1/2 quart/liter down, 3L Voyager 1994 stalls, why so sensitive?

I've noticed something strange about my Voyager 1994 3L engine.
After about 1000 miles, the car will start, sometimes to stall out
repeatedly, going 20-30 mpg or slow speeds or whatever.

Out of desperation, I would put in about 1/2 quart of oil, and the
problem disappeared.

This has happened on about 5 occasions so far.

Is the engine that sensitive? The dipstick is notorious for hard to
read, even if letting it sit outside the engine for 1/2 hours and then
put back in and the engine is cold.

I assume the engine oil is down slightly, 1/2 quart at most.

But why so sensitve?

Is this a sign of anything?

 

That has nothing to do with adding oil, I would suggest cleaning out the
throttle body before any other thing is done
Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Thanks for the reply. But in 14,000 miles, car has around 190,000
miles, this happened about 5 times. And it happened when the oil would
be about 1/2 quart down after 1000 miles. The car does not burn much
oil or smoke, unlike a lot of 3.0 liter Mitsubishi's. A quart of oil
on an engine with this many miles is pretty good, so far.

But it could be a coincidence or slightly connected. Is cleaning out
the throttle body all that I would have to do? Spray some cleaner down
it? Preferable to use the one from the dealer, dealer sells part#
4318001AB? Or do the whole thing with the taking it off and gaskets
and AIS motor, for about $100?

 

open the throttle blade all the way open , (car not running of course) clean
the blade and the inside bore where the blade rests at idle, i bet that
takes care of it

 

The Mitsubishi 3.0L V6 engine in your van is very sensitive to crankcase
ventillation system condition. If the crankcase ventillation system is
compromised (clogged or restricted hoses/passages/breathers/filters/valve,
cracked, broken or leaky hoses/fittings) then low-speed misbehavior such
as you describe can result. In that case, though the possibility is
somewhat remote, adding a pint of oil could change the blowby
characteristics just enough to make the difference between stalling and
not stalling.

The suggestion others have given, to thoroughly clean the throttle body,
is a good one. You should also carefully inspect your entire PCV system,
cleaning, repairing or replacing components as necessary.

DS

 

Thanks for the detailed, helpful info.