# My truck is bucking like crazy

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-truck-is-bucking-like-crazy/45176>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** ford, f150\
**Created:** [February 27, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-truck-is-bucking-like-crazy/45176 "2010-02-27T02:16:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![morgansky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@morgansky](https://community.cartalk.com/u/morgansky)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-truck-is-bucking-like-crazy/45176/1 "2010-02-27T02:16:55Z")

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It started doing it awhile back a little a time, especially when excelerated, now my whole 15 mile ride to and from work is non-stop, and I’m sure pretty funny to anyone watch my body jerk back and forth. Did a fuel filter change, new plugs. One machanic thinks its electrical, also did fuel injector cleaners. Plug wires are under a year old, changed cap and rotor. Changed the control module. the weird thing is in neutral it’s smooth even if you rev it. Just when in drive or “underload” it’s like whiplash central.  
  
 1993 Ford F-159, 4x4. duel fuel tanks.  
  
 Thanks

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**Author:** ![johnnykral](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e56c9b/32.png) [@johnnykral](https://community.cartalk.com/u/johnnykral)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-truck-is-bucking-like-crazy/45176/2 "2010-02-27T14:56:22Z")

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if its bucking back to front (like your being hit in the rear), and only while in gear i think you have a drive line isasue (trans, shaft or dif). Does it buck in gear at stops, what speed range, during up/downshifts?

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**Author:** ![morgansky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@morgansky](https://community.cartalk.com/u/morgansky)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-truck-is-bucking-like-crazy/45176/3 "2010-02-27T21:02:54Z")

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It started out like that, felt like being hit from behind, then it just started feeling more and more like the whole thing jerks non-stop. Today we changed all the plug wires and It seemed to stop. My question is we changed the plugs under a year ago. One guy said that in a ford the coil can lay intermitten, can act up and then be fine…not sure I’m buying that. Oterwise I had the tranny built about a 1 1/2 years ago.  
Thanks for your help, I hope it’s solved…

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**Author:** ![jayc1206](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@jayc1206](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jayc1206)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-truck-is-bucking-like-crazy/45176/4 "2010-03-02T19:00:32Z")

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my 2002 is doing the same- did the plug wire change fix yours?? please advise-

I had plugs and wires done about 30,000 miles ago!!!

Thanks

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**Author:** ![tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@tardis](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tardis)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-truck-is-bucking-like-crazy/45176/5 "2010-03-02T19:09:02Z")

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Yes, ignition coils can be intermittent.

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**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-truck-is-bucking-like-crazy/45176/6 "2010-03-02T19:25:13Z")

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Possibilities could be ignition timing retarded too much (very easy to do on a TFI system like this if the distributor has been rotated or removed), weak fuel pump, clogged catalytic converter, etc.

If the timing is correct (which requires that the SPOUT connector be unplugged) then I would lean towards a weak fuel pump or even a clogged pump strainer. In the case of the latter, this should mean a pump replacement anyway.

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**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/my-truck-is-bucking-like-crazy/45176/7 "2010-03-03T00:00:03Z")

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I would also mention that not all wires are created equal. I steer away from the cheaper ones b/c - well - they tend to be “cheap” rather than just “inexpensive.” The other thing is that other ignition problems can damage wires and plugs. So maybe you problem originally lay elsewhere (like in the cap/rotor/cm), but by the time you changed whatever it was the wires were smoked.
