I have an 86' Cutlass Supreme with a V8. Since we bought the car it has had a problem jerking and seems to have little or no power on take off (getting on the interstate not racing). It acts like it is in the wrong gear sometimes. It's like drivingwith a manual transmission and being in fourth instead of third. On the interstate, at 55 to 65, it will shift from overdrive back to third and then to overdrive several times, like it is confused. I was told several things: It could be carbon buildup, needs a tune-up, need to adjust the linkage.


I'm guessing thr linkage needs to be adjusted. We have tried giving her a tune-up, with no results. I've tried several cans of carb cleaner to get the carbopn, no luck there. We had a mechanic adjust the linkage and it seemed to fix the jerking for a week or so, but it is back. I do not know how to adjust it myself. Can the adjuster go bad? Maybe it will not stay adjusted and I'll need a new one. Thoughts??? Edited by: 14u2nv

Hiya.


"Tune up" means different things to different people. Did you change the plugs? Wires? Distributor cap? Rotor? Fuel filter? All of these things could cause what you describe.


C.J.

Wires, plugs, Air filter, fuel filter, gas treatment (twice), carb cleaner (3 times), so how do I adjust the linkage or could that be part of my problem?Edited by: 14u2nv

Does it seem slow to take off from a stop or only when at speed?


C.J.

It is more noticeable while at a speed of 30 to 60. A good example is going up a steep hill. It should down shift and continue on but it slows way down trying to remain in the same gear then reluctantly down shifts, almost too late.


Another problem is while on the freeway, it shifts gears back and forth often. It doen't need to though. It is flat surface and a constant speed and accelerator pedal. No need to shift back and forth between gears. I tried to not use the overdrive gear to see if that would fix it. It helps but I can still feel some shifting or slipping...