Bucking '97 Wrangler

[LauraA]

Our '97, stock, 5 speed, Wrangler started bucking in third, fourth and fifth gear. It sorta acts like a vehicle acts when the clutch is popped. There's no backfiring, no smoking and the problem is extremely intermittent. It happened a few days ago, going up a hill after shifting into third gear, then it happened again today in fourth and fifth gears. When we slowed down and shifted into third, the problem stopped. Of course, this being a holiday weekend coming up, we don't stand a snowball's chance of taking it into our local dealership in Globe before next week sometime. It's our only transportation. Anyone got any ideas?
Hope it's not terminal :( :confused:

[twstdtj]

Check your tranny and motor mounts first. Next I would investigate the clutch. It could be low on fluid and when you go up hill it may exagerate
Just a couple of thoughts

[cptmax]

Had sort of the same thing on my 95 YJ. It started bucking as I was going up the street into Jerome (up hill ). It turned out to be the fuel injector closest to the firewall. A few weeks later, gas leaked onto my exhaust pipe and it burned down. It really sucked.

[LauraA]

OK, Hubby is going to check the tranny & motor mounts tomorrow, and then check out the clutch as best he can. Right now he's pouring over the shop manual and I'm going to pace the floor and worry about the Jeep catching fire......(I can't help it, I LOVE our Jeep and I'm worried about it.) :(

[cptmax]

If you can smell gas, you should check your injectors. If you can't, you should check 'em anyway. Always keep in mind the possibilty of fire....

[LauraA]

We're contemplating changing dealerships from Horne Motors in Globe, to Chapman in Payson for repairs regarding our bucking Wrangler, even though it's about twice the distance. Does anyone know anything good bad or indifferent about Chapman? Our experience with Horne Motors has been less than memorable to say the least. To give the devil his due, Horne has tried to make right our previous bad experiences, but that doesn't change the fact that their one experienced Jeep mechanic is overworked, frazzled and tends to overlook the really important stuff.
You can see from the time of this post, I'm awake and worrying about our sick Wrangler, it's a Jeep thing, and I KNOW you understand.

[cptmax]

Me again. I have a place in Payson and was just at Chapman checking on the new JK's. (too expensive right now). My mom bought her 06 Liberty there (a good Jeep IF you're a good driver!) and got excellent service. I talked with their mechanic about mods on current Jeeps. I don't remember his name, but he's a member of the Jeep club up there and really seems to know his s**t.
Nice guy, too. This is not an endorsement of the place, just giving you the story of my experience. Hope it helps and good luck to you.

[Antman]

Me again. I have a place in Payson and was just at Chapman checking on the new JK's. (too expensive right now). My mom bought her 06 Liberty there (a good Jeep IF you're a good driver!) and got excellent service. I talked with their mechanic about mods on current Jeeps. I don't remember his name, but he's a member of the Jeep club up there and really seems to know his s**t.
Nice guy, too. This is not an endorsement of the place, just giving you the story of my experience. Hope it helps and good luck to you.


You need to talk to TC. Thom Campbell lives in Payson and is a member of this group. Send him a PM with your concerns about Chapman. Also I think the SM there is named Pete and he belongs to the club up there.

Sounds like your jeep is balking, (when under a load it will miss or quit for a second). Does it do it a lugging rpm or high rpm?

Good Luck anyway. :)

[T.C.'S TOY]

His name is Pete Orlando he is the service writer for Chapman and goes jeepin with us on sundays so he is a fellow jeeper along with half the Chapman dealership.He will go out of his way to find your problem his cell # is 928-595-2869 tell him i sent you..........Thom (T.C.'S TOY):)

[LauraA]

Thanks so much to all of you who replied. The problem happened yesterday and one time before. It did act up while running it under high RPM. When it acted up, it had 1/4 tank of gas each time. We filled it up and ran it over 100 miles today, up hills and down, also at high RPM's (4000k) the problem didn't recur, so we'll try it again at low tank and see what happens. Hubby says he leaning toward it being a fuel supply problem. It would probably be hard to diagnose if it didn't act up at the dealership, cause otherwise, it runs beautifully.
Chapman sounds great, especially since they're Jeepers too and not just some poor mechanic plugging away feeling abused by his employer.
I think I'll sleep a bit better tonight, cause I don't think it's terminal anymore. ;)

[TomHatch]

a bad coil or coil pack (depending on the vehicle) can cause your problem.

[LauraA]

His name is Pete Orlando he is the service writer for Chapman and goes jeepin with us on sundays so he is a fellow jeeper along with half the Chapman dealership.He will go out of his way to find your problem his cell # is 928-595-2869 tell him i sent you..........Thom (T.C.'S TOY):)

Thom, we took your advice and stopped by to meet Pete this morning and mentioned your name. First thing he said to us was, "well, you're driving a Jeep, so that's a step in the right direction." :D They're an extremely busy dealership (I think that's probably a good thing, keeps everyone on their toes.) Anyhoo, we have an appointment set for Monday 8/7and we'll take it from there. Thanks again! In the meanwhile, our TJ is behaving like a pet that you're trying to get to do a trick and refuses to cooperate...not a single buck or jerk since the last bout a few weeks ago. :confused:

[elevate]

I had a similar problem and it turned out to be the fuel pump. When the tank was near empty there was less pressure to help out the pump making it work harder. I think they may be able to tell by putting a pressure gauge on the fuel line and see if its up to spec, rather than you having to duplicate the bucking. I drove it around on the bad pump for a couple of weeks, it held in untill I replaced it. Eventually even with the tank full I couldnt accelerate much past 2000 rpm. Good luck in payson.