mrvette

Engine starts ok, idle more or less smooth, but really rough under load, does 40mph at best.....

reader says lean on both banks.....

so fuel pump or filter??? if so where are they located?? sorry to be such a newbie, but not my van....stepson/wife own it.....

mountainmanjoe

Check your fuel pressure. Pump is in the tank

mrvette

FP sticks damn close to 50, and I just plugged in the tester again, and erased the code which was lean on bank 1&2 so two codes......

took it for a drive when it seemed normal in the driveway after erasing the codes.....and sure enough, the thing is normal now, seems fine running uphill and level ground, accelerating normally with plenty of power....

being not familiar with the van at all, it took a bit of getting familiar with the hatch cover, and what /where....

but the erase codes and back to NORMAL??? supposed to rain tmrw, so dunno about my able to get much done then....
So WHAT could set the codes?? and cause it to be trouble.....and too boot the computer connector that WORKS out of the two under there is hanging from the wiring, not attached to the dash....the dash mounted connector is dead....another mystery....

Irish_alley

im not real familiar with that model but most fuel injection you want to see around 60. a fuel filter could cause it to lose some pressure and its a good idea to change it even if you suspect the fuel pump. i would change the filter first to see how much it does improve. ive see 5 psi bump after changing the filter but my pressure was around 21 and got bumped to 26 if memory serves me right. ended up having to change the pump anyway and a poor/bad fuel filter can cause the fuel pump to die early in its life

mrvette

Well, it's acted up again, so chasing around to help, and the parts house guy recommended a bottle of CAT *** converter CLEANER so in the tank it went, he thinking the cats are clogged.....200k miles will see, don't seem to get any more information.....

my reader is a cheepie, so won't say what set the codes.......but whatever it is, sets bank1&2 as being lean....

mountainmanjoe

catalytic converter cleaner?

It's probably about as effective as as headlight fluid

mrvette

I agree in theory....BUT at 25 bux, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than anything else......

so I poured it in the tank at jobsite today, they started and ran rough, then straightened out fine.....time, and surely more suggestions....??

mountainmanjoe

It's $25 down the drain because it's snake oil. Cat. Converters clog because the insides fall apart, and there's no amount of cleaner that can put it back together. There's nothing to clean. Even if there was, they operate at up to 1600 degrees and contain catalyst which would oxidize any residue. It's like when someone tells you that you need to replace your muffler bearing. You've been had. Forget the fixes in a can.

Irish already gave you a suggestion. You need to check the fuel filter. Did you monitor the fuel pressure AS THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING ROUGHLY? And while giving it some throttle?

mrvette

You have a point about that Cat cleaner, I thought it sounded strange.....oh well,

and I did drive it with gauge showing 50 most all the way, damn close anyway....but I had reset the codes at that point, so I did not drive it when acting up.......will have to get van over here to do that, and it's need on job now....damnit.....

Irish_alley

a clogged cat should show something like a 420 code "Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)" a lean code usually means not enough fuel. low fuel pressure can do this and a failing pump can come and go. there could be other sensors that will trick the engine to thinking its running lean also but i would start with the fuel. i know you said you see 50 psi but is this at idle or while cranking or just priming the system?