Stalling???

[1985 v6 ranger]

My 1985 V6 ford ranger will stall or come close to stalling when i release the gas pedal. I've checked the vacuum lines with carb cleaner, compressed gas, replaced spark plug wires and spark plugs, replaced fuel filter, and the pcv checks good and i checked the vaccum with a guage. the guage fluctuates between 16-17 for 5 mintues during warm up but when I press the throttle as soon as i release the throttle it drops to 3 almost stalling and climbs back up. any ideas of what may be causing this? My next step was cleaning the throttle body but i dont think that is going to be the problem.

 

[Mark_88]

Welcome to TRS~!

Stalling is usually a carb adjustment or vac line leak...it might help to know what carb is on your truck and what adjustments are available.

The vac seems a bit low as it should be around 21...but I haven't looked at mine for a while...there was a post on here a while ago that showed what problems are associated with vac readings...and not sure if it's a sticky or you have to search for it...

Does the fluctuation happen in rapid mode or does it sorta lazily bounce? That can tell you something...

Anyway...check for vac leaks if you haven't already done so...just a small crack in one of the lines (brake booster, vac advance, or emissions if so equipped) can cause all kinds of problems. The carb base mount may also be leaking...you can try spraying liquids around the carb and intake and listen for idle fluctuations...fluids such as brake cleaner work...don't use gas...lol...if the engine picks up when you do that then it is a vac leak so do it methodically...

Carb adjustments such as the fuel/air mixture could also have moved...less likely but it can happen...float bowl or needle could need adjustment also...

Start with the vac lines and provide more info...oh, and this is the introduction thread so less likely to get really good advice...best to post in the appropriate engine forum...2.8 V6 down the list...

Plenty of good help available though...