Quirky car

[acer]

Hi. Let me first say that I do not have much mechanical knowledge. Sorry if the description of my problem is not that technical.
I have a 99 Mercury Sable with the 3.0 V6. It has 87,000 miles. I have had the car for about five months, and it has been good so far. However, about a week ago, it started doing something a little strange.
Sometimes when I come to a stop, there is a little hesitation (feels like the fuel is cutting out or something). Then, when I start off again, the car kind of shunts a little before going. It's not a violent thud and there is no sound accompanying it. It doesn't even do this all of the time. Other than that, it runs well at speed, and doesn't feel like it's getting stuck in gear or having trouble shifting. A friend said that it could be fuel related. ie.- dirty fuel injector or filter, or maybe a contaminent in the fuel. Someone else told me it could be an electrical problem. Not much help. As you can imagine, this is really puzzling me and I'd like to find out what exactly is causing this and what needs to be done to correct it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[drdisque]

could be a broken mount somewhere.

[dojo895]

I would tend to agree with your friend who suggested a fuel-related problem. Personally, I would start with the filter. New filters are cheap and very easy to replace. If that doesn't solve the problem, I would try some water-displacing fuel additive to your next tank of gas. Beyond that, I would take it to a professional for a diagnostic test on your injectors to rule out that possibility. The diagnostic shouldn't cost much, but if you're looking at new injectors be ready to open your wallet! Hope this helps.

[acer]

Thanks for the reply. It's interesting that you mentioned injector cleaning additives. I tried this when it first started and it did go away for a few days. So I will definitely try again. As far as the filter goes, that's a really good point. I bought the car used, so I have absolutely no idea when (if at all) the filter was last changed. At least now if I do end up having to take it to a professional, I have some kind of direction to point them in. Once again, Many Thanks. D.C.

Originally Posted by dojo895

I would tend to agree with your friend who suggested a fuel-related problem. Personally, I would start with the filter. New filters are cheap and very easy to replace. If that doesn't solve the problem, I would try some water-displacing fuel additive to your next tank of gas. Beyond that, I would take it to a professional for a diagnostic test on your injectors to rule out that possibility. The diagnostic shouldn't cost much, but if you're looking at new injectors be ready to open your wallet! Hope this helps.

[acer]

Thanks for the response. I hadn't even thought of mounts, but that is definitely something I'll look into. It's at least nice to have a few ideas as to what may be happening, especially since I have very little mechanical experience and all I could do was take wild (worst case scenario) guesses.
Once again, Thanks, D.C

Originally Posted by drdisque

could be a broken mount somewhere.

[l_rebel]

I had the same problem with my '88 Lincoln, turned out to be the sensor for the EGR system, my sensor was burnt to a crisp, after replacing it, it worked fine. If that doesn't work try cleaning the valve(or replacing) and check whatever else is in that system