Cinderella Posted December 22, 2008 Author #26 Posted December 22, 2008 still no answers yet...lol they changed the number 3 plug and wires.........he left the guys house because he had a family thing today.....van still acting up..... took it auto zone and had em put it on the computer there and it still said number 3 plug misfiring.... he called his brother ( who also is a mechanic) and he decided to change all the plugs I think and some other thing...a coil something???? i dont remember.... but he is at another friends who has a heated garage working on it again right now..... so i still dont know if this is the answer.. Dale did tell me he decided he doesnt want to rent a car....doesnt want to spend the money on renting a car that he could use to fix the van if its something more....... needless to say I wasnt happy..... dont know if we get out of here in the morning or not now.......
Jethroish Posted December 22, 2008 #27 Posted December 22, 2008 Hope you get it fixed. It can be a real pain to find these 'gremlins.' I would have thought bad gas, but ... Good luck
Cinderella Posted December 22, 2008 Author #28 Posted December 22, 2008 the mechanic friend this morning didnt think it was the gas.......but i keep asking if he would go ahead and put some dry gas in just to make sure..... i talked to dale a few mins ago and he said he is done and it seemed to be running great til he took off down the road and it started all over again........... he is out driving it around to see if something miraculous happens........
Cinderella Posted December 22, 2008 Author #29 Posted December 22, 2008 I doubt this is your problem and hoping this is not. BUt worth a check, but a Venture van has the 3.4 litre same which is the same as the 3.1 and they are horrible on Intake gaskets. When they antifreeze leaks into the cylinders they will spit and sputter intermittently, not normally continuously. The can also leak into the oil and this is worse, but you normally will notice white sludge, under the oil filler cap. Not sure the mileage on your van, but normally these act up any where from 30,000 to 50,000 miles. If you get lucky it will get 60,000 miles, before it needs to be fixed. Guaranteed it will need to be done someday, there is no getting around it. If it is leaking the coolant container will start to get low. Good luck Brad we went thru this at 80000 miles.......
IH Truck Guy Posted December 22, 2008 #30 Posted December 22, 2008 the mechanic friend this morning didnt think it was the gas.......but i keep asking if he would go ahead and put some dry gas in just to make sure..... i talked to dale a few mins ago and he said he is done and it seemed to be running great til he took off down the road and it started all over again........... he is out driving it around to see if something miraculous happens........ Cindy,what a bummer... We really feel bad for you guys... This is the kind of stuff that happens to us around every holiday.. Based on what you said that it happened right after filling up with gas,I still think that it is bad gas..I know it's a pain,but I would drain the tank and eliminate that first.. I really wish you were closer so I could help more and let you use the heated garage. You could also disconnect the battery for 10 or 15 minutes and try to reset the computer. Good luck..If Dale has any ????,tell him to call my cell.. I'll be up until midnite.....
Cinderella Posted December 22, 2008 Author #31 Posted December 22, 2008 he is 35 miles from the house getting some dry gas and trying to run some of gas up.......hes running fine at highway speed......sputtering just a little...but at idle sputters bad...... we will see what the water remover does while hes out driving......they didnt have any heat so he got some prestone stuff he did replace a coil pack, that was weak........ i called the gas station and they havent had any complaints........
Yammer Dan Posted December 22, 2008 #32 Posted December 22, 2008 Sounds more and more like Mass Air Flow
Cinderella Posted December 22, 2008 Author #33 Posted December 22, 2008 me thinks he is frustrated......cause there are so many possible ideas of whats wrong..... he stopped home and went back out to try to burn up some more gas and then refill it with some high grade.... he has consented to a car rental if its not running better when he returns.... especially after haylie started crying... i dont think he wants to spend christmas with two upset females....... guess we could chance it and take it.......my son in law in ohio is also a mechanic......but,,,but,,, what if we dont make it there....could take along some vr members phone numbers that we will be passing by for rescue......
BradT Posted December 22, 2008 #34 Posted December 22, 2008 I hope you guys get away for some needed relaxing. Even a day or two late is still fine, so take your time and figure out which is the best course of action. Let us know what you two decide. BRad
Midnight Rider Posted December 22, 2008 #35 Posted December 22, 2008 Well not sure what the ^*&&^$&*%*&((*&%&^#$*&%(*&%&^%$&^$ wrong with that van. When I was driving it, after awhile it would start blowing cold air out of the defrost but if I switched it to the dash and floor vents it would get hot again. Its been my experience that it is a symptom of a head gasket................anyone got some dynamite!! Dale
BOO Posted December 22, 2008 #36 Posted December 22, 2008 Its been my experience that it is a symptom of a head gasket................anyone got some dynamite!![/size] Dale Dale, Don't waste any more money buying dynamite, just get a free book of matches and torch the thing................... Have a Happy and Safe Holiday, Jerry
Redneck Posted December 22, 2008 #37 Posted December 22, 2008 Well not sure what the ^*&&^$&*%*&((*&%&^#$*&%(*&%&^%$&^$ wrong with that van. When I was driving it, after awhile it would start blowing cold air out of the defrost but if I switched it to the dash and floor vents it would get hot again. Its been my experience that it is a symptom of a head gasket................anyone got some dynamite!! DaleThe heat no heat could be low coolant level it could also be electrical in the heater controls. What did the spark plugs look like? Is there any signs of coolant in the crank case? You can check for compression in the cooling system by warming up the engine then take the overflow tube from the radiator and put it in a bottle of water. If there is compression in the cooling system you will get a steady flow of air from the overflow tube. Have you cleaned the battery cables? I have seen a 3.4 break a valve spring causing the same symptoms you would have to pull the valve cover and look at the valve springs very close.
timgray Posted December 22, 2008 #38 Posted December 22, 2008 I doubt this is your problem and hoping this is not. BUt worth a check, but a Venture van has the 3.4 litre same which is the same as the 3.1 and they are horrible on Intake gaskets. When they antifreeze leaks into the cylinders they will spit and sputter intermittently, not normally continuously. The can also leak into the oil and this is worse, but you normally will notice white sludge, under the oil filler cap. Not sure the mileage on your van, but normally these act up any where from 30,000 to 50,000 miles. If you get lucky it will get 60,000 miles, before it needs to be fixed. Guaranteed it will need to be done someday, there is no getting around it. If it is leaking the coolant container will start to get low. Good luck Brad ALL GM vehicles with the 3400 engine came with bad intake gaskets. And the fun part is that GM will NOT fix it as a recall. They will gladly charge you $1000 to fix it though as it's a bugger to get the intake off to change that gasket. Every single Grand Am, Aztek, Venture, etc that came with the 3400 engine in it had the evidence of the bad gasket on it... I have not looked at the newer ( newer than 2004) vehicles to see this problem, I'm assuming it's still there. GM does not like fixing major problems when they can save $1.25 a gasket by continuing to put on the china junk.
BradT Posted December 23, 2008 #39 Posted December 23, 2008 ALL GM vehicles with the 3400 engine came with bad intake gaskets. And the fun part is that GM will NOT fix it as a recall. They will gladly charge you $1000 to fix it though as it's a bugger to get the intake off to change that gasket. Every single Grand Am, Aztek, Venture, etc that came with the 3400 engine in it had the evidence of the bad gasket on it... I have not looked at the newer ( newer than 2004) vehicles to see this problem, I'm assuming it's still there. GM does not like fixing major problems when they can save $1.25 a gasket by continuing to put on the china junk. I think in 04 they changed to a 3.5 litre but not sure what differences were. The 3.1 were the same problems. I had to change the intake gaskets on the Malibou twice each time after 100,000 km. I also had to change the Montana van (3.4) at 105,000 km this was a lot harder to do as you can not see many of the bolts on the back side. Redneck pulling the rear valve covers is also a big job. But I agree with you on the heat issue this normally low coolant or an air lock which can easily happen on these vehicles, when the coolant gets a little low. Dale how many miles on the van Cindy said you changed this gasket at 80,000 miles hoping it is not the same problem again. BRad
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