I am not sure exactly how to explain the problems but I will try my best. I really hope somebody can help me. I would hate to have to get rid of my Spirit. I love it. All these things all seemed to happen at once.

I have a 1992 Dodge Spirit 4cyl

1) My cars accelerator gets stuck if I push the pedal far enough. There is a point when I’m stepping on the gas where I can feel it gets harder to push. If I push it past that point 9 out of 10 times the accelerator gets stuck. When I put the car in neutral it stops accelerating and goes back to normal. I tried spraying the throttle body ( I think that is what it’s called - found it under the air filter) and also sprayed the linkage on the gas pedal with a wd40 type spray from the auto store but that hasn’t helped. The pedal itself doesn’t get stuck down. I was fairly sure that it wasn’t pedal related but one day while the car was off I stepped fairly hard on the gas pedal and when I started my car the accelerator went real high and then went back to normal. Any ideas what it could be or how to find out?

2) My car has almost no pickup. When I am first starting out it is sometimes hard to get to 25mph. After I get it at about 25mph it runs sluggish but at least it’s moving. I also have problems getting it to highway speeds. Once I get it to about 65mph it seems to stay without problems.

I hit a pothole not too long ago and my muffler is now hanging and there are some holes in it. Could that be at least part of my problems?


Bonus
3) Lately I have been noticing a gasoline type smell when driving. I don’t think that I am leaking gas though.

4) I’ve also noticed my car smoking from under the hood when I stop after driving for about 15 minutes.

5) Sometimes when I am accelerating I hear a loud screeching noise but it usually stops when I let off the gas. The noise happened on and off before even when I wasn’t stepping on the pedal but now it only seems to happen when I am stepping on the gas pedal.

6) When I apply the brake at a stop the oil light flickers on and off.

7) My temperature gauge sometimes goes to real high...sits there for a second or 2 and then goes right back to low again. I know I am not low on coolant.

8) When I start my car it gives a quick rev of the engine and then lowers down to an idle. It does seem to idle sort of high at times. Sometime I can get to about 15mph without stepping on the gas.


I hope that somebody can help me out. I am not very car savvy and Id hate to have to get rid of my Spirit. Thanks for reading.

 

Your need to take it in to a shop for checkout. Given your various issues I would suspect several oil leaks, bad belts, maybe a a/c issue.
So what can we do here on the forums to help? Pretty sure there won't be any "mechanic in a can" to solve your various issues

Will repairs likely exceed $500.

 

that needs to be fixed! replace the accelerator cable, it could be kinked inside.
have someone step on the gas pedal while you watch the throttle body linkage, look close to see where the problem is. the problem could also be the throttle blade return spring.
about it having no power/sluggish - That sounds like a restricted exhaust, or timing is off, those rubber timing belts can jump a tooth when they wear.
I used to have an old dodge shadow 4cyl, I like them. easy to work on, good on gas, just keep a spare pick-up coil in your glovebox.