Greetings all, had a disturbing experience on a long drive this week, I'm out of town and need to get this checked before the return trip (long desert drive).

Had been on the highway for nearly 3 hours, 5th gear and running strong, then the engine skipped a beat. It felt exactly as though I had let the clutch out a bit fast and shifted hard, except I was not shifting at the time. Temp was good. (I was watching closely since I had been climbing hills in desert heat.) It just did this a few random times with no other symptoms. Slowed down and drove it in 4th in case that had anything to do with it, no change (meaning, it happened once or twice more.)

I was close to my exit at that point and after stopping, it was a little cranky about shifting into first. I had to rev it a little to get the truck into gear and moving, then it shifted smoothly into 2nd, third, fourth. At that point I was driving a town road with a lot of stop lights and it did the same re: first gear maybe three times, and then that was it - problem gone. It never lagged in 4th/5th again after those few times on the highway.

With no guarantee it's going to misbehave for the mechanic, where do I even begin with this? I'll certainly tell him what happened but would like to walk in there informed if possible. Any ideas?

 

It's about what's "missing". It's probably not fuel. It's definitely not air. So...what's left?

Hint: There's a reason distributors have been phased out in the automotive industry. They never did work so well. And even the best designs have always been prone to malfunctioning to some degree(mostly due to normal mechanical wear and tear). Thankfully they've come up with far more reliable ways to consistently deliver a spark to the cylinders.

 

I would start with a fresh tune up if one has not been done in a while. Something like a cap does take a lot of wear. I have seen something that look like a major issue be just a consumable part.