1994 Ford Thunderbird Acceleration, Jurking and a few othe

Tiny
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  • 1994 FORD THUNDERBIRD
1994 Ford Thunderbird Automatic 132, 00 miles

I just recently was given a 94 thunderbird from my fiances uncle, the car had been sitting for 3 years so we knew it had to have some repairs, when you would start up the car the low coolant light would come on for a minute then shut off, so the next morning after driving it home, we went and got a tune up oil change and fuel and air filter changed it seem to run better except it jurked a little when driving even at low speeds, the next day we got the transmission flushed, and then took it on the highway it started to have trouble accelerating and if I would let off the gas a little it would jurk a bit. Now when we turn on the car after it has been sitting all night the low coolant light comes back on but turns off after like 30 seconds. While I sit there and let the car warm up it seems to rev a little then go back down then a minute later rev and go back down again.

Also the heater will go from hot to cold every so often. Please help! Thank you!
Thursday, February 11th, 2010 AT 11:37 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
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Have you checked to see if it is low on coolant? If the heater goes from hot to cold that is usually an indicator of air in the cooling system. If it is low, that can make it run odd as well due to inaccurate readings by thecoolant sensor, which is one of the main ways the computer knows how to control the mixture by engine temp. Also check for any vacuum leaks by carefully spraying around the top of the engine while idling with carb cleaner, if theidle changes, you have found a leak, this can cause the surging you described. Which engine is in this Bird?
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Friday, February 12th, 2010 AT 8:08 AM
Tiny
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Sorry for such a long delay in responce had family issues. In all honesty I have no idea what kind of engine it is. I dont know how to check. On the way home today after driving about 20 mins the car started to jerk really bad and it would deccelerate then wold stop and a couple mins later it would do it again.I turned off the car me and fiance looked under hood didnt see anything except a little hole thats near the transmission dipstick area but its on the actual fram of the car was dripping a clear liquid. I dont know if that has anything to do with it. So I coasted home and a sloq 50 to 55 and it didnt really do it untill I exited and drove about 30 miles an hour. Please help! The mechanics in this area like to rip people off so if I can have at least an idea I can take to someone and say this could be it.

Thank you so much for the information!

Amber
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Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 AT 3:21 AM
Tiny
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Was the a/c on? If not you may have a bad heater core that is leaking from under the dash. Check to see if there is any moisture on the pass side floor. Did he check to see if it is low on coolant? Check for any vacuum leaks under the hood, they will make a hissing sound when the engine is running.
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Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 AT 7:37 AM
Tiny
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The a/c wasnt on but the heater was but the heater has been going cold then a little bit it will go back to warm then cold again. We do think there is some kind of leak or something because the coolant resevore gets low a few days after of driving. Would that make it jurk though?
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Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 AT 10:03 AM
Tiny
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If it is overheating or has a blown head gasket it could.
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Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 AT 10:47 AM
Tiny
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Well its not over heating thats the thing, you think maybe putting a second thing of fuel injector cleaner might help the jerking?
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Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 AT 11:01 AM
Tiny
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Could be a sticky injector. Try cleaner to see if it helps, also use a high quality gas
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Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 AT 11:26 AM

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