3.4l brief loss of power while diriving/and a jolt feeling/ possible causes?
 

I've got a 2000 4Runner with the 3.4l in it.. 147k miles on it right now. I bought it with 146k, and I've had it I dunno.. 2..3 months now. Now on to the good part.

Sometimes when I'm driving down the highway the 4Runner seems to, for a split second, stop accelerating and then start again. There's more to it than that.. it's not like it just loses power and starts again..and you don't notice it unless you're the one with the foot on the gas.

I want to say I feel a knock or jolt when that happens, but it's kind of like one of those dreams where when you want to explain it to someone you can remember exactly how it happened all the time.

My question is.. what should I do? Should I take it to the dealer or some where else? They can't exactly throw it on a computer and see whats wrong since I'm not getting a CEL right?

I want to get to the bottom of it before I end up stranded, and without a way back and forth to work.

I posted this on another forum, and one of the members said maybe it was my tranny starting to give me problems.. or maybe that my rear diff wanting to shred itself

~
Now that I'm thinking about it.. maybe it is the tranny? The guy I bought it from did bring up two or three times during our conversing back and forth before I bought it that he had it checked out and the mechanic said that the transmission fluid looked new etc..so that it 'must' be fine. However there was a service done on it @ 127k miles according to what I've dug up..so it should still look pretty new at this point right?

Looking back, it does seem kind of strange that the previous owner would make it a point to talk about the tranny so much. Does the problem only happen when driving down the highway? Have you noticed the tranny shifting gears when it happens? Has it ever happened around town, going less than highway speeds?

The transmission could be suspect, but there are lots of other things it could be too.

Is this happeneing by chance when going up hills, or inclines?

I mostly notice it at highway speeds, but it happens other times too. Not on hills or inclines. The tranny isn't shifting when this happens either.

why dont you try changing your fuel filter? it cost about 15$ and takes about 20 minutes to do, perhaps yours is just clogged after 150k of potentially cheap gas.

well if youve only had it for a few months have you done a tuneup at all? air filter? spk plugs?, all the easy stuff that makes the vehicle run good

also to answer your question, what should i do?...make your thread title more descriptive

try putting it in 3rd (im assuming this is an auto) and driving it around the same rpm that this happens at highway speeds. My guess is that the torque converter lock might be doing something funny.
If you give us a more descriptive explanation (what rpm's, speeds, conditions, symptoms) we can help you get to the bottom of this sooner.
You have checked the fluid level right?

I wanted to but I didn't think my non-mechanical like descriptiion would fit in the title.. "it's going vroooom but then it goes baaaaaaaaaaa.. and dies.. but then.." lol ..

Yeah, I realize my title is more than vague, but attention to detail is not always something I'm good at in the AM's. I tried to edit it somewhat...without making it a paragraph long.

~

I'll probably go today and get a fuel filter. It'll be Wednesday before I can change it though. Someone else recommended that I check the plugs and wires... drain and refill the diff's and tranny. Along with the fuel filter..

Also said it might be dirty injectors?

I am guessing spark plugs or wires... It sounds like the engine is misfiring which happened to me once during a trip from New Orleans to Atlanta. I didn't get any CEL either. A dealership did new plugs and wires and she ran like a champ afterwards.

in the 4runners we only have L 2 and D, no 3... kinda funny because it is a 4speed tranny

3rd gen 4Runners have 4 speeds. L, 2, D = 3, OD = 4
Try turning OD (overdrive) off (the button on the side of the gear selector) to see if that makes a difference. It will force the transmission to stay out of overdrive. That might help narrow down the problem.

My girlfreinds 99 Runner is doing something very similar. Only occasionaly though, I dont know when the last time the fuel filter has been replaced so thats a possibility. If its the same problem I dont think its the trans, a guy I work with has a Tacoma with the 3.4 and hes having the same problem and his is a 5-speed. Im interested to see what it ends up being.

The plug / wires is making more sense now.

I'll go ahead and change out the fuel filter though.. just for kicks. I run mine on empty a lot..and who knows what kind of gas it's got on its 146k miles under someone elses ownership.. and who knows maybe they were like me and ran it on empty a lot.

It'll be a few weeks before I have the cash to do plugs and wires.