of the stray voltage next. Could be bad ground, bad TC Lock/unlock brake switch or a shorted wire.