95 ford escort

[catzrus]

hi i have a 95 ford escort with 63k miles. last month it started doing something weird. when i went over railroad tracks potholes it would kinda of lag behind for a couple of seconds while stilling presing on the gas pedal. it felt like it was shifting. i took it in to a shop and they said transmission was fine. And they never heard of this problem. i took it in again and they replace DF sensor . it didnt last long a couple of days. i dont wont to spend my savings. any help would be grateful. i a lady who doesnt know too much a cars. thanks

[Davescort97]

Run a bottle of fuel injector cleaner in a full tank of gas. Change the PCV valve. Check for vacuum leaks by running the engine and listening for a whistling sound with the hood up. Just to back up for a second. I see your problem as a momentary starvation of fuel or as a vacuum leak.
Since you don't know much about cars, you could take it several places (stay away from the Ford dealer unless you've got money to burn) and go with what the majority says is wrong. Ask questions. Go to several automotive shops and see what they say. If any 3 or more say something is bad it most likely is. Get a written estimate before you leave the car with them.

Do you have an automatic transmission? If so, check the wiring on the top of the tranny and make sure it is clean and tight.

[Escorts4ever]

I don't know what the df sensor is but mass air flow sensors can give you grief when shocked. ie hitting potholes or r/r tracks. Try this also. At an idle take a screwdriver and tap on the mass air sensor with the handle imitating a road shock and see if the engine starts to slow down or skip. If it does not then try the same thing with the rpm's raised up a tad...1200 r's or so. This may be it? Just going on past experiences. If no problem found with the mass then try the same with the throttle position sensor. Just tap them hard enough so that if you hit yourself in the knuckles it would be uncomfortable.

[AzTumbleweed]

Have you checked the level of the fluid in your automatic transmission? Have you had the filter changed?

[catzrus]

Originally Posted by Davescort97

Run a bottle of fuel injector cleaner in a full tank of gas. Change the PCV valve. Check for vacuum leaks by running the engine and listening for a whistling sound with the hood up. Just to back up for a second. I see your problem as a momentary starvation of fuel or as a vacuum leak.
Since you don't know much about cars, you could take it several places (stay away from the Ford dealer unless you've got money to burn) and go with what the majority says is wrong. Ask questions. Go to several automotive shops and see what they say. If any 3 or more say something is bad it most likely is. Get a written estimate before you leave the car with them.

Do you have an automatic transmission? If so, check the wiring on the top of the tranny and make sure it is clean and tight.

it is an automatic.
Thank you very much for your help.