Ford - Explorer :: 1991 - Jerking Intermittently And Sometimes Quite Severely
Nov 9, 2013
Anyway I have a friend with a Mazda Navaho. 1991, 5spd transmission
It jerks intermittently, and sometimes quite severely. Myself, and 4 other ASE mechanics, and 1 "old ford guru" are stumped. We know we have ruled out the clutch for sure....
We think It started when my friend put a clutch in it. He did not have the flywheel turned . When we looked at it, we were all convinced this was the issue....drive test and dumping the clutch in and out at cruising speeds could replicate the issue. However, he had just bought the truck, and it needed a clutch, however the jerking we think was happening before, but we didn't know as we couldn't drive it till we put the clutch in it.
So we re-did the clutch...had flywheel machined, and got a warranty replacement clutch just in case, and put it back together.
Same issues. so we checked, and tested.
1. Fuel pressure test- passed, no issues
2. Checked fuel regulator for leaks - none
3. Checked for and found no vacuum leaks-none
4. Swept, and actually replaced (3 times) the TPS -is working fine
5. Replaced the MAF - Thought we had it, as we disconnected the MAF and jerking seemed to go away instantly...however few days later jerking returned, and driving with MAF unplugged still jerking.
6. Replaced Ignition Module, checked coils, plugs etc...actually replaced plugs and wires as well
7. Disconnected Transfor case plug to make sure it wasn't the issue as well.
I really don't know what else to check. The motor runs fine, the trans shifts smoothly...the clutch is new and was done correctly. I run a small auto shop, and we have access to Mitchells, All-Data, and Identifix....all were no dice. It seems you try and research jerking and hesitation all the hits come up for Auto trans and Torque converter lockout issues. This truck is a 5 spd .....
I have owned many Aerostars back in the day (loved em, same 4.0) and I have never seen this
The jerking is random and intermittent...symptoms would be similar to a small child flicking a light switch on and off rapidly when it does it. power, no power, power, no power, and rapidly...it feels like someone herky jerking on the clutch but we have ruled that out....its definitely electrical.
Also, and naturally, even though it is Obd I we have checked and there are no pending nor stored codes....PCM thinks everything is hunky dory. No backfiring, no smoke, no misfires....runs like new except this perplexing issue.
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I have noticed a serious bump steer or a violent jerking action when hitting a bump in the road. Just over a year ago I replaced ball joints,tie rods, sway bar links (2nd set since cutting off original). I used MOOG components. I was shocked to see the sway bar links loose once again. Is there a certain way to tighten them or is there a better product available. Mostly stock 1999 'ploder with fire wires and scremin demon coil pack.
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1991 Ford Explorer XLT, 4X4, 4.0L push-rod motor, 315,000K
Problem Part 1: Excessive fuel consumption
Codes for O2 sensor, system lean, some black smoke, unburnt fuel smell, some slight hesitation when accelerating from a stop
I replaced the 02 sensor, replaced the IAC, cleaned the MAF, replaced the coil pack, replaced the plugs, replaced the plug wires, replaced fuel filter, replaced air cleaner, replaced the PVC valve changed brand of fuel, checked tires and "brake binding" - NOTHING. Truck ran "fine" other than excessive fuel consumption. I decided to replace the fuel pressure regulator and before I could get to the parts store we have...
Problem Part 2:
Truck begins to lope along like there is one bad cylinder. It sometimes "fixes" then comes back (all this over a period of 3 days).
Day 4 it's dead - no start.
The motor cranks, the fuel pump "pumps" 3-5 secs KOEO fuel line is clear, return line is clear, filter is clear. There is fuel at the Schrader valve (do not know pressures) and the electrical system seems OK (sparks to all 6cyl). I believe the crank position indicator is OK because the CEL is on KOEO but goes out when cranking. I have no codes because I needed to remove the battery to re-charge. Fuel pump fuse is OK.
Only other information that may (or may not) be relevant is that lately it is slow to heat up. It does not come off "cold" (for the last 4 days). Maybe it's the thermostat or temperature sending unit? Maybe it's because its -30C here. It heats up fine if I block the airflow across the radiator (the old carboard solution).
I have not checked the relay. Where this unit is on the 1991? Don't say fuel pump.
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I have a 2007 Chevy Impala with the 3.9L. It has just over 110,000 miles on it. I've owned the car for about 5.5 years. Back in 2012, I took the car to a local transmission shop. Here's the reason: Let's say the car has sat overnight. I start it up (regardless of the season) and go to the stop sign at the end of my street. When I go to accelerate, there will be a very short lapse and the car will seem to jerk into gear then go. This is a very intermittent problem and does not happen every day. The car will do this for a bit when accelerating from a dead stop and then the problem goes away.
The trans shop said the transmission needed to be rebuilt. Guy told me they've seen problems with the Impala transmissions and, if I remember correctly, that the parts used inside aren't the best. Looking for a second opinion, I took the car to a Chevy dealer. The dealer was not able to experience the jerking. I had the trans service done (80,000 miles at the time). The problem persists to this day and has not, noticeably gotten worse. I decided to take the car to another dealer last week. Same thing: the dealer could not create the jerking issue. Again, this issue is very intermittent.
I am not sure what to think or do at this point. I called a couple shops around town and have gotten the following advice/information:
1) Bring it in and we can see if we can recreate it, but can't guarantee it.
2) The transmission needs to be rebuilt (this without even looking at the car).
3) Wait for the problem to get worse so that it CAN be diagnosed properly.
One guy said he didn't trust the dealer mechanics, that they "just drive around the block once." I am not sure what to do?
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Have a 91 Exp 4.0 v6, has a no start problem only in the cold weather. Last year, replaced coil pack, fuel pump, crank censor, this winter...same problem. Just will not start when it is cold. No codes, no ck engine. Checked it today...it has no spark. What could cause this? Fuel filter has also been changed. told him to ck crank position censor connector.
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My 1991 Explorer 4.0 4x4 overdrive not working, so far have checked ohms on sensor at trans and it appears to be ok. Also looking for the pinout of PCM under passenger kick panel to see if voltage is being output to the sensor at trans.
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My 06 2.0t has 73k on it. but i noticed at around 60k that when I brake, almost to the point where I'm stopping (like at a light) the car jerks or grabs...kinda like the tranny is catching or the brakes are grabbing. Twice I've asked vw to check and twice they've said they can't find anything wrong.
Warranty runs out at 75k, so I think I'm going to take it to AAMCO to have them check the tranny and see what they say.
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I just got a '91 Explorer. It has no brake lights at all. I've checked all the fuses and everything's fine there.
What's the next thing to look at? I can't say I've seen this problem before.
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I just bought it off my friend yesterday and I noticed the back door doesn't lock, the glass part doesn't either. How I could fix it?
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My voltmeter (91 Explorer) bounces with loads, i.e. when sitting at a stop light with the brake lights and turn signal on.
Revving the engine up doesn't seem to work. What does this indicate? Bad battery? Bad alternator or voltage regulator?
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2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac XLT v6 4.0 with 89k.
Lately my truck has been acting funny. About 1 out of 3 times I start my truck and put it n reverse it starts doing what I would describe as a hesitation. If I sit for about 10 seconds, it will stop. But if I move while it is happening it will move and jerk as if i was slightly hitting the brake constantly (no the parking break is not on). It will continue when I throw it in drive until I give it some gas. From then on as far as I can tell there are no problems. It doesn't do it every time. I went in for an oil change and they told me I will need to replace the belt soon, so could that be the culprit?
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I'm fixing up my 1991 Ford Explorer Sport. I've replaced door panels, handles, center console, seat upholstery etc... I'm now looking for a replacement headliner. I've already checked LMC without any luck. Also my windows will not roll up/down even though the electric window motors are working. I can push and pull the windows up and down by hand while pushing the corresponding direction on the door control so it seems the mechanism is just slipping against the window. What exactly is this mechanism? what do I need to fix this problem?
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At highway speeds above 60 mph on a smooth road, the vehicle runs fine. But if the road has any bumps at all, even small ones, it starts to vibrate very fast as long as there are bumps. The steering wheel almost becomes a blur. It's like it's going into oscillation.
The wheels have been balanced and rotated. The movement the steering wheel is not side to side, like I have experienced with imbalanced wheels.
The shocks look fine and I am told that they are OK by the tire dealer . I have never had this kind of a problem with bad shocks. The vibration is just too rapid.
Before I take the truck in for the mechanic to inspect it, I would like to know what the problem might be.
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The car is a 2002 VW Jetta, automatic 1.8t GLS. 146k miles on it. Has an external amp/sub wired up by my brother who is an MECP certified tech and has been doing car audio and overall Audi/VW for years.
I was driving, nothing out of the usual, this car is my daily. Stopped because of traffic and my car died in the middle of traffic, the gauges (tach, speedo, gas, etc) spiked immediately, which I assumed meant loss of electricity, but my radio, headlights and everything else stayed on. The oil and Battery lights came on as well. Tried to start it, it was trying to start, and was cranking quickly, but wouldn't turn over. I got it out of traffic. I pulled my amp power and the car turned over and started driving like normal, so i figured there had been a short in the wire and that was what caused my issue. Drove about a half mile down the road, car shut off again, car said it needed oil this time. checked the oil, there was plenty, but i put more in to be safe, and it turned right over and i managed to drive it about 30 minutes and got it back to my house.
So, my brother and i look the car over, couldn't find anything really wrong with it, so we took it out for a drive, no problem at all for the first few minutes of driving. Car shuts off again, doing the same thing, but just the battery light came on. My brother jumped my car, it turned over, but as i started to drive it, it was a lot more rough with shifting (possibly tied to electrical problems because i know there is a solenoid cluster for automatic transmissions), i mean you could actually hear the gears shifting and the car was kicking through each gear, as well as my driver side headlight not turning on (just installed brand new xantec 6k 55w HIDs, but i dont think those are the problem because the problem started before i installed the HIDs) and died 3 more times before i got it home, having to jump the car every single time with symptoms the same as the first time it died without the oil light. Another thing i noticed is that the car seemed to only die when i hit the brakes and the car went to low RPMs, which lead me to believe a major vacuum leak. At idle the car also seemed like it was misfiring even though the CEL was not flashing, it just had the jerking feeling and sound of misfiring.
My brother and i take a better look into the bay area, and noticed that the top of my engine was covered in oil, from the intake manifold back. I know my car has been leaking oil, but not spraying it. We pulled everything apart, totally cleaned the engine bay area out including MAF, spark plugs, coil packs etc. The engine bay area looked practically brand new. Now i do know that my car has had a vacuum leak (no boost gauge to tell how bad, but the brakes were a little bit less responsive and the car was acting as though it was misfiring despite the fact that the coil packs and spark plugs are brand new) and we couldn't find where it was, and we thought that maybe that was the problem. A lot of the vacuum line was dry rotted and falling apart and some parts weren't even connected anymore from that, which we replaced all of the line we could find to eliminate the idea of a vacuum leak causing the car to die when i hit the brakes. We also tested the battery with a multi-meter which read variably between 13.8-14 V, which if i understand correctly is within normal range, but oddly enough we put the battery through a stress test including turning on defrosted, turning sound system back on, headlights on etc, and the voltage didn't read much different, still bouncing between 13.8-14.
When tearing things apart, we also found that the starter solenoid was unbelievably loose due to a bad transmission mount, and one bolt was missing, so we were thinking that could be arcing causing the problems, but when the solenoid was tightened down, the problems still persisted.
Started the car, let it warm up, and it seemed perfectly fine. I drove it into town without problems, but forgot my wallet at home, so i had to turn around and go back. Almost made it home, the car died while stopping at a stop sign. Tried turning it back over, nothing the first 3 times, let it sit for about 5 minutes and the car turned right over as if nothing was wrong. Died again when i made it into my driveway about 0.5 miles away and the symptoms repeated until the car finally just turns on like normal now, but the idle is at 1100 RPMS (not sure if related or not) even though the car is at the optimal temperature. I tried driving it again after the car starts normally like it does now, but it just repeats the symptoms that it has been, cutting off but leaving the stereo, headlights etc on. I managed to get it back in my driveway.
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The other day, my father-in-law was driving my '91 Explorer and it just died on him. I assumed that the fuel pump quit becuase it wouldn't come on when the switch was turned on. I had a brand new lying around so I dropped the tank and put it in but it still won't work. I checked the inertia switch and it wasn't tripped. There is no power coming to the new pump at all. When the switch is turned on, there is a noticeable "click" inside the engine bay. Would that be the fuel pump relay making that "click"?
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After sitting on a steep driveway for three years, no starting done all that time,I filled all tanks, started it up, drove it on and off 8 times for 50 miles, air in top radiator tank along with rusty water, dare we flush the system being 280k miles old with 40k on new radiator/ also is there a socklike screen over the fuelpump in the tank that may need cleaning to start quicker than two to three starter attempts?
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Just trying to get a list of possible reasons my car is acting funny. I may have one problem or more than one problem.
-The dashboard lights started going on and off intermittently while driving. I could feel the power steering was off but the engine never shut off. This happened first while I was running the A/C, but eventually started happening when the A/C was off. When the A/C was on, the car made a funny squeal sound then more of a grinding. The A/C stopped blowing cold air.
-The same thing would happen when driving through water/rain (the dashboard lights would come on and it felt like the car died but it didnt).
-The other night, the SRS light came on, cars electrical started shutting off. Car died. Jump started it, it ran for a couple miles, then died again. This happened the whole 12 mile trip home.
-Mechanic came over, said it was my battery. Replaced battery. Car died again 3 days later. I noticed the lights on the dashboard came on more while making a turn, but they came on while driving too, so idk if that is a good assumption.
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In the Car Talk column on 1/3/2016, it sounds like Lynnette's 1991 Honda Civic wagon was experiencing very similar symptoms to my wife's 2001 Honda Odyssey (189,000 mi) a few months ago. Rough idle, engine almost dies sometimes at stops, groans during acceleration. Additionally, accelerating between 40-60 mph our Honda would feel like it was "loading up," running rich or in the wrong gear climbing hills. I replaced the idle air control valve, which fixed the rough idle but not the other symptoms. Turned out I needed to reset (power cycle) the ECM and go through a curb idle/rev warm-up procedure so it would relearn the throttle position sensor's operating range after replacing the IAC valve. I disconnected the battery, removed and reinserted the hazard fuse, then reconnected the battery. Then from a cold start held the throttle at 3000 rpm until the engine warmed up to normal or the electric fans kicked on. Since then it's back to smooth, strong acceleration we expect from the Honda we love.
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My 1991 Nissan 240SX (only 85K miles!) has an intermittent overheating problem that began last November. Needle usually right in middle, but occasionally would quickly rise to danger zone. In Nov., I got new radiator and pump, as well as all new spark plugs. Was OK for about 3 months, then started overheating occasionally. In shop a day and a half while they tried to find the cause. Gave me a new thermostat. Then test showed there was a leak in head gasket. Instead of expensive repairs, I put 8-oz bottle of K-Seal in cooling system. Reviews all over the web gave me confidence it would seal all leaks. But within 5 minutes, it overheated. Tried again later, same result.
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I have a 2005 Ford Fairmont that has only done 71000kms. When traveling on expressways it some times develops a severe shudder to the extent that I have to pull over. Generally when I pull over and wait for a minute or two (engine still idling) and then pull out it goes away. I also have noticed a loud thump from underneath the vehicle (usually whilst reversing) and am not sure if this has something to do with the shudder. My mechanic says he can't find any problems.
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My 99 Ranger pulls severely to the right under Normal braking, pulling the 30 amp ABS fuse stops the pulling but the ABS light is on on the dash.
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