bubbennett

I just bought a 98 express conversion van from a salvage yard. It had light front end damage. The rest of the van is spotless. They put a new hood and finder on it as well as a new rad and condenser. Has a 350 and about 130000 miles on it. I got it for $2400. I think (hope) I got a pretty good deal. Being a salvage I looked it over pretty hard. Test drove it 2 different days everything seemed in order. Drove better then my 200 Savanah. While I was driving it home I think I found out how it may have ended up with front end damage. As I was driving I set the cruise and was easing on down the road. When it came time to stop.... The van wanted to keep on keeping on. The engine stuck at about 2000 rpm. I got it stopped. Once stopped I yanked the fuse out for the cruise thinking it would fix the problem. It didn't. Once I got home I started checking the usaul easy stuff. No flootmats in the way. Throttle cable moved freely. I didn't take off the engine cover to look at the throttle assembly. Hooked it up to the code scanner and it had no codes. Anyone have any common issues these vans have that would cause it to go all Christine on me? I am sweatting it pretty hard right now thinking I got taken. I am really hoping it isnt the case.

bubbennett

Someone replied to this but it doesn't show up on this tread. Thank you very much. I've copied the advice (but left out who did it just incase they don't want to be known) into the body of this message.

I've never heard of this issue plaguing Chevy Expresses before but I have heard that it is a common issue with certain, older Saturn sedans. The solution usually involves cleaning out the throttle body. Try using WD-40 or Throttle body cleaner to blast out any carbon deposits that may have formed on the TB.

Additionally, it wouldn't hurt to check your accelerator cable for any kinks. Trace the entire cable and test it to ensure that the tension is within an acceptable range. To view the layout of your accelerator cable, go to here (Part Detail), click 'Get Info' button listed after Parts Listing and a window will pop up. Click the 'Go' button and the diagram will display.

bubbennett

Last night I took the cover off inside the van and found that the throttle wasn't quite returning all the way. It was sticking just a bit before it closed up. After a little push and it closed all the way. Then I took it for a test drive. About 2 miles in it did it again. So the next time douced it with with WD-40 after I pushed it back into place. I drove it around for about 20 minutes and it seemed fine. Since the cable moves freely so I think the problem is on or in the throttle body itself. I am planning on changing the cap, rotor, plugs and wired so while I am at it I am going to get some carb cleaner and scrub inside the throtle body a little.