1st gen standard transmission problem

hey guys new to the forum but need to figure out whats wrong with my truck. i just noticed driving through some back roads that when i was going up a hill my truck was bucking a little bit. it is a 4cyl. 5-speed and my rpms were right around 2000 in 4th gear. not sure if the little engine was just struggling a bit or this could be clutch or - hopefully not - a transmission issue. please let me know if anyone knows what is wrong here.

 

So for clarification you hit the hill in a high gear and it caused shuttering? Did you try to downshift, and if so did it still shutter? If you tried to reproduce the effect and it did not shutter in a lower gear then you were out of the power band. If when you downshifted and the engine shuttered in the lower gear as well, then yes it could be possible that clutch is slipping.

 

At 2000rpm there would be no need to downshift.

Likely not a tranny issue.

I had the same problem back when my exhaust was leaking.. you ever throw a code?

 

The point of downshifting was to see if the problem persisted in lower gears only.

 

problem still occurred but not as much. check engine light isn't on and i haven't been home to check for a code but thanks for the help guys.

 

When I go up a pretty good hill at 2000 rpm in 4th gear with my old 4 cylinder, I have to downshift to 3rd or the truck will just wind down. So you might be out of the power band. Mine doesn't buck, though - it just slows to a crawl and RPMs fall off even with the pedal on the floor.