car jerking while maintaining speed

Hello, my car is an 88 taurus with 156k. When I am driving around thirty mph and push on the gas to maintain speed, the car begins to jerk and loose a little speed. When I push the gas a little harder, it goes back to normal and accelerates smoothly. Does anyone have any ideas what this could be? I would appreciate any suggestions.

Could be a bunch of stuff. Are you at a top gear in trans, I mean are at speed that the trans would be in overdrive. And when you press more on the gas does the trans fell like it down shifts. :sunglasse

Thanks for your reply--I don't think that the car is in overdrive when it happens but I will check that. The car does not feel like it downshifts, but it feels like the throttle is not working and then it kicks in all of the sudden when I push on the gas harder. Thanks for your help.

I drove the car yesterday with the overdrive off and it still had the same symptoms (around 25 mph). Anyone have any ideas?

now the car jerks when it I drive it at the speed where it shifts between 1st and 2nd gear, and then again between 2nd and 3rd, especially if I hang out around those speeds. It is barely noticeable if I accelerate quickly through the shifting. The tranny fluid is topped off and was changed about 40k ago. Does anyone know what this could be?

Whens the last time you had a tune up? Check your motor mounts also!

Change your tranny fluid immediately! You should change it every 30-40 thousand miles. Your fluid is expired. Heat and dirt have rendered it useless against friction. This fluid is the life blood of your tranny.

I don't know much about cars, but my 01' was having the SAME problems right after I bought it. I took it back to the dealership and they had to replace some kind of a valve. It dind't take long, and it hasn't happened since.

Hey,
Thanks for your replies. I will try replacing the trans fluid. I'll keep you posted.