Anybody here know cars? Specifically the drive train?

[cjsmith]

The car: 1989 Toyota Corolla, automatic, 119K miles on it.

The symptom: Momentary power loss, less than a second long, at intermittent and hard-to-predict intervals. For a while it seemed to happen mostly near speeds where the transmission should shift, but now it isn't doing that any more. Most recently it's happened in a fast cruise -- when driving on a highway for twenty minutes or so at 70MPH, the car started having these little power pauses, and they increased in frequency rapidly to the point where the ride felt almost like a rough road. I varied my speed in response to this, moving briskly between 65MPH and 75MPH, and it stopped. It seems to happen much more when the car is warmed up than when it is not. I don't know for sure whether it's the engine or the transmission. I am guessing that it isn't something obvious, though, because this symptom has persisted through one visit to a well-recommended shop.

The question: What are ALL the things this could be, including some off-the-wall ones if they're possible, and how can I narrow it down a bit with some tests and inspections?

I don't have good jacks, nor do I have an engine tachometer. I can think of a good use for an external engine tachometer right away, but I don't have one handy. :-(

Comments

Try Car Talk

[cwilson.livejournal.com]

You might want to try posting your problem to the Car Talk
discussion boards:

http://www.cartalk.org/board/

It's the web site for the Car Talk radio show, and they have very
active boards where people post problems they're having with their
cars. The replies seem to range from people who have no idea what
they're really talking about to people who really know a lot about
cars or who claim to have had the same thing happen to them. You
may not get useful information, but it's free and easy to do, so
it might be worth a shot.

You can also search the board archives for your make and model and
see if anyone else has posted a similar problem.

Good luck!

Re: Try Car Talk

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the idea! I admit I'm a little reluctant to display my complete and total ignorance in front of a bunch of people whose toolboxes are worth more than any car I'll ever own, but hrm, maybe it wouldn't be quite as humiliating as I imagine... and it just might help...