1994 Dodge ram 1500 keeps dying?

[Ryan M]

First thing I would investigate would be the vacuum lines. A leak in a vacuum line can cause the engine to stall at idle, but run smooth when you've got the throttle open. You can try blocking off the vacuum lines to the brake booster, HVAC system, and cruise control when it's parked in your drive way, and see if it idles smoothly. If it does, you may have narrowed down the vacuum leak to one of those systems. If that doesn't change anything, inspect the vacuum lines to the EGR valve and carbon canistor. Remember that those two devices should not be open when the engine is cold. Also remove and inspect the EGR valve to make sure it's not clogged up. The EGR valve will not be open under hard acceleration, so it won't matter if it's clogged under those conditions, but it could prevent the engine from idling smoothly if it is clogged. It's also cheap insurance to replace O2 sensors and temp sensors if you haven't done so already. The computer needs an accurate signal to activate the fuel injectors given operating conditions of the engine, and because it's an OBD-I system, it's not quite as good as an OBD-II in terms of diagnostics, and it won't set a trouble code until a sensor fails completely, so it's better to replace old sensors if you haven't done so already.

 

[Chris]

I have a '94 dodge ram that keeps dying usually only when not moving or moving slowly and sometimes doesn't restart immediately. What could be wrong with it. I think that it may be the fuel filter, oil, fuel lines or the carburetor. I am not a mechanic and I am not sure what is wrong with it so I need a mechanics opinion of what is wrong with it. I need to fix this pronto because a half ton heavy metal death trap is not easy to push off of the road in 90 degree weather.