My van is nearly dead

[lotsofmiles]

99 express van 5.7 gas 111,000 miles. Wouldnt start Friday.

Ran fine, nothing strange on Tuesday.

Try to start it Friday, only cranks. Had spark at the cap, and getting fuel. Noticed one spark plug wire arching so I replaced them all.

Saturday it started, but ran rough. Barley get up to 10 mph.

Drove it 1.5 miles to a job and it threw a p0161. Cleared that code and let it idle an hour while I was on the job - too sissy to shut it off.

1.5 miles back home - same thing 10mph, barely backed up the slight incline of the driveway and into the garage. Threw a p1153, 0174.

This thing is 14 years old. I bought (traded for equipment so have next to nothing $ in it), was supposed to be for a year then on to a better van, but I've had it over 3 years now.

I dont want to start throwing hundreds of $ at it trying to guess whats wrong. Even running good I could probably only sell it for $1500.

Any good guesses what to look for?

Really leaning to finding a new van since I had decided this was the year for it anyway.

 

[TheBac]

Bad crank sensor? Cap cracked?

 

[lotsofmiles]

I'm wondering if the cats are clogged - one or both.

Cap 'looked' ok inside and out. New cap is about $60

Not a single dmax van listed on autotrader within 100 miles 2006-2010

 

[MACKIN]

Clogged fuel filter? Or partially I should say?

 

[lotsofmiles]

less than 5,000 on it. could be. would it throw a lean code from just one bank (pass side) with the filter?

 

[addelo6]

we had an s10 with a 4.3 in it that would chug and buck if you could get it running that is, eventually after a few hundred on unneeded parts we cut a big hole in cat emptied it and probrem solved.

 

[Kartmnn]

02 sensor or crank sensor

 

[rgullett83]

carboned up poppet valves possibly

 

[llybyppe]

Fuel pump is going out

 

[adeso]

too many bodies in the back
Cat would be an easy and free thing to try

 

[LBZ]

Lol so judging by the above posts it could be anything!

 

[lotsofmiles]

Yea, I'm thinking get a newer van and deal with this one after I get all my equipment out. Maybe sell it as is, maybe mess with it a bit and get a little more out of it

 

[lotsofmiles]

pulled the dog house off and shut off the lights.
Ignition coil is arcing.
Guess I'll replace that too.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

Also do the cap and rotor if you haven't already, and don't use the cheap ones(buy the good blue one if you can find it). All of your codes deal with the bank 2 sensor 1 O2 sensor being lean or heater malfunction. I know that O2 sensor seems to fail alot on the old school VORTECS because of how close it and the wiring is to the manifold. I can't tell you how many of that one I have done for failure, and it is never a fun job to get to it on a hot engine. Injectors are also fairly failure prone, but will normally give a rough hot restart when the poppets leakdown. I would do the cap and rotor and put the passenger side upstreeam O2 sensor in it if it was mine.

 

[lotsofmiles]

what do you mean blue ones?

these are my choices at A.Z.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa...s-3-4-ton-Van/Distributor-Cap/_/N-jdepqZ9n80v

and

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa...n/Distributor-Cap-Performance/_/N-jdepqZ9n97k


seeing the coil arcing - I dont mind dumping somey money into this thing. But really had my mind set on getting a newer van this year. So as long as it runs decent

going to look at a 2006 Express 2500 4.8 with 40K on it

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

I wouldn't run either one of those caps, I've had to many of the cheap black ones fail in a few thousand miles on me to take a chance on it. The blue cap is a marine cap(used on the 5.0L and 5.7L VORTECS in boats), but can be bought from CARQUEST under there premium line. The GOOD caps that don't give much trouble are a dark blue color VS the cheap ones that are black. The ACCEL cap may be a decent one, but last I heard they were just a reboxed wells cap.

 

[lotsofmiles]

Thanks. Don't have a carquest here. I'll try to find one somewhere.

 

[bagged91]

Don't get the 4.8, you will not be happy with it. My father has one in a extacab short bed 2wd and its a turd.

 

[lotsofmiles]

The 4.8 van I was supposed to look at tomorrow sold.

 

[lotsofmiles]

Yes, all the LSx engines are bulletproof. 4.8 will probably be a little wound out trying to push a heavy van around, but it will take a lickin' and keep tickin'.

Don't get the 4.8, you will not be happy with it. My father has one in a extacab short bed 2wd and its a turd.

:spit:


fwiw, if the paperwork goes thru -
I just bought a 2012 Express with the 4.8

Nice upgrade from my 1999. Options wise its basically the same van only with the newer standard stuff. Stabilitrack, airbags above the driver/pass door, 6 speed trans (the first express van I've driven with a trans that I couldnt hear) tpms.