I posted this on another forum as well, but i dont want to limit my incoming information. You guys have always helped me solve my issues too! I am really up the creek with this one.



I turned a 94 Dodge B-250 with the 318 into a paintball tank, and got a good year's worth of service out of it until the #4 conrod bearing decided to turn to dust.

So i sourced another 318 engine, this one from a 98 grand cherokee, stripped all the jeep crap off of it, and fitted it with all the dodge hardware, fit like a glove. Has given me 6 months of reliable service.

The van has had a frequent problem of stalling and dying randomly at 2 or 3 mph when coming to a stop, sometimes the throttle would recover, sometimes it would die.

Then one day after 60 miles of driving it suddenly died when i started going up a steep bridge. We thought it was a clogged fuel filter, so we changed that on the side of the road, got 6 more miles down the road and it died again. Sudden death. Flooring the pedal made no difference. It would come to a stop, could be restarted, but i'd be lucky to get 1/8th mile down the road till it died again.

The trouble with this problem is it can be caused by 30 different things. So i started small and worked my way up. Here is the master list of everything i have replaced.

Intake Plennum Gasket set
Throttle body gaskets top & bottom
PCV valve w/new hose
Crankcase Vent cap w/new hose
Fuel filter
Fuel pump
Ignition Coil
Distributor pickup sensor
Crankshaft position sensor
Coolant temperature sensor
Coolant temperature sender.
Intake Air temp sensor
MAP sensor
IAC (idle air control solenoid)
TPS (throttle position sensor)
PCM (engine computer)
All relays (at this point i have deleted the fuel pump relays and tied the wires directly together, while trying to limp home)
Air filter
Distributor Cap
Distributor Rotor
Checked Engine compression, #8 is weakest at 140psi, so comp is good
o2 Sensor (after it died last time, i bought another one just to be sure)
Exhaust manifold gaskets
Tested fuel pressure regulator (the diaphragm is not ruptured, but i'm not ruling it out)
Fuel pressure tested (40psi)
*edit*
8 new spark plugs
Wire set 6 months old
Battery 1 year old

all these parts are now less than a week old (unless noted otherwise)


I took it into a dealer after i gave up on it. They initially suggested timing chain, but after i explained i was getting intermittent good performance out of it, and sudden death issues, they changed their minds.

Currently the van wont even idle. It will crank and just...barely...run... and then die. I checked the fuel pump voltage while this was happening, its getting 12.4 volts all the time, so its not fuel related. When it does occasionally fire and run, sometimes it will backfire, sometimes it will drive perfect.

The dealer said my CEL's were all transmission related. I had 3 codes, which i of course cant remember anymore. Could transmission related issues cause my symptoms?

I tried disconnecting the vehicle speed sensor, and it drove okay for about 3 miles, then same thing, sudden death, wouldnt start.
I repeated this test with the o2 sensor unplugged, and with it removed. Same thing. A very short drive and sudden death follows.

I've had it die after 60 miles, after 100 miles, and after 40 miles, 3 separate times. Each time throwing more parts at it.

Right now its broke down on the side of the road. Any input guys? Thanks

 

My van is still on the side of the road. Does anyone have any suggestions? =/

Could the ignition switch, the torque converter lockup solenoid, or vehicle speed sensor cause this? I've been looking all over the internet for an answer.

 

sounds like it could be a vacuum issue

what about plugs and wires?

 

Ah yes, i forgot to add that to the list as well. I bought a new wire set 6 months ago, and i just put new spark plugs in right before i hit the road. All 8 new NGK's.

The only test i've done about vacuum is, with the air cleaner off, with the engine idling, i shoved a clean shop towel down in front of the IAC, and the engine died pretty fast. That should be an indicator of no vacuum leaks, far as i reckon.

 

I had those ideas also...esp the TC...

You also could have valve issues or maybe a seriously cracked head.


Also I find vacuum leaks by spraying carb cleaner around suspect areas ie. vacuum ports, throttle body mount, intake mount...if I hear any type of flutter of the idle, then I know I have found the spot.

 

funair02, if i had valve or head problems, i should have been able to detect a leak somewhere when the compression test was performed. As i said in the post, all 8 passed with flying colors. The van runs at normal temperatures. Plus that wouldnt explain why i get sudden death syndrome. If a head was shot, it would act up all the time.

You leaning towards torque converter switch?

I'm preparing to hop on my harley and ride out to the van today to clean and re-seat just about every ground wire on this damn thing. And check the injector, CPS, and CamPS feed and signal voltage strength, verify Coil signal, i got a huge list of stuff i'm gonna try.

 

Got an update. POSSIBLY fixed. *possibly.*

I hoped on the harley and rode out to the van, about 30 miles outside New Orleans. I had my guns loaded this time.

I pulled 4 engine compartment bulkhead grounds off, got my 120grit sandpaper out and sanded each of their landing zones until i could see bare metal. I sanded the end of each ground wire, and scuffed each and every bolt.

I then pulled the Coil off, and sanded the bracket it bolts to down to a bare metal shiny finish. For added benefit, to the top coil bolt, i added an extra ground wire and ran it to the nearest bulkhead ground. I got my ohmmeter out and verified ground continuity from each ground, to each other ground, to the coil, to the negative battery cable (while disconnected). While i had it off i also sanded the hell out of the battery terminal, and the connector.

I then turned my attention to the PCM grounds. The Black with Tan stripe feeds most of the gizmo's their grounds, so i verified it had ground continuity with my negative cable, and all 4 of my bulkhead grounds, and my coil.

I then got underneath the van and pulled the o2 sensor plug off and the VSS plug (vehicle speed sensor). The manual indicated that the Black with Dark Blue circuit on these is linked. So i verified they had continuity with each other. Check.

It was then i noticed what may have been the cause. The big fat ribbon ground strap that was supposed to connect the engine to the chassis was not screwed into the chassis. Just dangling there.

I got my sandpaper and found a suitable reaching point for a bolt of the right size, the rearmost bolt that holds the heat shield to the body. Sanded the paint off the body, and sanded both sides of the heat shield hole i'd be going through. I bolted it up and tested continuity from the ribbon to a known good ground up on the block. Check.

I verified the o2 Sensor had a good reading to my **chassis** ground, which it did.

For added value, I took my Camshaft Position Sensor, and Crankshaft Position sensor's respective ground wires, and ran each of them an extra ground to the Chassis Ground Ribbon. Checked on the meter, everything reading ground for days.

I already have an access hatch built for my fuel pump (from the last guys who owned this van), and i did the same thing for its grounds. Spliced in and ran an extra ground wire to the chassis. Verified on the meter.

The o2 sensor's output signal wire is Green with an Orange Stripe, and i verified it had continuity with my ASD.

Turns out, according to my manual, the relay i deleted was the fuel pump relay, not the ASD. This is why my fuel pump runs 100% of the time.

All this took about 3 hours to do. Of course every bolt fights you every step of the way, and it takes forever to sand everything and check continuity.

This entire time i've had the battery undone, and the PCM sitting on my passenger seat. I re-installed the PCM, and hooked the battery back up.

I gave her a crank and she took about 4 seconds of cranking she fired up and took the revs just fine.

I immediately turned it off, loaded up my harley in the back, and hit the road.

30 miles into new orleans, on the way there it misfired ONCE, only once, and cleared up right away. Not sure why. Overall engine performance felt like it used to before.

Only kicker is, when i stop the idle comes in waves. Predictable idle fluctuation. It could be because of my exhaust leak. Could be something else. Not sure.

The real test is when i get time to drive this van more than 2 hours. That seems to be right about when it dies on me. But for the short term, at least i got it home.

 

The dieing when slowing down makes me think it needs a full tune-up. Perhaps some of the parts you used were not 100%. I also recall there being some discrepancy between the Hayne's Manual, the hood sticker, and other parts sources with respect to the correct spark plugs to use. Perhaps the new plugs you put in are different.

 

Full tune up? There aint no parts left to tune! Its all new! Unless you know a particular brand i should look at for a particular part?

 

I am glad you made some progress.

Also, what brand O2 sensor are you using? The ONLY ones that work right are NTK and Denso...all others do not read correctly for our van's PCM...

I killed 2 cats with a Bosch LOL..and also would have misfiring too.

Also our vans do crack heads. Sometimes the crack is so small that when it is cold everything is fine. When the van heats up, you get misfire codes, especially on the highway. I actually went through this.

Good luck!