car randomly "bucks or jerks" while cruising

[84sithlord]

i sprayed starter fluid... use carb cleaner instead? ok. will do.

 

[CGASTON]

i sprayed starter fluid... use carb cleaner instead? ok. will do.

Starter fluid will work. SPRAY lightly.....

 

[84sithlord]

roger that!

 

[84sithlord]

car didn't act up yesterday afternoon or this morning on the way to work...i was watching the rpms to see what they do when it happens so of course it didn't happen. lol

 

[84sithlord]

sprayed carb cleaner, starter fluid...could find no vacuum leakes. reset iac motor (3x). still getting 00 on scan master. so i will be purchasing a new iac motor soon. car did the buck, jerk surge while cruising along, couldn't see a change in rpms. will have to try looking at blms next.

 

[TurboBuRick]

You try and run it with the cam sensor unplugged?

 

[84sithlord]

no i didn't. should i?

 

[84sithlord]

sorry for my ignorance but is that a suggestion? unplug cam sensor to see if it clears up?

 

[standupjskiguy]

I believe he means for you to unplug the cam sensor after it is running to see if it helps. Our 85 had a bucking issue related to an improperly adjusted cam sensor but it only happened after reaching 55 mph not at lower speeds.
I believe you want be able to start the car without the cam sensor connected but it will run after starting without it connected.
If it runs good without it, maybe your cam sensor is out of adjustment or going bad?

 

[84sithlord]

ok. thank you for the clarification! i will give it a shot this evening.

 

[84sithlord]

so this morning, my starter failed catastrophically. didn't have time to inspect but i am suspicious that the "bucking, jerking" could have been from the starter trying to engage at the wrong time. i will know more this evening when i have time to get under the vehicle and do a thorough inspection.

 

[standupjskiguy]

The starter cannot randomly engage. It engages with the energizing of the solenoid which spins the bendix drive forward to engage the flywheel. The bendix also
contains a overrun clutch which would allow the engine to turn faster than the starter. So if your bendix was sticking, it wouldn't slow your engine and make the car buck.
If your starter was trying to randomly engage, you would hear the starter gear grinding against the spinning flywheel.
Ever hear someone engage the starter on a running engine? That's what you'd hear.
Now when you say the starter died, maybe you have an electrical problem that has finally shown itself in a big way.

 

[84sithlord]

yeah, it was scary. lol. not to mention the metal on metal sound about made me s#!t myself. lol. so i will still do the cam cap check once i get a new starter put on. the bendix must have taken a dump b/c i could smell the burnt starter. plus a piece of the starter broke off. i found it on the ground. i will post some pics tomorrow morning.

 

[84sithlord]

of course having slight issues installing new one. 27y/o wiring sucks. lol

 

[84sithlord]

yay, new starter in place and functioning. now i wait for the bucking/jerking thing to happen again.