My wifer’s 1998 Jeep has developed a problem when first starting the car. When the car is first started it loses engine power (but doesn’t die) for the first 5 or 10 minutes of driving. During this time if she is at a stop the car seems to surge. After the car warms up the problem seems to go away althugh it does come back intermittently. The car has roughly 165,000 miles.
During the first few minuets the engine is running without fuel mixture control from oxygen sensor.Good clean thin engine oil and topped up coolant,should be top priority,These motors are sensitive to header exhaust leaks.Last ,check electrical system,all power and ground connections,plus battery and alternator.Remember the basics often cure mysterious problems.