Chevy Celebrity Stalling problems

sccarguy

I have a 3rd-owner 1988 Chevrolet Celebrity w/ the
2.8L V6 engine that intermittently stalls. It
usually happens at a stop, with A/C on. The car
will idle rough, then suddenly cut out. Sometimes,
there's no period of rough idling before the stall.

Steps taken so far: Previous owner replaced EGR
valve. 7,000 miles later, my mechanic did same (I
wasn't aware of earlier replacement at the time)
due to a diagnostic code. Problem seemed to clear
up for a short time, but could have been placebo
affect. In any event, returned and continues to
this day (about 10 months later). What else could
be causing this? I remember seeing on one forum
(perhaps on Cars.com) that others were having same
problem.

Thanks in advance.

sccarguy

The same Celebrity also has occasional power surges, usually also at a stop with brake on. Car wants to lunge forward.

fixitmyself

I had an 86 4 cyl Celebrity that started to idle rough and stall at stop lights every time the AC or defrost was on.(AC was on in both cases) The engine would run fine without the AC on. I finally got under the hood and with the AC on and the air cleaner off and kept the motor running by revving the throttle-body for a few minutes. I noticed that throttle-body was pouring fuel down the intake. With the AC off, fuel flow was reduced. When the engine eventually quit, I noticed that the electric fan for the radiator was smoking. The fan still rotated but probably not fully up to speed. I disconnected the fan motor and the engine ran normally with the AC on. The fan was replaced and all was well. The fan would come on every time the AC was turned on and must have been failing electrically and throwing spikes into the electrical system affecting the computer and fuel system.
May be fan or something similar. Hope this helps.

sccarguy

Thanks.

poisondartfrog

Very common problem on the 2.8 V6/tranny is a faulty TCC (Torque Converter Clutch) solenoid that fails to unlock the torque converter from the engine at idle/stop. Result? Stalling, surging, etc...

Happened to a friend's '84 Celebrity... One quick solution is to pull the plug for the TCC solenoid, located on the transmission case close to the bellhousing. You'll lose lockup above 45 mph, so the engine will rev slightly higher on the highway, but if the car is mainly used for around town, it won't matter. Otherwise, you can replace the TCC solenoid, on later 80s trannys the solenoid replacement did not require extensive disassembly of the tranny (I think it's under a cover).