1999 express van is back

I never got this van fixed, It still has an occasional missfire. I had a converter put on it a few months back and had to return it to the muffler shop a few days later. The muffler guy notice the new converter was blue telling me there was fuel being burned in the converter. Well the owner called the other night to tell of the poor running condition of the van, again it won't run over 45 mph, he said he was driving at night and there was a 1 to 2 foot flame coming out the exhaust. The van can be shut off and restarted and most of the time that condition goes away sometimes for several days. I have not had the van to check it out again for several months but heres what i have dont to it. New intake gasket, distributor cap and rotor, plugs, wires, fuel pressure regulator, and a new fuel pump. I think the owner has changed all of the other sensors including the ecm., and the problem persist. Any advice? I'm thinking of buying the van and burning it. Thanks, bracketshark :banghead:

About all I can think is that an injector is sticking wide open. Not sure exactly, but I recall that around these model years the CPI poppets would stick. There is an upgrade to a redesigned "spider" injector assembly that eliminates the poppets but that's all I can recall...anyone else? First check that the injector asssembly is working and clean.

I hadn't thought of that. I've never heard of a injector sticking open but it makes sence that could be what is happening. I'm pretty imbarrassed this man has had to spend so much money on this truck with no results, I guess he can't stop now. Thanks for that suggestion I'll try and find anoter intake to rob the spider from before buying a new one. Are the 305 and 350 spyders the same? Probably not knowing his luck. Thanks

It could be partially clogged too, causing fuel drippage into the lower plenum. While you have it open, check the EGR passage for carbon build-up. You'll probably have to remove the lower intake to clean it so that any chunks don't fall in.

I could be wrong, but that's what it sounds like to me. Good luck!

We cleaned the EGR passage when we put the new intake gasket on about 6 months ago. We're checking on a new spider now, i'll let you know if it fixes the problem. Thanks