Van Dangerously Slow

[brokedownboys]

Hi again van lovers,
On a perfectly flat road I can do 60 mph in 5th gear...if I floor it and wait about 45 seconds. Also, the van dies when trying to idle.

I already replaced the fuel pump. There was lots of rust in the tank, so I probably should replace the fuel filter...but that alone couldn't possible explain this lack of performance, could it?

I am also getting a RADIATOR light, could that have anything to do with it? I just checked the coolant level and it seems okay. Same for oil. Where should I start troubleshooting? Any sensors that could be running the whole EFI afoul?

[Jan-Willem]

The radiator light is easy to troubleshoot. In the overflow tank for the coolant is a floating thingie. It should be floating on top of the coolant. you can check if it does, maybe push it up, and see if the light goes out. I can imagine the cable not being plugged in. But mine had the very weird situation, that my floaty did not float anymore... it just.. sank. I replaced the floating ring thingie with something I found in my aquarium spare parts....
About the van being slow... Are you sure it is running on all 4 cylinders? On 3, I image in idles badly and doesn't get past 60.... If you do not know what it sounds like when it is running on 3... open the engine cover, then with the engine running, unplug, and replug each of the spark plug cables. If it runs considerably worse, with it unplugged, you know that cylinder was working fine. If you unplug one of them, and it runs just as bad... that cylinder is not functioning. (doesn't have to be something big, can be the spark plug cable, spark plug, distributor cap, injector, injector plug)
If all of the cylinders are working, next thing I would check for a clogged air filter or exhaust, but that would not really explain the bad idle.

[skibum]

My '87 van was parked at my winter home, as it's our ski vehicle. I had a similar issue when heading to the ski hill one day. Now these things aren't over-powered, but I could get up and over the pass without too many folks pissed at us when following. This particular day, though, was early season and we were pushing through a foot and a half of snow, so I didn't expect high rates of speed. That said, I was only getting about 15 mph (normally expected 35 - 45 under similar conditions). When I got home, I did some checking and found that mice had taken up residence in my airbox. It was packed with insulation and mouse stuff. I learned that when we went to the summer home, I have to put duct tape over the air tube that runs up behind the front bumper.
I might be worth looking at that airbox, and might as well change the filter while you're there, as it's a little involved to get to it.

[89van]

...I am also getting a RADIATOR light, could that have anything to do with it? I just checked the coolant level and it seems okay. ...

The Radiator light should only come on when the coolant float in the overflow reaches a certain low level; might be a stuck-closed switch causing that light if it's on all the time, and the level in your overflow is good.

[Jams]

a little over four years ago i fixed a problem in the fuel system in my van that caused it to run on 3 cylinders. a bunch of sediment was clogging up injector #3. i dropped the gas tank and washed it out, cleaned the lines with compressed air, cleaned the injector screens and replaced the fuel filter. fixed it for about 500 miles then the problem came back... did some digging and found a thread where timsrv upgraded the fuel filter to an aftermarket one from JEGS. I copied his upgrade and the problem never came back. im having trouble finding the post (otherwise i would link it here) but the basis is that the factory fuel filter sucks, and the injector screens can get clogged up. if your van is going extra slow cause one of the cylinders is taking a smoke break, i would make sure they're all getting fuel.

[brokedownboys]

I took the passenger side access panel off for the first time. What a nuisance.

Can someone give me clear instructions on how to replace the fuel filter without damaging the flared gas lines?

[Jan-Willem]

Huh, flared fuel lines? My filter came with a banjo bolt, top and bottom.

[brokedownboys]

Yes I see now.
Wow. How does one get these banjo bolts off. I cant even get my 19mm wrench to fit under the flange

[Jan-Willem]

Hmm I don’t remember having that issue. But then again, i live in a metric country, so I have all kinds of shapes spanners on hand.
But if you need a flatter one, you can always take an old 19mm or 3/4 inch spanner and adjust it a bit with a grinder.
I do remember a whole lot of frustration, trying to line up the bolts and rings for reassembly. I assume you are not trying to do this with the passenger engine cover still in place, right? Also you may want to take off the fuel cap, that reduces the amount of fuel leaking.
and you need some of those copper/aluminum washers for the banjo bolt. You need 4 new ones, plus how many you drop and lose during reassembly…
12880

[man_btc]

Yes I see now.
Wow. How does one get these banjo bolts off. I cant even get my 19mm wrench to fit under the flange

I've used a thin 17mm meant-for-bicycle-hubs "cone wrench" on brake jobs; there are 19mm ones from companies like Park Tools (https://www.parktool.com/en-us/product/19mm-shop-cone-wrench-scw-19).

[brokedownboys]

Wow those things were on there tight. Had to get my gf on it w/ the breaker bar...which begs the question, do the new banjo bolts need to be torqued to a certain spec?

[brokedownboys]

Jan, speaking of reassembling the little washers, do I have the proper arrangement here?

[BOLT HEAD]
( washer )
{BANJO FITTING}===========gas line
( washer )
###########
###FILTER####


Sorry for the crude illustration. Also, you mentioned aluminum and copper washers..are all four the same? And do they have certain orientations/torque specs? Thanks!

[Jan-Willem]

That is correct, all 4 are the same, the idea is that they are crush washers, so they deform on tightening, forming a high-pressure-fuel-proof seal. So pretty tight... according to this post:
https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?756-Changing-the-fuel-filter&p=48586&viewfull=1#post48586
22 ft-lb (29 Nm)

My guestimation would be:
Not tight enough:
12887

Tight (no need to go gorilla mode):
12888

You are going to break the banjo bolt:
12889

[brokedownboys]

12891
12892
12894
12893

Check out these rust rocks that formed inside the filter!

Seems to have made a difference. Thanks everyone

[brokedownboys]

That is correct, all 4 are the same, the idea is that they are crush washers, so they deform on tightening, forming a high-pressure-fuel-proof seal. So pretty tight... according to this post:
https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?756-Changing-the-fuel-filter&p=48586&viewfull=1#post48586
22 ft-lb (29 Nm)

My guestimation would be:
Not tight enough:
12887

Tight (no need to go gorilla mode):
12888

You are going to break the banjo bolt:
12889


Lol thanks for the illustration. $10 harbor freight torque wrench worked fine. Thanks for the torque spec