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1994 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 175k Miles
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alger25
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Jul 14, 2010, 5:38 PM
Post #1 of 11
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1994 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 175k Miles
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Hello,
My wife and I acquired a 94 Plymouth Voyager that has a 3.0 Liter in it. At first, the current owner told me that the transmission needed replaced and that the ignition module??? was bad.
As I always like to do when getting a vehicle, I changed the spark plugs, fuel filter, transmission filter, and oil filter. The transmission oil looked real dirty but there was no abnormal build up on the magnet in the pan. The van will start up and idle perfect. I was curious to see how the transmission was so I took it down the road a ways and it ran fine, no jerky shifting or any abnormalities.
Here is the problem.....I was told that after the van has been driven for awhile, it will shut off completely...Not stall, but cut out. The current owners said they needed to pull off to the side of the road and wait a few minutes and it would then drive fine for awhile again. The next problem that I have is that when I start the van up and give it gas, it chugs...sometimes to the point of stalling out, others it works out the problem and revs fine. This problem is random, it doesn't always do this. When I took the van on a little test drive, I noticed that if I pushed the gas pedal to the floor, the rpm's would jump maybe 100-200 and the van would act like it was getting no power, it would not accelerate at all. This only happens at full throttle, if I accelerate up a hill at half throttle, it would accelerate perfect.
I noticed that the van was missing its gas cap off the tank. I decided to see what putting one back on would do.....well, it started up and idled fine, but when I gave it any pedal at all it would stall out to the point of not starting again until I let it sit for a good 10-15 minutes.
I am really at a loss on this vehicle and don't want to sink a ton of money into a money pit as finances are tight right now.
I would just take it to a service center and have them find out what is wrong with it, but the location is an hour out of town and I am not going to register/insure the van until I know that it is running solid.
I've asked around and everyone is stumped as to what the primary problem could be. I have been leaning towards the fuel pump but really hate to sink money into a part not knowing if the problem will be fixed or still occur.
Any help/suggestions are greatly appreciated. I look forward to hearing some opinions on this matter :)
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Loren Champlain Sr
Veteran
/ Moderator
Jul 14, 2010, 5:55 PM
Post #2 of 11
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Re: 1994 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 175k Miles
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alger; The very first thing I'd check, would be the fuel filter. Second, fuel pressure. Have the trouble codes retrieved (if any) and post them for us to see. A faulty TPS (throttle position sensor) can cause similar symptoms.
Loren
SW Washington
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alger25
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Jul 14, 2010, 6:06 PM
Post #3 of 11
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Re: 1994 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 175k Miles
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Loren,
I changed the fuel filter while i was tuning up the van last weekend thinking that may be part of this issue. Nothing changed after the tuneup was completed so the filter is not the cause.
How do I check the fuel pressure? As I stated in my first post, the vehicle is in a bad location and would require driving it an hour into town on a freeway. (Only one road to the location from here) I was leaning towards risking the drive into town to take the van to auto zone to have a scanner hooked up to get the codes but its a pretty risky drive. I live in town and am not able to have non-running/insured/registered vehicles sitting outside the house....I am kind of in a difficult situation here :(
Thanks for the advice though, I'll keep chugging along and hope to figure something out without having to risk the drive into town.
EDIT: Also would like to add that the AIRBAG light in the dashboard stays lit up all the time the key is on, maybe this will help out, maybe not!
(This post was edited by alger25 on Jul 14, 2010, 6:14 PM)
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Loren Champlain Sr
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Jul 14, 2010, 7:18 PM
Post #4 of 11
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Re: 1994 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 175k Miles
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alger; A fuel pressure guage can be rented (or borrowed) from some of the major parts stores. Since this is an OBDI system, you'll, more than likely, have to pay a shop to 'pull' codes. The 'major' parts stores can only do OBDII systems. The air bag light won't have anything to do with the drivablility issues. Just means that the air bag won't deploy.
Loren
SW Washington
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alger25
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Jul 14, 2010, 7:27 PM
Post #5 of 11
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Re: 1994 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 175k Miles
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If I rent a fuel pressure gauge from auto zone, what am i suppose to be looking for exactly? And what are we ruling out by checking the fuel pressure?
From my automotive experience, just the fact that the van runs even more terrible by placing the gas cap on the tank would direct me towards the fuel pump, however, the full pedal acceleration makes no sense because it accelerates just fine with half a pedal.
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Loren Champlain Sr
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Jul 15, 2010, 2:59 PM
Post #6 of 11
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Re: 1994 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 175k Miles
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alger; The fuel pressure should be 48 psi. at idle. Also, wouldn't hurt to do a backpressure test on the exhaust system.
Loren
SW Washington
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alger25
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Jul 16, 2010, 12:39 PM
Post #7 of 11
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Re: 1994 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 175k Miles
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If you had to make an educated guess, what would be the first part you would replace concerning the problem with this van? We are headed out to look at it again tomorrow and I really want to start narrowing things down so that we can get it running again. I am unable to get it into town to have a scan pulled from it or any of the tests you mentioned.
I am leaning towards the fuel pump...That would explain the sputtering with little gas pedal after idle and the fact that when at full throttle it has no power. However, it kinda of seems wierd that with half gas pedal, it accelerates fine.
EDIT: I found a pressure tester I can rent for 150.00 so it looks like we will be doing that tomorrow. If the pressure test doesnt meet 48 psi at idle, what would be the cause of this? Just curious what part would be failing so that I can pick that part up as well so I will have it in the event it needs replaced or I can return it in the event it doesnt.
(This post was edited by alger25 on Jul 16, 2010, 1:23 PM)
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Loren Champlain Sr
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Jul 16, 2010, 2:35 PM
Post #8 of 11
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Re: 1994 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 175k Miles
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alger; I can understand the dilema that you are, but without testing, I can't advocate replacing anything, yet. From the symptoms, I'd want to check exhaust backpressure and fuel pressure before doing anything. The fuel pump is a spendy item...you want to be 100% sure it's the problem before replacing it. You can remove the upstream oxygen sensor and see how it runs...It's going to be noisy, but should answer the backpressure question. Hot exhaust will come out of that hole, so take every precaution that nothing will get damaged or caught on fire during the test. (I don't recommend a novice attempt this) I sure hope that the rental on that pressure tester isn't $150.00....just a deposit? Right?
Loren
SW Washington
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alger25
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Jul 16, 2010, 4:01 PM
Post #9 of 11
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Re: 1994 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 175k Miles
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The 150.00 is a deposit for the item, I will get a full refund when I take the kit back to them. If I remove the o2 sensor and see what it does would that eliminate that part? Also, how do I go about doing a back pressure test? I just really want to get this taken care of.
Also, you suggested getting the codes pulled off the computer but as far as I am aware, there are no codes. The check engine light has not come on a single time since I have started the van up over a month or two ago.
Like I said before, the idle is awesome, the acceleration at half gas pedal is very responsive.
I will rent that kit tomorrow to test the fuel pressure and also remove the O2 sensor to see if that changes anything....If I remove the O2 sensor to see how it acts, I would assume it wont run top notch due to the sensor not being in place or am I mistaken?
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Loren Champlain Sr
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Jul 16, 2010, 4:38 PM
Post #10 of 11
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Re: 1994 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 175k Miles
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Alger; We use a fitting that screws into the hole that the O2 sensor comes out of. Then, connect a pressure guage to the fitting, and can get an accurate pressure reading. Anything above 2psi is a problem. The check engine light on pre-96 cars won't come on unless there is a hard fault. Meaning, you could have stored codes that will help in the diagnostics. Assuming that the CEL works. When the key is turned to the 'on' position, the CEL should illuminate. By removing the O2 sensor and running it around the block to check for power, might cause a CEL, or set a code. (leave the sensor connected, electrically). It will more than likely run rich, but we're more concerned, right now, if your 'power' is back to normal.
Do you already own this vehicle, or are you 'thinking' of buying it. If you haven't bought it already, I'd run away. Fast. <smile>
Loren
SW Washington
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alger25
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Jul 18, 2010, 11:13 AM
Post #11 of 11
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Re: 1994 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 175k Miles
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We own it, my wife's uncle gave it to us since he has no use for it and we need a vehicle.
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