I Just put 200 dollars down on this big ram van with the prospector package it ran great but when put in gear it was very VERY sluggish the guy told me it had been sitting for like three years is this a symptom of this or is there more than meets the eye guy says something in the carb is dry :huh: :help:
Tokay
03-21-2007, 10:32 PM
There's always more than meets the eye if it's been sitting for years.
I'd do it, but I'm terribly reckless.
Dodgevanman
03-21-2007, 11:11 PM
Mopar transmissions don't circulate fluid in Park...only in neutral and in gear. It could be that the torque converter needed to "fill up" before you tried to move.
Try this..since the van has been sitting for such a long time, fire the engine and put it in Neutral for about 10 seconds, then run the selector through the gears pausing for a few seconds between each. Put it back in Neutral and check the fluid level. Of course make sure the parking brake is on so you don't drift.
BTW, what year van are we talking about?
BigBlackB250
03-22-2007, 12:09 PM
It is a 85 prospector 250 i mean the guy got the thing goin but he had it in first after he did that the lil orange thing got stuck too so now i might never know what gear i am in. He said he took it as a trade from an old guy he was askin like 15 hundred for it he said he just wants it out of there its some guy out in willmar runs a auto body shop called shades of paint how relevant that is i don't know. What was wierd was you could kinda get some movement in first droppin it to the floor but as soon as second hit and you tryed dropping the pedal to the floor it kinda loses power
Ram4ever
03-24-2007, 02:58 AM
Like Nate said, check the fluid level in neutral. To avoid overfilling it, make sure you have the engine warmed up, and if necessary to add fluid, add just a bit less than enough to make it full - the new fluid will expand a bit as it warms up. Much easier to add than to remove!.
The first time I learned about how much of a difference the being in neutral makes, I had to add a *lot* more fluid to my van... the previous owner apparently didn't know this, and I still grit my teeth as to how much wear it may have caused. When we first picked it up it had a loss of power and somewhat of a shudder and a tendency to bog down as I attempted to go faster. When I finally got enough fluid in it, it smoothed right out, and is still behaving well.
Dodgevanman
03-24-2007, 11:24 AM
What engine do you have?
When a vehicle sits for a long time the gas will literally start to turn to varnish. This could be one of your problems...old fuel. Top the tank off with fresh gas, change the fuel filter and rebuild (or buy a rebuilt) carburetor.
My in-laws have an '85 B250 van as well. It sat for almost 10 years and I was able to get it roadworthy again by doing some basic maintanence.
62savoywagon
03-24-2007, 11:33 AM
Might want to put some dry gas in her. Water doesn't burn well either.
BigBlackB250
03-24-2007, 02:16 PM
Thanks for lettin me know im going to pick it up monday and hopefully a pre built carb is one not expensive and two not hard to install d.i.y. from a repair manual but the symptoms where if accelerating it will bog down is correct so ill bring some atf 3 i think i usually am a chevy truck guy but i thought hell lets try dodge and see if the tranny prob is the usual thanks ill try all of em top off with fresh gas and check fluid levels i pray the carb is still good cuz im really unsure of that just cause i have never tryed gettin my hands on one any more tips on the carb or any place i can go for carb help if thats the case
62savoywagon
03-24-2007, 02:42 PM
Check out e-bay, some time ago I found some old carbs onthe vintage link on the E-bay motors site. Good luck
Dodgevanman
03-25-2007, 12:15 AM
If the engine is a slant six, don't expect an overwhelming amount of power. My '85 has a slant six. It runs like a top, but it definitely takes a bit of time to get up to speed.
BigBlackB250
03-25-2007, 01:03 PM
its not a slant six its a 318 3 speed its said under the hood and i opened up the dog house its an 8 cylinder if i were to replace the carb wouldnt it be better to get one thats just a lil on the performance side. Its has the 2 bbl carb is it posible to throw a 4 bbl and why would they make a slant 6 with 95 horsees or so for a 6000 pound vehicle i mean lol its not goin nowhere but im sure it hasn't got that six in it like i said the guy threw it in first and she fot up to like 35 pretty easily its when he up shifted it bogged down and almost died sounds to me like its all tranny but well see picking the beast up monday so ill be here getting info on how to thanks ere body for helpin a a new old dodge owner never thought id like dodge till i stepped foot in that prospector
Ram4ever
03-25-2007, 02:35 PM
Dodgevan man is absolutely right about the old gas turning to varnish and really hosing things - try smelling it - if it smells more like kerosene or turpentine than gasoline, you'd probably be ahead to drain the tank and start over. Inspecting the pickup screen might be a decent idea too; I've seen it varnish that up before!
I had a Ford C700 18 foot box truck, (BIIIG vehicle!) which sat for while and was running crappy. It would idle a bit rough, with surging, and when I'd try to move it it bogged down in a big way and would even miss. There was a water trap bowl, so I could see there was no water in the gas. I rebuilt the carb and it really didn't improve. Just then the fuel pump gave out, so I tried running it off of gravity feed from a small gas can so I could continue troubleshooting, and was surprised to find it ran great! I figured, AHA!, it's the pump. Well, when I replaced the fuel pump and reconnected to it, it ran lousy again!... I wised up when I looked inside the tank to see if there was a plugged pickup screen, and I got that whif of old turpentine smell. Dumping all of the gas and refilling with fresh cured the rough running. I was really surprised at how much of a difference it made!
BTW, I see quite a few rebuilt carbs for old vehicles listed at rockauto.com
If you were to get into a 4bbl carb you'd have to change the intake manifold and come up with the linkage to operate the carb and tranmission linkage, which isn't so easy to locate for old antique vehicles!
Don't forget to take extra transmission fluid in case checking it in Neutral reveals it's got a thirsty transmission!
BigBlackB250
03-25-2007, 06:13 PM
So three years will do that to a truck with an empty tank, okay, transmission by being thirsty i will be able to quench that thirst im hoping, I let it run for well over ten minutes and all saw nothing leaking. So what you are saying all in all dont try a carb swap by myself. What about this "seafoam trick" the guy keeps mentioning will that help? I know what it says on the back but is this crap really universal for all that junk like liquid fixit not true i know but how about shovin some in after i fill the tank up with mid grade and putting some tranny fluid in. Also a quick coolant flush b4 i take the two hour trip home it was kinda orange colored, i bought a 80 olds toronado once with the same deal but it had 350 4bbl for a motor i ran that two months and that had been sitting so long mice had made a home it lasted two months like that any dif for a dodge??
Dodgevanman
03-26-2007, 07:33 AM
The answer as to why Chrysler decided to put the slant six in big heavy trucks is floating around in the cosmos somewhere. I don't know. I will say that once the old slanty in my '85 gets going, she cruises along pretty well.
Basically what "Ram4Ever" was saying is that in order to swap to a 4bbl. carb. you need to change the intake manifold since a 4bbl. won't bolt on to the 2bbl. style manifold.
BigBlackB250
03-26-2007, 10:42 AM
sounds simple SOUNDS like with everything easier said than done, I can understand a six but not so whimpy. today is judgment day 100 drive for the beast! Lets pray she makes it!
