92 dodge spirit - a couple questions

I have a 1992 Dodge Spirit 4 cyl

1) Sometimes when I step on the gas too hard the accelerator gets stuck. The pedal itself does not get stuck but it is very hard to stop the car because it is accelerating while I am trying to brake. The only way to stop the acceleration is to get the car as slow as I can by "standing" on the brake and putting the car in park. I took it out to the open country road and tried getting it to stick on purpose. It only will stick sometimes and when it does it seems to cruise at about 40mph before it levels out.


2) The car is sometimes slow to get going. I can hear the car trying to get speed but it sometimes takes a minute and then jumps and goes fine.


3) My temperature gage sometimes goes all the way to hot, stays there for a minute and then goes right back to cold. Sometimes it only does it once but other times it does it over and over again. The car is full with coolant. I did have a radiator leak at one point but the guy at the auto store recommend this powder stuff. I put that in and the leak stopped.

Thanks to anybody that can help me.

tlc dude, it's all about how you love your car. clean it up. trans needs a filter change. the throttle body needs a good cleaning and make sure the twister isn't hangin' up on anything like the massive airbox.:2cents:

If it is a 2.5 litre the cooling system must be bled.You do this by removing the allen nut on top of the thermostat housing and running the engine then top off the coolant into the thermostat housing hole then replace the nut.The cooling system in these cars gets airbound very easily,hence the bleeder nut is for this purpose

Here is my two cents worth:

1. - This sounds like a problem with your throttle position sensor. I suggest you replace it.

2. - It is time to change the transmission filter. Drop the pan, replace the filter, and refill with ATF+4.

3. - The previous post about bleeding the cooling system applies only when you have drained and refilled the system. The quick heat up and cool down you describe, which happens repeatedly, even though the system is full and you have not drained it, is caused by a combustion gas leak into the cooling system, from either a bad head gasket or cracked exhaust valve seats. Here is a quick test to confirm this. When the car is fully warmed up and idling in your driveway, look inside your coolant overflow tank. If you see a steady stream of bubbles coming up from the bottom, you have a combustion gas leak. Read my thread called "1991 Dodge Shadow Cooling System Issues" for more detailed information on this condition.

Please let us know what you find and what you do.