1997 Dodge Van stalling at idle

MYLESTONE

MEMBER
1997 DODGE VAN
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
72,000 MILES

I need the answer to why my 3.9 liter v-6 van suddenly started stalling when I stopped driving and went to idle!It happens hot or cold and I have to ride the throttle and brale when I stop!I think it might be a pvc valve as when I used the auto start and it stalled replacing the pvc repaired it. But there must be a problem common to all 3.9 liter dodges that causes this problem! Any ANSWERS? And thanks! Mylestone@comcast. Net

Thursday, December 31st, 2009 AT 3:38 PM

1 Reply

RASMATAZ

MECHANIC
75,992 POSTS

An Engine running rough could be a :

Large vacuum leak can lean the air/fuel mixture out to such an extent that an engine will not idle at all. An EGR valve that is stuck open at idle can have the same effect as a vacuum leak. Also loose positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) hose, a leaky PCV valve or the wrong PCV valve (one that flows too much air for the application). If somebody replaced the PCV valve recently, they may have installed the wrong PCV valve. The rough idle in all of these cases is caused by "lean misfire." The fuel mixture is too lean to ignite reliably so it often misfires and fails to ignite at all. Lean misfire will show up as elevated hydrocarbon (HC) readings in the exhaust, which may be enough to cause a vehicle to fail an emissions test.

Was this

answer

helpful?

Yes

No

+1

Friday, January 1st, 2010 AT 3:21 AM