 Very strange issue with my 1994 T-bird
Greetings folks...
My first post here but I have been lurking in the shadows for a while...
OK...my car is a 1994 T-bird LX. It has the original 3.8L V-6, a Ford remanufactured AOD tranny (I installed it about 2 years ago) and aside from several new bolt-on components like battery, alternator, plugs, wires, etc...the car is essentially stock and factory original. It just turned 173K miles and I have owned the car since new.
I cannot pinpoint the exact time this problem started, but these are the symptoms:
1) When the car starts it feels like a shutter or "thud"...kinda like if a motor mount is shot (I checked and they are fine).
2) When the car is in drive or reverse and I am not moving (i.e. in the driveway, at a stop sign, etc.) and the brake is depressed and I turn the steering wheel, the engine RPM drops about 200 rpm from idle (idle looks to be around 900 rpm plus or minus) and the steering wheel stutters. If I depress the gas pedal a bit (while remaining in gear but with the brake still applied) the stuttering goes away. Also...these indications go away if the car is in Neutral or Park...they only seem to appear when the transmission is engaged in forward or reverse.
3) There seems to be a slight delay (lag) in response from the time I press the throttle till the time the engine RPM increases (i.e throttle response isn't crisp).
4) When driving the overall response of the vehicle seems sluggish.
Some other points of interest:
a) I recently replaced the plugs (gaps verified correct), wires, rotor and cap and also the power steering pump.
b) All fluids are at proper levels.
c) No abnormal smells of exhaust, gas, coolant, etc.
d) Fuel economy is good based on historical for the car.
e) Good tires w/ proper balance and inflation
f) Last year I installed new shocks and struts.
g) No Check Engine Light.
h) my friend has a hand held diagnostic tool and he checked everything at the OBD port and eveything came up clean.
So...any ideas??? I am puzzled and don't want to spend tons of money at the dealer until I've exhausted all avenues. I am hoping that some folks here may be able to shed some light on the issue???
So...any help would be tremendously appreciated!!! | 
