Odd stall in reverse/park?

[WormGod]

I noticed the last couple of days that, as I back out of my parking space at home and work, whilke reversing and turning my wheel sharp, my VX stalls. On a whim this morning, I didnt reverse and just sat still while turning my wheel sharp. It stalled. It's not easy to start again after the stall either. It almost feels/sounds flooded at that point.

I talked to the mechanic a few minutes ago that usually does my maintenence, and he said it's probably just the weather. With the cold and the moisture combined, any mechanical device, including engines, will react accordingly. Months ago, he did get into me about getting the cold air pipe out and getting the box back in. He doesnt seem to be a fan of cold air pipes and winter weather. He did bring that up again on the phone earlier, so, maybe I will take his advice.

Ever heard of such a strange stall though? Sharp turn and reverse? Weird.

[Raque Thomas]

Gary,
Just a thought, turning your wheel sharply will usually drop your RPM's slightly as the pump strains at its limits. If your RPM's are running a little below normal for some reason, maybe this is the cause; although, would think putting it into gear would have the same effect since the RPM's drop then too.

[V-Twin hiCROSS]

The power steering pump would be suspect. It may just be the cold weather causing the power steering fluid to be less viscous. I would check the level of your power steering fluid and maybe even change it (if you have not done so recently). Are there any steering noises present?

[t2p]

Probably unrelated ....... but .....
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A few of the people on this board - Anita one of them - had issues with a part of the wiring harness.
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One - or a few of them - noticed the problem when turning the wheel.

[WormGod]

Checked fluid levels. Everything looks good. I am leaning towards it just being cold weather at this point, but it worries me a bit that it just started this winter. ANother thing that worries me is, in the last few weeks, I noticed a DRASTIC decrease in MPG. On a full tank, I have averaged about 180-210 miles before empty. Granted, in the winter, the different fuel mixture does alter MPG, but that is a little eerie since it's about 100 less miles I am getting out of it. I think it's time to get some stuff looked into regardless.

[t2p]

Fuel pressure regulator .... ?
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totally guessing on this one ....
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(when they fazed out the Rochester Quadrajet I was finished ......... )

[AREA 51]

There's some kind of pressure switch for the power steering that you may want to have checked.

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

I personally don't think it's your cold air intake. I was uneasy about leaving mine on all winter and thus far it has not caused any issues for me. I even drove in bitter cold with blowing snow and saw no ill effects.

I definitately am not experiencing any problems related to heat-soak...lol.

[xdfarrx]

I have the same situation as you Worm... At this point I believe it to be the intake manifold. I am putting on the stock airbox, and will take into the dealer next week...****ty.

[thebear54]

Haven't had any problems like this with my air-intake and it being -15 here at night and (Brrrr) +10 during the day.
Sounds like it might be an idle problem because at a full turn the RPMs will drop and stall you out.
John

[bluegrass boy]

I just had the same problem a few days ago. My 2000 VX would run rough and stall when I was backing out of a parking spot. It was very difficult to get it started again.

What I had noticed before this happened:

Poor gas milage
shifting problems, up shifted too early under load
hard starting

Solution: :)
I brought my VX to the dealership and talked to the mechanic, he said he knew exactly what was wrong, a bad seal in the vaccume chamber. He replaced it (under engine/power train warranty) and voila! My vx now runs just fine! No stalls and easy to start. The milage is back to normal (still bad, but better than 10 mpg!)

[Tone]

Bluegrass, your issue is completely different and unrelated to the problem listed. Yours is the known issue of cracked/leaking intake gaskets.