Today while driving, I tried to pass someone and my truck started to sputter. By sputter I mean it seemed like it was hesitating or bucking for a few seconds then ran fine.I was doing about 50 mph. It happened when I accelerated quickly. It happened again on my way home as well. If i ride the truck nice and easy, it doesn't seem to happen. What would cause this?

Thanks

 

If your truck is in good tune on the ignition side, and has good, clean filters, there is a possibility that you could have a problem with a faulty fuel injector..... also could be a bad sensor (MAP or throttle position sensor, anyone......?) It would seem that whatever is happening is affecting your engine when it is being placed under load, and vacuum is dropping...... Have you gotten any sort of check engine light feedback?

 

The check engine light has benn flashing on and off for a couple of months now. I haven't brought it in yet since Ineed an inspection next month so I figured I'd get it checked then. This problem has just started. Can they be related? Is the only way to check vacums by using a code reader?

 

Like the other poster said, check the simple stuff first. I would go for the fuel filter first. When under a heavy load, you are using more fuel, so a partially clogged filter would give this symptom.

 

If your check engine light is coming on, don't do anything until you pull the codes from the PCM. The codes can usually pinpoint you to the cause of the problem, thereby eliminating component swapping. Cound be one of many things.

If you need to know how to pull the codes, e-mail me and I can send you the details on how to do this for free.

Aaron D.

 

I had another thought..... how many miles have you got on the engine? While it could be a lot of things, still, there are some basic tune-up items that would be in order, regardless. These include plugs, filters, cap, rotor, wires, and........ your O2 sensor. This is considered to be a "tune-up" type part for replacement purposes after so many miles, so it may be worth considering it for a changeout if you think a basic tune-up is in order. Again, check your codes. If you're truck has picked up a rotten egg smell at idle, you've been getting intermittent check engine lights, and you're now getting increased hesitation, etc., you could have a simple matter of the O2 sensor going bad. Just something to keep in mind. A code scan should tell the story.

 

I did get the rotten egg smell once while I was driving but I haven't had it since. I thought it might have been the car in front of me. The truck has 107K and had it tuned up in nov of 2000. Even had the the feul filter changed but not the O2 sensor. I guess I need to buy a code rerader to find the problem.

 

You can purchase a code reader, or just use a piece of wire and the check engine light.

Aaron D.

 

How would you do that? Also, how do you interpert the number of flashes into what type of problem you have?

 

Here is a website that explains the detailed process of retrieving the trouble codes. It has picutres that make it easier to explain than I can here in text. It also has links to determine what the codes mean.

http://ratnin.home.mindspring.com/eec_test.htm

Aaron D.:-staun