# Engine Slowly Loses Power and Dies While Driving



## trollmastergeneral

I would say it is in the fuel system.you have obd II for your van because it is a 99.If you had a misfire you should have codes for the misfire.Runing lean on your o2 is also pointing at your fuel pump.Your have a rev limiter which is probaly droping out at 4000 rpms.no codes are usualy found with fuel presure problems.what you need to do is replace the fuel filter and do a fuel presure check and then a volume test.If you wonder why a heating guy knows this it is because I own a auto repaier shop that my wife runs.


----------



## slickshift

Thanks for the reply

It is a new fuel filter


slickshift said:


> ...a service station...replaced a rusty fuel filter and were confident that was the culprit


And the fuel pressure test was my own, after the new fuel filter was put on


slickshift said:


> The fuel pressure test:
> KOEO should be (as per AllData) 240-310 kPa
> *I’ve got 280kPa*
> KOER should be 210 - 310 kPa
> *I’ve got 220 at idle*
> *200 at 3K RPM*
> *At 4K RPM* it seems up to 220 kPa, *but when the stumbling starts, the pressure slowly drops, along with the RPMs, until both are 0 and the engine dies*
> After dying the FP goes back up to 240 and stays there, for quite a long time after the key is removed
> It immediately goes back up to 280 if the key is put back to the “On” position


As far as I know, the Rev Limiter is not supposed to kick in @ 4K RPMs
(I thought is was around 5200)

I don't know how to do a fuel volume test
Haven't run across that yet


----------



## Rehabber

The problem is almost certainly a lack of fuel delivery. If the fuel filter that was replaced was completely clogged, the amp draw to the fuel pump goes way up. Most likely damaging the fuel pump and/or fuel pump relay. I would change the relay first and see what happens


----------



## slickshift

Thanks Rehabber

I believe I have a test for the relay around here somewhere

The pump would need the tank dropped and a $200+ part, so I hope that's not it


----------



## trollmastergeneral

There are several relays in with the fuel pump relay you can just swap it with another relay.A flow test is done by measuring how much fuel is filling a container in a certain amount of time.I am not sure what that would be but you can find it on mitchel on demand.The flow test could be done with most fuel presure guages.


----------



## RICHIE K

Could be the timing belt


----------



## slickshift

It doesn't die at 4K now, just stumbles
That could be because it's cold (it never died cold)

I switched the relay with the horn relay, and still got the stumble @ 4K

I hooked up the pressure gauge release valve to drain into a mason jar
I cranked and ran it (it ran) for 15 sec. and got 3 oz. fuel

Alldata says the flow should be 21 lbs. per hour-not sure how to translate that


----------



## slickshift

I decided to change out the fuel pump
I dropped the tank and pulled out the housing
Opened up the housing to get the actual pump out, and it's loaded with this white crystal stuff-looks like sugar!

 

It couldn't be...could it?


----------



## slickshift

Oh man, that stuff is in the tank too
I can't tell how bad, I really can't see that far in there
But there's a few tablespoonfuls I can see near the opening

How do I clean that out?
Because of the shape, I'll never be able to pour it out, or shake it out
...not gonna happen


----------



## trollmastergeneral

Oh no who did you make mad.do rember if you have comp on your insurance they will cover the repair.


----------



## slickshift

I really am a nice guy
Lol

I'm not sure about the ins., I just switched and don't have all the paperwork yet
Thanks for the tip though
I guess that would be considered vandalism as opposed to a mech. problem


----------



## Rehabber

Take some of the crystals and put them in a little hot water to see if they dissolve. If they do, I would have the gas tank steam cleaned to get out all remaining particles. When this is all done you might check out locking gas caps.:whistling2:


----------



## KUIPORNG

I trade in my Windstar when it is only 45,000 Km.... as it requires major repair at its 5000 km... which scare the hell out of me...


----------



## slickshift

I dried some of the stuff
It dissolved immediately in warm water

Well, the tank was mostly off anyway, to gain access to the top
So I removed it the rest of the way
Which was a bit of a task, as it still had almost 10 gal. of fuel in it

I slid it out on a creeper as far as I could (small garage-not much room), then tilted and dragged it to a hand truck, and took it around back

Set it on some milk crates (for height), and drained and siphoned most of the fuel into a container
Eventually using a small hand pump for the last bits

I scraped out what I could, with the small hand pump getting a fair amount of it

I then took a bucket of hot water and poured it in there
I swished it around as well as I could-which was pretty funny as this tank is pretty big, I'm sure it looked like I was dancing with this thing

I then hand pumped that mixture out, and didn't find any grains when pumping
I wiped out what I could and let it dry a bit

I then dumped some fresh gas in, swished that around, and hand pumped that out
Wiped what I could of the inside and let that dry for a bit

I couldn't find any grains even by reaching in and feeling around, so I figured that was as good as it gets, and re-installed it

I put a bottle of drygas in, then some gas, tested for leaks-couldn't get pressure, another bottle of drygas, and then some more gasoline
Eventually I dropped the rear off the jack stands, got it to run and had good solid pressure

I still get a stumble @ 4K....maybe that _is_ a Rev Limiter
Either that or I didn't fix the original problem (or it's a different problem)
As it was intermittent, I guess we won't know for a few days
(Oh yeah, new filter and locking gas cap too)
Thanks for all the help
Wish me luck!


----------



## Rehabber

Sounds to me like you did real well. Good Luck!:thumbup:


----------



## slickshift

*Update*

400+ miles and no-(knocks on wood)- no problems have shown up yet
Thanks All!


----------

