van stalls and dies at random

NCDOC0623414 · #1 10-24-2009, 04:53 AM

i have an older carberated 318 dodge van with a 4 speed some days it runs great starts fine. and on others iot starts i drive and after 20 min (usually) it will start stalling i can work the pedal and keep it going kinda enough to limp to a pull off point. i turn it off and wait for a bit and it starts and runs fine again. its done it goin up hill down hill on flat ground. more so uphill though once it starts it seems to happen again sooner. ive changed the battery the coil voltage reg fuel filters ignition module rebuilt the top half of carb (on the side of the road) and nothing has changed also new clutch but that didnt seem relevent to mention im at a loss anyone please help me this sucks

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alloro · #2 10-24-2009, 02:04 PM

How is the fuel flow from the fuel pump? You mentioned this problem happens uphill, downhill, and on flat ground, but more so uphill. The fact that it's worse going uphill leads me to think it's a weak fuel pump because of the greater demand for fuel at that time.

landyacht318 · #3 10-24-2009, 02:05 PM

Sorta sounds like the choke is stuck on. Does the exhaust smell like unburnt fuel?

I don't know enough about carbs. The only time my fuel injected '89 was stalling was when the EGR valve was malfunctioning. I don't know if you even have one as you don't mention the year.

NCDOC0623414 · #4 10-25-2009, 10:42 AM

im gonna try replacing the hall effect in the distributor today.sorry the van is an 83 also going to check the placement of fuel lines in relation to exhaust because the exhaust is modified to side pipes
also about the fuel pump ive not got a way to check pressure but would it be the pump because when im starting the van and driving the van i can abuse the peadle any which way with no stall untill ive driven over the time limit thats what i dont get its like my carriage turning into a darn pumpkin at midnight or something

Kabear49 · #5 10-25-2009, 11:06 AM

Sounds like water or trash in the fuel tank. Try some additive first and see if that makes a difference.

On the carbs pressure it is pretty much if it is pumping then it is enough, I believe it is in the 4psi range.

NCDOC0623414 · #6 10-25-2009, 08:46 PM

the only time it stalled and i had the windows down i did smell fuel pretty strong. the tank is currently full and did it again today couldnt change the hall effect without access to a gear puller so since i have distributor out im just going to replace it since its only 20 more than the hall effect was. oh the gas gage dont work hasnt since i got it so i never know how much fuel is in there untill it either runs out or runs over

landyacht318 · #7 10-25-2009, 09:03 PM

Hope you don't run the tank dry often, as the pickup can then pick up 26 years of accumulated concentrated gunk swishing around on the bottom. Maybe plug up fuel filter, or carb jets.

Does an '83 have an in tank fuel pump?

NCDOC0623414 · #8 10-26-2009, 08:10 PM

decided to change whole distributor today it took all of 5 min i think im in love with the van now after my last dist swap was a 86 blazer and it was an absolute nightmare both in install and tuning the dog house is greaton the van. ok didnt have time to leave yard with van after work was done but started cleaner and quicker throttle more responsive so even if not fixed much inproved now if the battery would quit goin dead every 3 days if unused almost forgot manual fuel pump and not ran dry all that often bout 20 a week keeps it goin cause i only live 5 miles from work and when it gets full i just skip a week