I have a 1999 Town and Country van, 3.8L engine. It has 220K miles on it. Lately, when I am accelerating, it seems to do fine until I get to 40-55 mph. In that range, it stutters a bit. After that it runs fine, even at higher speeds. I usually don’t get this stuttering at the lower speeds as I am, for example, accelerating to get on a highway. A mechanic friend of mine says that it may be a vac leak. Does this sound right, or are there other possibilities/
Is this shutter, a momentary thing that goes away? If so, it might have something to do with the lock up torque converter. What is the history of the car regarding transmission service?
It has not really had any transmission work at all that I know about. we bought it 3 years ago and have not really had many problems. The stuttering does go away. It only seems to happen when the car is under pressure, like accelerating and sometimes, going up a steep hill, but again, only at the 40 to 55 mph range.
If you have an “O/D Off” button, hit it to turn off the O/D (overdrive). Don’t go for any long drives that way, but take it out for a spin and report. I think that UnclTurbo is correct about the torque converter - in particular it sounds exactly like torque converter clutch (TCC) shudder. Transmissions do vary, but I’m pretty certain on that van’s transmission turning the OD off will take your torque converter clutch out of the picture. Then you’ll know.
But when you post back do report on the state of basic maintenance. Are you maybe due for spark plugs? Wires? Fuel/air filters?