Like you I tried a number of aftermarket outlets here to try to find one, but couldn't, so I would suggest you could hit the Internet and get one out of America. You could try JC Whitney who had them listed in their catalogue when I checked.

The V6 Escape is renowned for its thirst, but a 35 per cent increase in consumption when you run the air con does seem excessive. Have the air-conditioning system checked to make sure it is charged, check the compressor to make sure it is not faulty, and have an air-con specialist check the whole system.

While I agree with you that the transmission should not need replacing or rebuilding at such low kays, your Explorer is 10 years old and without a Ford service history you would be battling in my view to get any assistance out of Ford. I would have the transmission serviced, the transmission fluid is 10 years old and I would guess well past its use-by date.