My car runs fine. But if I'm going up a long continuous slope with either the cruise control on, or just my foot on the accelerator pedal running a nice smooth pace, my engine does this kind of (very mild) "surge-coast-surge-coast-surge-coast" type of running, rather than just "smooth running" like it used to.

I want to stress that it isn't a massive surge, it'* very weak, like if you were just gently tapping the accellerator a bit extra, on and off and on and off.

I am suspecting either:
(1) Time to clean the throttle body
or
(2) Plug wires
or both.

Opinions welcome!
-Mark

The surge thing, imo, is plugs. Wires too if they're old but definitely hit the plugs.

TB cleaning isn't hard , you could do it the same day as the plugs but if you've done it recently theres no need to hit it again. again just my opinion.

TB cleaning should be done every 50k miles or so from my experience.

IMO, do BOTH. Plugs and TB cleaning. Cheap, nearly free, and not much time invested. If you still have a problem, check your coils and plug wires.

Honestly the hardest part of cleaning the TB on the '97 is getting that stupid little brace by the exhaust crossover out of your way. At least the "holes" in the brace are just slots. 8mm nuts if I remember. Be sure to pull your MAF before you start cleaning it. You might need a t-15 torx security bit to get it off. Pull the IAC valve and get the gunk out of there too.

Thanks for the replies, looks like I have my weekend project planned then!

Is removing the throttle body required for proper cleaning? If so, I need a new gasket, and I'll lose a tiny amount of coolant, is that correct?

-Mark

To honestly get it spotlessly clean, yes... remove it. You might be able to reuse the gasket since it'* rubber. I would replace it though.