88 wagovan runs great cold, doesn't run after warm up.

88wagovan1375388wagovan13753 Band Wagon
in Engine & Drivetrain
Hello, hoping someone can help with a diagnosis problem.

I have an '88 wagovan that is running great when it is cold, but as soon as the engine warms up, it coughs, sputters, misses, dies.

there is a loud (ish) ticking sound near the throttle body, and it sounds as if there is air being sucked in somewhere. could this be a vacuum leak problem, or maybe a manifold gasket problem? how do I check that without taking the thing apart and replacing those gaskets.

any help is greatly appreciated.

one other thing to note: this car was running perfectly when I took it off the road around thanksgiving due to a bad cv joint in the front. I fired it up yesterday to drive it into town to have that cv joint replaced, and thats when it let me down. also its worth mentioning that it has been about 14f out here for the last couple of weeks.

thanks

Comments

  • ragenasianragenasian Moderator
    If you think it has a vacuum leak get some starter fluid and spray it around the areas you suspect are leaking. It should bump up the idle if it has a leak.
  • JakerJaker familEE
    Chances are it is the vacuum leak you think you're hearing that is causing the problems. As the engine warms up, the ECU leans out the mixture - or I should say, when the engine is cold, the ECU injects extra fuel. So once the ECT (engine coolant temperature sensor) detects the engine warming up, the ECU removes that extra fuel. With the extra fuel and the vacuum leak, it runs OK. Once the fuel's gone, it gets really lean to the point of affecting the driveability.

    The vacuum leak could have materialized as a result of the cold temperatures. The extreme cold causes the metal to shift/expand/contract, and if a particular gasket was on it's last legs, this shifting could have caused it to fail. The cold makes the metal contract, then you run the engine making the metal expand. That might have been just enough stress on that weak gasket to cause it to fail.
  • ReaccionReaccion Senior Wagonist
    Do you think that the problem is a leak... You problem sounds right like a problem that I recently had. But my problem was a BAD brand new spark plug wire. Check it out anyways... I hope it could help you: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11224 . Please let us know the solution to your problem when you fix it. Good luck!!
Sign In or Register to comment.

© Vanilla Keystone Theme 2025