Transmission jerk like sympton

Hello everyone,

Wishing this post finds everyone ok, I'm writing in hopes of getting some input on my issue. September of 2021 I helped my son get his first truck, (2003 Tacoma 3.4 2wd 250K miles) it's jerking/pulling usually at around 50 mph as you are entering the freeway, unexplicable it usually only happenes aroung this speed, not before nor after. Imagine the truck was not gasoline, but rather electric and the power was intermittent and you'd feel a sudden drop of power and all of a sudden it regains power, the jerking is not very strong but can obviously be felt. Transmission shifts ok, revs up imo just fine, goes through all the gears smoothly. Could it be a fuel filter clogged, an electrical issue? I can't provide what kind of maintenance the truck was given before we bought it, all we've done is change the oil twice since he has only put in 7K miles. Any comments, inputs or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

Without knowing what's been done to the truck in the past, it could be any number of things.

So you're really going to have to start with some basics and do some general maintenance first to rule out the simple things.

Change the air filter (or clean and lightly oil if it's reusable)
Change out the spark plugs and wires
Clean the MAF (with MAF safe cleaner)
Clean the TB and IAC (with EFI safe TB cleaner) (be careful with the IAC electronics)

I'd also check the TPS to ensure it's sending accurate information

Same for 02 sensors

@250k it's also time to consider addressing the fuel system- new Fuel Filter for sure. Probably new (or serviced injectors). Motorwest can either service the existing injectors, or you can just buy new Denso injectors from them at a very reasonable price.

Inspect and service the drive shaft- u joints, carrier bearing, and slip yoke.
Inspect the rear leaf springs.

If all that checks out, and the issue persists, then move on to the fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, and a few transmission fuild drain and fills.

 

That sounds kind of like what my TPS was doing. It would very sporadically (1 out of 50 times?) cut out just a little over 2000rpms, typically only in 2nd gear. Replaced it an Aisan W0133-2744128 TPS from Partsgeek and haven't had the issue since.

I would try to figure out if it's always happening at the same RPMs, my understanding is that the TPS can develop a "dead zone" where it doesn't return a reading due to the conductive material being worn down.

 

Get a scangauge, read for any codes