Car stalling up steep hill - Any ideas???

[tobyn]

Hi,

My van only gets used once every 2 weeks, so I took it out for a drive today. Was driving great along the flat, but at the end of the (20 minute) drive I had to drive up a steep, long hill. It struggled and ended up stalling.

Do these vans tend to struggle, or could there be something wrong???

What should I check?


Thanks for any advice.

Toby

[CovKid]

Engine type, size etc. All would be useful to get a response.

Add it to your signature then it'll save everyone having to ask that one.

[tobyn]

1.9 petrol engine.

1988 panel van.

[CovKid]

Shouldn't struggle no (not on a 1.9) but they can end up badly set up.

Start with a compression check (borrow a guage if need be) and record the figures. Its pointless trying to guess the cause but you can make it easier by ruling out potential problems in turn so start with compression figures. Do those first. If they turn out satisfactory, we can move on to the other things like fuel delivery and timing and probably help you nail the cause.

[New Kentish Campers]

Could be fuel starvation. Check the in-line filter in the fuel line and the one in the carbs fuel intake. Check the length of the fuel pump operating rod and it should be 100mm long. It usually wears down so the pump doesn't completely work particularly under load I.e up hills. Then check the pump itself if all the above is ok. Its a start for you and hopefully will help fix the problem.

[CovKid]

Could be lots of things....

Compression is the starting point. Unless you know how much potential there is, you have no way of knowing whether you can reach it.

[Smosh]

As Covkid suggests; one step at a time. Compression is a good place to start. Just to check though, what gear did you have it in? Coz if it was really steep and you lost some pace....

[CovKid]

Unless ridiculously steep, you can make most hills in 3rd or even 4th if moderate.

The AA or RAC would almost certainly look at fuel/spark first if vehicle has been ok up to then but in this instance (with an unknown) you have to glean what power might be available if fuel and spark were functioning correctly. A compression check will tell you that quickly.

Otherwise you can (as many often do) end up replacing stuff in the hope that its this or that and not have a clue. I know of serveral 80/90 members that have tackled issues that way and their bill has run into several hundred pounds. Its just not the way to do things. Start from the bottom up and you should find the cause. Work from the top down and you can quickly run out of money as well as the will to live.

As Joe Friday would say: "Just the facts, ma'am"



Could be running on 3, badly timed, starved of fuel but best to know if its capable of delivering power under load to start with. If it is, we can work through everything with you, bit by bit.