Mom of 5 needs advice on stalling problem.

[stlysmack]

Have a 92 Lumina Van 3.1. Have had tons of work done latley, new plugs, wire. cap, rotor, new throttle body, new cat converter. Van stalls out after about 15 minutes of driving starts right back up but stalls again when put in drive. If it sits a little while I can drive it again for another 15 minutes. Help, have 5 kids and tired of breaking down . Any Ideas.

[decollect]

Originally Posted by stlysmack

Have a 92 Lumina Van 3.1. Have had tons of work done latley, new plugs, wire. cap, rotor, new throttle body, new cat converter. Van stalls out after about 15 minutes of driving starts right back up but stalls again when put in drive. If it sits a little while I can drive it again for another 15 minutes. Help, have 5 kids and tired of breaking down . Any Ideas.

Yup, a couple. First, when you say "Van stall out after about 15 mins of driving" would that be that it stalls when you come up to a light or a stop sign? Anything that requires the van to come to a full, complete stop AFTER getting up to about 40-45 mph?
If THAT's the symptom and your Service Engine Soon light is on, I'd say that when you take it to Autozone or wherever to have the code read, it will say "Transmission".
Sounds to me like the Torque Converter Lockup Solenoid is going/gone bad on ya.
When the Solenoid goes bad, it keeps the Torque Converter in full Lock-up mode which is the same as leaving your manual transmission in top gear, clutch out when you come to a stop. It stalls the engine.
When you put it in park, it starts right up, soon as you drop it into drive she stalls, right?

Now, if you're low on cash as I am and I only have 3 kids, you can have your mechanic simply disconnect the wire that leads to that solenoid and your van gets you around again, just without the final overdrive. You sacrafice a bit of gas mileage, but it's a cheap fix for the short term.

There are those on the forum, much more knowledgeable than I that can tell you closer what it would take to properly fix that problem, as far as cash dollars it takes.

Hope this helps.

[Si Integra]

I know this is nto the same van, but it is something to consider. My 96 town & country did the same thing for a few days until it was untolerable. I took it to a local shop who said it was the tranny. I diagnosed a code for an EGR valve malfunction. The repair man said it was not going to make the car stall, little did they know, a donation from the local junkyard and about 35 minutes of my time and the van has never run better. It completely eliminated the stalling problems.

Maybe it will help, if not good luck finding your problems.

[RollinonZ34]

Could be something as easy as replacing that old stopped up Fuel Filter if
it has not been done lately...Also Fuel Pump might be acting up and not
giving steady Fuel Pressure...going on and off

[stlysmack]

Originally Posted by decollect

Yup, a couple. First, when you say "Van stall out after about 15 mins of driving" would that be that it stalls when you come up to a light or a stop sign? Anything that requires the van to come to a full, complete stop AFTER getting up to about 40-45 mph?
If THAT's the symptom and your Service Engine Soon light is on, I'd say that when you take it to Autozone or wherever to have the code read, it will say "Transmission".
Sounds to me like the Torque Converter Lockup Solenoid is going/gone bad on ya.
When the Solenoid goes bad, it keeps the Torque Converter in full Lock-up mode which is the same as leaving your manual transmission in top gear, clutch out when you come to a stop. It stalls the engine.
When you put it in park, it starts right up, soon as you drop it into drive she stalls, right?

Now, if you're low on cash as I am and I only have 3 kids, you can have your mechanic simply disconnect the wire that leads to that solenoid and your van gets you around again, just without the final overdrive. You sacrafice a bit of gas mileage, but it's a cheap fix for the short term.

There are those on the forum, much more knowledgeable than I that can tell you closer what it would take to properly fix that problem, as far as cash dollars it takes.

Hope this helps.

Sure do appreciate the advice I'm going to give it a try and disconnect the solenoid. The other option would be what replacing the solenoid? any idea on the cost of that?
Thanks

[decollect]

Well, if it IS the solenoid that is going bad, replacement will fix, of course. However in some situations its actually the torque converter that goes bad. Trans shop should be able to tell ya to the penny, some might even give you a ball park quote over the telephone.