i baught a 97 taurus with 44,000milesand sometimes it drives fine, but other times whenever im under 30 mph the whole car starts jerking back and forth very violentlylike its trying to lunge forward, almost as ifi have my foot on the break and gas at the same time.I have also noticed that whenever this happens the o/d offlight starts flashing. it also has trouble idoling sometimes. After driving my uncles 97 taurus with the same engine i did notice that my car has about half the power campared to his, so the hp has decreased considerably. Does anyone know what the problem could be?

 

Sounds like the Torque Converter Clutch isn't releasing.. The TCC application/pressure is solenoid controlled within the solenoid pack/trans.. Does the car 'hard stall' when slowing to a stop at times? Being that the OD light is flashing is an indicator that there's a problem.. If you can take it to a parts vendor like Autozone ect., many have DTC code readers and will read the trouble code for free..

 

My 2000 just did that. If I stayed at a high speed it was fine, lower speeds, especiall under 30 the steering wheel shook violently. I'm lucky, I took it in and all 4 tires had broken cords. Once I replaced them the shaking stopped. The tires looked fine if you looked at them but my mechanic said they were all ruined (I trust these guys, been going there for years).