94 stops dead while driving

[punshrkng]

Ok, so i have a 94 bravada that has decided to stop on the highway while i am driving. This last time i was kinda expecting it to happen, so i was paying attention.. here is what happened.

I was driving on the highway for about 3 minutes, I had the cruise control set at 61 and it was running fine. No radio on, no lights on, i lost 2 mph and the engine surged a little to get back to the set speed and it died. No noise, no warning, the engine just stopped running. The battery light started flashing and i lost speed right away of course, but without that i wouldnt have known there was anything wrong.


Now, the engine light has been on as we put in a used engine last week. THe code was the one that detects pinging in the engine. I havent noticed any pinging, but when its at idle it runs pretty rough. I know that there is carbon getting stuck in the EGR valve cause i took some out last night, but i cannot figure out why it is dying. Any sugggestions?

[ericn1300]

sounds like the new/used engine has a lot of carbon build up. next time you clean the egr get a screened gasket to catch the carbon. you can by one at NAPA auto parts. run a couple tanks of Chevron gas, or if not available in your area, use the chevron additative called Thechno something, you should be able to buy it at the parts store. It will do wonders for cleaning your engine and smoothing out the idle. works best if you get the engine good and hot on long drives.

do you still have the stalling problem with the replacement engine?

[punshrkng]

the stalling is the big problem, the old engine didnt stall at all, but it seized up so had to be replaced. This engine i have now has less miles on it, but its rather frustrating to be stuck on the side of the road every single day. I work 45 miles away from my home and i can get to work without any trouble, but it dies on the way home. If i leave it for a good hour it will start right up again, but i need to know why its dying on me. I just cant figure it out

[ericn1300]

check for fuel pressure next time it happens. could be an overheating fuel pump cutting out

[Chris Stewart]

Make sure the engine and body grounds are good. Did you transfer the knock sensors from the old motor to the new motor? If so, you might check the connectors because the one on the drivers side head on my '92 has a broken connector and I used a piece of vaccum hose to hold the wire to the sensor to make the connection.
My '92 died a coupla times once...the battery connections were loose but it could've been the motor ground or starter positive connections too.
Check for ignition spark when it quits...some coils on their last legs will start breaking down as they get warmer.

[punshrkng]

The body grounds are good, I did use the rear knock sensor from the old engine to replace a broken one from the yard crews removal . Battery connections are also tight. Last night when I went to restart it the engine would not fire but it was getting fuel so I pushed the coil and distributer connections in firmly and it started and now is running but the temp gauge just slowly climbs to the top but the engine does not seem to be getting too hot.

[ericn1300]

the quickest way to check for bad grounds is to check for voltage in the coolant. pop the radiator cap and put one lead in the coolant and the other to a good body ground with the engine running. anything more than .3 volts indicates a bad ground. voltage is a measurment of current, which follows the path of least resitance.

[Chris Stewart]

punshrkng, you need to use your old coolant temperature sensor or a new one for your year model car.
Eric, that's neat.