89 Plymouth Sundance Stalling Problems. Need help PLEASE!

[rancid]

Ok guys,

I somehow ended up with an 89 2.2L Sundance sitting in my driveway that I am going to use as my daily driven car. Car has 43,000 miles on it (yes thats it!) and is in pretty good shape minus this one problem it's having. The previous owner said the car was fine then all of sudden any time she drove it for more then 3-5 minutes the car would stall and you would have to wait about 10-20 min to recrank the car before it would start again and same thing.

I changed the plugs, the fuel filter, all the hoses, the oil, oil filter, and a few more misc tuneup jobs like that thinking it was something very simple. Took it out for a spin today and lo-and-behold same thing as the lady. The oil light came on about 2 seconds before the engine died and then it cut off. I tried to crank it and couldn't. I let it sit for 10 min and I kept trying to crank it, and eventually the battery gave and I had to jump start the car with my fiance's car. Once we had the jumper cables hooked up and I turned the key it started instantly without hesitation which leads me to believe it's some kind of charging problem. I had to charge the battery yesterday morning with a battery charger because the battery went south on me. The lady said she had replaced the battery once before and now this one within a 1 year period.

Does anybody else think it COULD be the battery is bad and not holding a charge, or does it sound like the alternator/something else is not charging correctly? The car *WILL* idle fine for a long period of time without dying, it only dies once the car is in D and being driven. I am thinking a re-place of the alternator may fix the problem but want to get some opinions before I shell out another $80 on this thing. I also saw there is a recall on the head gaskets for oil leaks and the block itself is indeed covered with some oil.

Any help is VERY appreciated as I don't know what else to try

[PWMAN]

Well, if it stalled and you could still crank it, it can't be the battery.
This is just a guess, but it could be that the oil pump is going out and your car has some kind of fail-safe device thats shuts off the engine if oil pressure gets too low.

[rancid]

Well it would only re-start after I jumped the car with another car. After it stalls and you try to start the car it will crank but not turn over to start the motor.

[Polygon]

It sounds like it could be vapor lock. That means that the gas in is turning into vapor, this makes it non combustible. This is just what it sounds like to me. It could be something else wrong with the fuel delivery. Vapor lock is caused by the fuel being to hot turning it into a vapor before it gets to the cylinder. Like I said, it could be something else with the fuel delivery.

Forget your battery and alternator; they are not causing your problem.

[pcv]

Get the car running and let it stall. Then check to see if it has spark. If it has spark, the check for fuel. If no spark, then its possibly the distributor pick up is faulty. Disconnect fuel line and with ignition on, check for fuel delivery. If no fuel then its your fuel pump circuit. You can even get codes out of the car by cycling the ignition key three times and reading the codes. If present it will give you a good clue. Good luck.

[PWMAN]

Originally posted by Polygon
It sounds like it could be vapor lock. That means that the gas in is turning into vapor, this makes it non combustible. This is just what it sounds like to me. It could be something else wrong with the fuel delivery. Vapor lock is caused by the fuel being to hot turning it into a vapor before it gets to the cylinder. Like I said, it could be something else with the fuel delivery.

Forget your battery and alternator; they are not causing your problem.

Oh, thats right this car is carbureted. Thats very likely then.

[terry arnold]

i have an 83 ply sundance, and i had very simalar problems, when the engine does not start, check to see wethers it is getting spark from the coil, or if it is getting any fuel, you may narrow the problem this way, my plymouth when it stalled, i didny get fuel or a spark, and it turned out to be the control module, located in the distributor cap, around $52. to check for spark pull the coil egnition wire off its termanal, place a screw driver into the wire and place it approximatly an 8th of an inch from the nearest ground, MAKE SURE NOT TOO TOUCH THE METAL OF THE SCREWDRIVER, or you will get a bad shock, if you are getting a spark the reconnect the wire and then check your fuel injectors, the minute you turn over the engine you will see a spray off fuel spraying into the throttle body, its best to have someone else to turn the engine over while you are checking things out , if you are getting a good spark, and no fuel, most likely itas a fuel problem, and if you are getting fuel but no spark then most likely you have an electrical problem, and if you are getting nothing no spark and no fuel, it is the module, oh yes if it is the module you must disconnect the battery, while you install the new module, becouse the computer needs to relearn, if you dont the computer will hold the memorry of the bad module even though you have replaced it, and the engine still wont start, until you disconnect the battery, let me know how you fare out

[Solddaboat]

This is an old post and I am sure you have it fixed by now or have junked it.... Anyway I have a 92 and it just died coming off of the freeway a couple of years ago (about 80000mi), Deader than a door nail.. I turned out to be th control module in the distributor cap like terry_arnold's post, it sure could be your problem.

[hondahappy86]

hey....89 sundance....no carb was available...its a throttle body injection....and i have seen probs with 89-93 sundances with charging probblems.....i do reccomend the new alternator...or its just gonna kill batterys...i know through experience ....i was a mechanic....and the only one there that would work on chrysler products....well anyhow...there is my advice....hope it helps.....and for the other person who clames to have a 83 sundance......they werent produced untill 1986....just lettin ya know

[tedhrs]

Okay, so this thread is old, but hopefully i can get some help. My wife and I aquired her mothers 94 sundance with 77k miles. It was only driven like a total of 5 miles monday through friday. It got terrible gas mileage, so i decided to do a tune up, new plugs, new wires, new fuel filter, oil filter, oil change, cleaned rotor up, new air filter. I'm baffled, but the wife says it now gets worse gas mileage. What could be the problem??

[PWMAN]

What kind of mileage is it getting?
Does it run crappy?
Is this an EFI or turbo car?

First check the vacuum line going to the MAP sensor, then check the vacuum line going to the fuel pressure regulator.
When I had the line to the MAP sensor pop off, it would chug black smoke at an idle and I got 8 MPG.

[tedhrs]

"What kind of mileage is it getting?"
round 10-12 that i can tell.

"Does it run crappy?"
no, runs pretty good.

"Is this an EFI or turbo car?"
just plain efi, looks like throttle body injected though.

It doesn't chug black smoke out either. Only thing i saw wrong was the hose going from bottomside of air cleaner to top side of valve cover is cracked, not sure if this affects, but looks like some sort of breather hose???

I checked the tranny fluid thinking maybe it was that, no problems there. I'm just baffled, i played with timing and nothing changed. Could it be some sort of blockage?? Injector dirty?? Vacuum leak??

[PWMAN]

Checking for vacuum leaks is never a bad idea. But I would bet on a clogged Catylitic converter.

[failed_paladin]

i have a 91 sundance and it keeps blowing fuel pump fuses. changed the pump, no prob there. unplugged the pump and it still does it. i have heard that this is a common problem with this car. Where is the relay for the pump, or what else can it be? checked wiring, everything fine there. everyone here is baffled thanx.