Intermittent (but predictable) hesitation

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Jul 5, 2025 | 10:56 AM

OffGridiot

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2nd Gear

Joined: Feb 2015

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Intermittent (but predictable) hesitation

Hey y’all. My ’96 F150 with the inline 4.9L and manual transmission has been doing this weird hesitation thing from time to time over the last few months. There are two places in the (rural) neighborhoods that I regularly drive that it almost always happens, and then there’s been a few more random occurrences. In the two regular places it usually happens, the scenario is pretty similar. I’m driving along using low to moderate amount of throttle, come to a sharp corner (to the right) where I let off the throttle completely, then go to accelerate up a not-very-steep hill. That’s where I get this hesitation for a number of seconds (sometimes 5 seconds, sometimes maybe over 10 seconds) where power is reduced down by 25% or so. And when full power comes back, it really hits instantaneously, which initially led me to suspect that one of the cylinders wasn’t getting spark for that time but after going through the electrical system, I’m now trying to figure what in the fuel system could cause this. I’ve recently changed the fuel filter but could use some guidance on where to look next. Thanks in advance!