hello wonderful people and alloro too,

I have a 96 318 v8 5.2 . I got the code 31 which have like 5 different / same things but basically it is
the evap/purge system. I have read everything on this and 1 other forum about this. I plan on spending the better part of tomarrow chasing down the problem. I know I have some slight dry rot on some of the rubber hose connections from my basic inspection earlier of the canister and one of the other valves.

So this is what it is happening. No problems starting or staying running. It sounds fine when running or idling. The van is slow but will get up to disired speed and doesn't seem to have any shifting problems on flat or downhill roads. It bogs down on inclines ( like from 75 to 45 on a steep hill)and if you are at one of the shift speeds while on an incline it like tries to shift into overdrive until you let off the pedal alittle.
At first I thought it was the transmission but the fluid level is fine and red with no bubbles.It is not making noises or grinding gears even when it acts up on inclines.

So what do you think am I going in the right direction or am I barking up the wrong tree again???

 

So, I'm outside of the "wonderful people" group?

Check and see if your fuel pressure is dropping offwhile climbingthe inclines or otherwise under a load. If your EVAP system is plugged you might not be getting air into the tank to take the place of the fuel coming out, in turn creating a mild vacuum in the tank along with reduced fuel flow. A simple test would be to take a short test drive with the gas cap loose so that you knowair can get in there.

 

ok so all I did was start the van this morning with the gas cap loosened, I goofed around alittle with the fill tank pipe, wiped some dirt from the transmission pan,unplugged and replugged the rear transaxel electrical conection , touched the o2 sensor wire for loose connections,added about 32 oz of water to the radiator and filled the reserve/ overflow tank.

now it is driving back to normal again....
go figure that one out?

 

and the problems returns after a week of running basically fine...
what should I check into now ?
Any suggestions welcomed.