Newbie Van Owner here!

We bought this van on Friday after test driving it, having the engine idle for about 15 min, checking the carb, etc. It has a Carter BBD carb. All works great. A little rough, but not unexpected for a 30 year old engine thats sat for 2 years in a yard.

We pay the man the money and drive down the road five minutes at cruising speed (40-50) for 10 minutes or so, and the engine beings cutting out.

We turned it off, let it sit for about 5 minutes, and it starts right back up and goes without a hitch. And then after a few minutes at cruising speed, sputters and dies again. It did this about 10 times until we got it home. Pumping gas it dies. Shifting into neutral, its dies. The tank has always been at below 1/2 a tank, but we've never had a chance to fill it up, so I dont know whether to take that into effect or not.

Yesterday I replaced the fuel filter, the air filter, the crankcase air filter, did an oil change (it was 2-3 quarts low and came out like black tar), and new plugs and wires.

It ran a lot smoother and drove for a lot longer before sputtering out again. The temperature stays good, the oil pressure is perfect, no problems with the tranny. This is really the only problem with the vehicle.

Could this be the fuel pump going bad and causing a vaccum issue? Or something else much more expensive....

Thanks!

 

Those mechanical pumps either work or they don't, so I'm sure it's good. It's more likely that the problem is with the ignition module.

Here's what it looks like...
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/rafr...&parttype=7172

 

You know, that's what the guy at O-Reilly's said it probably was, but when I went to the chilton's guide to remove, I couldn't find anything anywhere in the book. Should I just go ahead and buy a new one and take off the old, or be patient and take the old one in to be tested?

 

Your money, your time, your call.

 

Replace the ignition module and the ballest resistor. These were a common problem with the vans and trucks.This was also a problem with and i know its not a dodge,Ford cars and trucks too.

 

Jeez, you didn't check the oil level and at least top it off before driving it home? I would have dropped that 2 (probably 3) year old oil and refilled the crankcase with fresh before running it on the highway.

IMHO it sounds like you're in for trouble with this van. Any owner (the previous owner, in this case) who lets oil get down three entire quarts is showing his lack of care for a vehicle, not just where oil changes are concerned.

Hey, just my two cents - good luck.

 

We checked the ignition module last night. It looks brand new, like a shining beacon within years of grime. We still took it off and I'm taking it in today to O'reilly's, but I will check the ballast resistor last night.

And I checked with my husband who did the oil change part of the tune up (I couldn't get the plug to unscrew) and he said it was only about a quart low. Sorry, my bad on that.

Its fired up every time I've started it, sometimes needing a little gas, but nothing extreme, and always runs cool. Runs really well now that we did a good tune up on it. Its just has this getting up and staying go problem.

I also found another thread on here about cleaning the IAC valve, that this can cause a problem with the engine idling, but I believe mine has an ISC valve.

As for the previous owners, I think they drove it once in three years. So it literally sat in a yard and they thought to run the engine about once a month. But it still fired up first time when they started it for us. The tranny is good. The electrical (lights, dash, etc) all works. And we didn't put it on the highway. It went from their house to our house on back roads, maybe getting up to about 50, at the most, occasionally.

So It's not as bad as I may have made it out to seem. We shall see!

 

If you're bringing the module in to be tested it's going to pass. You only have the problem after it heats up.

No you do not have an IAC valve in an 81, but you should have the idle motor.

 

Installed the new module and ballast last night, but went to replace the oozing regulator, and not only was it really crispy on the "green" side, but we found two of them! alloro thinks the second one was for extra accessories. So now I need to find a regulator that fits the plug in my van.

Hopefully this will fix the problem!

 

I've replaced everything that's been suggested. We rebuilt the carb and it does run better. But it's still cutting out with no way to keep it going. What do I do now?