New Member - Engine/Tranny Bucking Sensation

[johnnyex99]

Greetings all. New memeber with a frustrating explorer problem. While driving between 40-50mph, upon hard acceleration I intermittently experience a buck or jerk. I have had it to the dealer 3 times with no luck in correcting the problem. The dealer found no code problems, checked the fuel pump, I changed the fuel filter, air filter, plugs, trans fluid, the dealer performed some work on the valve assembly within the trans. Other than this intermittent problem, the truck runs perfectly. The problem almost always presents itself between the above stated speeds and has been occurring for nearly 2 years without getting any worse. Any help would be greatly appreciated?
Even though no code errors were found could it still be a sensor problem that I could check and if so what are the possible culprits. The car has 75K miles. Its a standard 4.0. I was speaking with my brother-in-law who experienced similar problems with his explorer who said after 1 1/2 years of repair attempts one dealer corrected the problem by reprogramming the PMC. Any thoughts. Of course my extended warranty expired last month. (I got my moneys worth out of that)

Great website. I have already received invaluable information for explorer specific maintenance from the site. Thanks in advance.

 

[Gimp]

Hey, johnny.

If you haven't done it already, try cleaning the Mass Air Flow sensor. If you do a search for it, there are a ton of threads on cleaning the MAF and Ford's recommendation for doing so.

Good luck.

 

[johnnyex99]

Thanks for the reply. I changed out the plugs and wires and so far no more bucking. I think the wires might have been the problem (original). I am still planning on cleaning the MAF because it appears to be a common problem. Any suggestions on getting those torx screws with the special heads out? Can I drill the center down to get a standard torx head in there? Thanks again

 

[Gimp]

It's called a Security Torx bit. (T-20, if I remember correctly.) Almost all auto parts stores have them for less than $5.