Hello Fellow DodgeRamVaners,

I never use forums so you must excuse if the information I seeks can be found somewhere here, but I am very much in need of some wisdom from people who know what they are talking about.

I recently bought a 1981 250 Dodge ram van and have just crossed the southern states. Previously to this van I have only owned a motorcycle so the work it needs is new to me.

It has had trouble starting since I purchased it, and it needs some warm up time otherwise it stalls. In California a fellow advised me to turn the key on, give it a double pump on the gas to engage the choke, fire her up, then it runs with a high rev for a little bit, then another pump on the gas brings it down to a normal rev speed.

So I have done that since then when starting her cold. A few days ago I rolled into New Orleans and it sputtered something fierce after the engine was killed. Now its incredibly difficult to start and the idle is very unsmooth. The solution I have some up with is to pull the plug and pour some seafoam in the engine to clean out the carbs.

I have never done either of these things and I would Really appreciate some advice on how to remove and clean the spark plugs. The method I have found for cleaning is one that uses a wire brush, a 220b emery cloth and dust off.

Also it would be great to learn what some of you folks have to say about seafoam in this particular situation.

This van hasn't been maintained at all previously and I am really looking forward to learning all about this great vehicle and I believe I have come to the right place to aide me in this task.

Thanks a Bundle!

 

......

 

I would be looking at the accelerator pump, with the Ethanol in the gas today it's known to eat threw a few gaskets/seals like the accelerator pump diaphragm, accelerator pump shaft seal, and the power valve.

Most of these older vans/trucks are cold heart runners if the carb is good to go, other wards they are stubborn as a mule to start and stay running til they are warm.

I would also be looking at the Intake Manifold gaskets (front and rear) as these are known to blow out over time (faster if they were not done correctly). This could be an issue of your hard to start and run issues.

Don't clean the plugs, faster to just change them out. you could clean them later and keep them for a spare set.

 

A thirty year old vehicle that has not been maintained, probably has more more in common with an old man than a young man. My 64 year old body is not in bad shape, but the numerous little problems I have from arthritis in my hands, to a still healing rotator cuff repair a year ago, and some questionable knees, keep me from “running” in top gear. I cannot fish as long as I used to, I cannot bend like I used to, I cannot stand or walk like I used to... you name it and I can’t do it like I used to ... even though I do some minimal amount of regular maintenance.

A whole new set of moving parts and joints for me would be much too expensive and impractical. I can work on this problem and work on that problem. I can lose some weight and start exercising more. This will gain me some improvement, but I doubt I will get back to the point I was 30+ years ago. If I try to go to the doctor with every little ache and pain I now have, I will quickly go broke with co-pays, and I doubt that my doctor would give me their un-divided attention for long enough to make me feel young again. All I can do is try to do my own maintenance to my own body, and hopefully get some results.

So the point of this story is...
Good luck to you sir...
Hopefully you have some mechanical skills and a set of tools and some time so that you can start into working on this van. If you wind up taking it to a garage, I believe you will slowly go broke paying for one fix after another. If you do not have the tools, place or skills to do your own work, then befriend a shade-tree mechanic and keep him in his adult beverage of choice, as I don't think you will find a quick-fix even from the experts on this forum. What you will find is lots of friendly comments that will try to point you in the right direction for a vintage vehicle.

Now I will add my two cents into the mix...

Besides the engine problems, have you inspected your brakes? Have you repacked your front wheel bearings? Have you even jacked up the front end and tried to hand spin the front tires to look for any binding of the front brakes? These are all common items to be looked at on an aged vehicle and may be more necessary to be looked at than any starting problem when running on the hi-way.

I think the advise you have already gotten to look at the fuel delivery system, and replace plugs is sound. A carb re-build or replace would be in order. I would add to that a replacement of the distributor cap, rotor, plugs and plug wires at a minimum. Run the engine as best you can with some mid-grade or hi-grade fuel for at least a full tank. Dump some quality fuel treatment into the tank, and try to run at hi-way speeds as much as possible while running that tank of high buck fuel. I think that all of these recommendations ARE based on your claim of
“This van hasn't been maintained at all previously “
so I believe that priority one is to catch up on these normal maintenance items.

On your next post you might also included the engine type/size... ie 6 cylinder or 318 V-8 and the van mileage for more specific advice.

Again, I say GOOD LUCK on your quest of breathing new life into your van.