Hello Everyone,

This is going to be a long post to provide as much background information as possible. I’m also going to write it with the intent of being search friendly for the next person searching the forums.

I recently bought a 1995 B250 with the 5.2l V8 and 56k miles (not a typo, yes it was a grandma van). The seller warned me the front brake caliper was sticking, so I cautiously took it on the side streets to get home. After a couple miles, it started inconsistently sputtering on acceleration and was losing power. I thought it was low or bad gas, so I pulled into the station and put ~21 gallons in (I believe it's the 22 gal model). Unfortunately that didn’t help, and I had to do the pedal dance with both feet and shifting into neutral to keep it running to get home.

On day 2, I started the van to power my portable air compressor and inflated all 4 tires (yes, I should have done that first, but I forgot the compressor). At startup, it was a rough idle, but after about 15-20 minutes of running to fill the tires, it seemed to be doing fine. I then took it on a ~30 min drive in town and through some rural areas hitting up to 55mph. It performed great, no sputtering, no power loss, no issues. I hoped it was just some bad gas and things had worked out…

On day 3, I started it and got a rough idle. After a couple minutes, it seemed to improve some, and I tried to drive again. I was faced with the same issues as day one. Sometimes I would push on the pedal and would get sputtering with no power. Sometimes I would push and it would perform fine. Sometimes I would push, and it would rev dramatically because it didn’t kick in until the pedal was nearly to the floor. When I would release the gas pedal, sometimes it would return to normal and idle fine. Sometimes it would slowly die. Sometimes after it revved, if I let off the gas pedal entirely, it would slow to an RPM that was clearly above normal idle and would then die. Sometimes it would behave better in neutral or reverse, sometimes it wouldn’t. I didn’t get very far on day 3.

With the engine cover off, I will occasionally hear what sounds almost like a metal clanging when I push the pedal and it is going to sputter and die. The noise seems to come from the front driver side of the engine, and doesn’t seem to be there when it will rev up like normal. I wasn’t sure if I was imaging the sound/connection at first, but it has happened enough now to seem to be real.

Currently, I’m stuck at day 3 operations. I can’t seem to get consistent behavior (good or bad) out of it. It will also sit and idle, even if it doesn’t sound as smooth as I think it should.

What the Previous Owner (PO) did:

1. Replaced the distributor
2. Replaced the distributor cap
3. Replaced the spark plug wires
4. Replaced the battery
5. Replaced the alternator

I don’t know how old the battery, distributor, cap, and wires are, but they appear nearly new and clearly don’t have much if any mileage on them. The alternator is newish, but seems to be a couple years old just from the weathering.

What I have done:

1. Replaced the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS)
2. Replaced the Manifold Pressure Sensor (MAP)
3. Replaced the Idle Air Control valve (IAC)
4. Replaced the Ignition Coil
5. Replaced the Crankcase Breather Cap and grommet
6. Replaced the Positive Crankcase Ventilation valve (PCV)
7. Replaced the air filter
8. Confirmed ~45 psi fuel pressure at the fuel rail at idle and when it is sputtering (I didn’t verify the volume, just the pressure)
9. Autozone confirmed the battery, alternator, and starter are working fine at rest and under load
10. Reset the Power Control Module (PCM) by disconnecting the battery, turning the headlight switch on for several seconds, turning off the headlight switch, reconnecting the battery, moving the key to the “on” position for 10 seconds, then starting the van (didn’t seem to help)
11. Disconnected the oxygen sensor (O2 Sensor) (didn’t seem to make a difference at idle or under acceleration)

I bought the van for a family adventure-mobile, so I need to make it as reliable as possible. As such, I fully expected to be replacing a bunch of parts if for no other reason than the age (i.e. a bunch of hoses, grommets, gaskets, pulleys and other common failure parts). But before I can really start doing that, I need to get it running consistently.

At this point, I could really use some advice and possible troubleshooting. I’d prefer to fix it myself, but have gotten to the point where I am frustrated enough to pay a shop to get it settled. If anyone knows any shops in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area they would recommend, please let me know.

Thanks

 

Do you have a scanner that can read live data? If you don't, you should seriously consider getting one....

Might be an engine temp sensor issue, it might also be an EGR issue...... Either way, gonna need a GOOD scanner to figger it out.

 

HeyYou no I don't have a scanner that can read live data. Is there one you recommend? I've seen the old dealer/professional mechanic ones on ebay, but those seem to be several grand beyond me. Unless I'm missing something, it doesn't have the usual OBD port, so aftermarket options seem limited.

I replaced the engine temperature sensor today, and it was weird. It seemed to help at first (gas pedal responding like normal and a smooth idle), but when I turned it off and then back on, and the problem came back.

I've already got a new EGR valve on hand from RockAuto, I was just hoping to have some luck figuring it out before I kept throwing parts at it.

 

Your truck has two temp sensors, a one-wire sensor for the gauge, and a two-wire sensor for the PCM.

Your truck is OBDI, so, the data port is on the passenger side, near the PCM, under the hood. Something like a Snap-On MT2500 would work great for ya. (and, it will work with vehicles up to 2006....) I've seen 'em on Ebay for around 400 bucks or so, complete with all the cartridges and adapters.

 

Oh, interesting. I didn't realize there were two of them (I thought the two types were for different models), and only replaced the one-wire sensor for the gauge . Which if I'm understanding correctly now is informational only for the dashboard gauge...so not really addressing the problem at all. I'll definitely have to go down to the parts store and pick the other up.

Right now I'm thinking I will swap the engine temperature sensor for the PCM, and see if that helps. Then doing the EGR if I'm still having trouble. Is the EGR valve something that is fairly common to need replacing anyways? The Factory Service Manual (FSM) diagram has a diaphragm listed so I was naturally thinking about age/dry rot/etc.

Is the image below the data port you are talking about?

I'll also have to get one of the Snap-Ons readers then. Not cheap, but seems to be worth the investment, especially since I'm planning on keeping the van for as long as humanly possible. And if I use it right, should pay for itself by avoiding the shop...Can you also use it do bleed the ABS system? Google seems to say yes, but figured you would know for sure.

Is the Data Link Connector Dodge's OBD I interface?

 

Yep, Data link connector.

EGR passages also tend to get clogged up with carbon. On the van, the valve is easy to get to, and see if the passages are choked.

 

What is the device called that connects to the data link connector?

 

Scan tool. Unfortunately, yours is OBDI, and scanners that will talk to it are becoming hard to come by.

 

Just throwing this out there...
I had sputtering and backfiring at one time. I have OBDII and used a bluetooth scanner. I saw that when my van sputtered the intake temp went to 160 and then would read zero, 160, zero...once it went back to normal (around 135) it ran fine.
I replaced the sensor and it went away.

 

There is a pick up under the distributor cap on my 96 , acted very simular. 2 wires you can see leaving the back of the cap