96 Jeep "Surging" Could you please help?

[Jon]

I have a 96 Jeep Cherokee Country 4.0 L Auto. I live in NY where we just had a big storm. While I was driving to work my check engine light came on and my jeep started "surging" like it would be going fine and then it was like even though I had the same amount of pressure on the accelerator, it would kind of stall and then catch again and keep going so it was like you see in the movies when someone is learning to drive a stick shift and they surge forward because they're letting the clutch out to quick..

Anyway, had the mechanic look at it - said the O2 sensor was shorted...the one that they JUST put in. $300 to fix. Regardless I went to drive my jeep today and it drove fine and the check engine light was off.

Could something have tripped up the jeep underneath when I was driving through all of the slush from the storm? Both times that it started to "surge" was on my way to work when I was almost to work and on the way home when I was almost home. So it seems that after 20 miles it may have heated up too much? I don't know.

Anyone have experience with this? Your help would be soooo wonderful and I will send you super good vibes for your holiday!

 

[kelly_f_1999]

well kind of high price for replacing and id try a bottle or tow of fuel treatment could be just some bad gas happens alot in cold weather when people run tanks low and way the air temp is causes tank to sweat and make water is one reason you hear peole say keep tanks full when you can and never run under 1/4 tank most likey you need a fuel treatment

 

[Bubba]

when you had 02 sensor changed was it for the same problem if so repklace with factory part and go to differrent shop, if not there are a few things that can be wrong, the EGR valve can be sticking, throttle position sensor, mass airflow meter, bad crank sensor are cam sensor have also seen a bad fuel pump and fuel pump connection on the inside of the tank cause one to surge and buck after driving for a while