1987 B2200-really weird problem-help!
 

I have a 1987 B2200 5-speed that has one really big problem or several small ones. It has everyone I know stumped. The first start of the day the truck will start and idle fine, however when I start moving away as soon as I come to a hill (of which there are many)it will bog down regardless of what gear I am in and almost die before I get to the top of the hill. When the truck is level again and I floor it, it will slowly gain speed again. However, once I have gone a few miles it starts doing something else! If I put it in neutral, say at a stop sign the RPM's rev up-really really high. I don't have an RPM gauge in it so it's a guess but it sounds like it's pegging out. Once I put it in gear and start moving again it drops down to where it is supposed to be, the gas mileage has also gotten horrendous in the last week-100 miles on 1 tank! I disconnected the battery hoping to reset the computer and it worked wonderfully for one whole day then it started again. I have run Heet in the gas pretty regular, fresh tune-up and a new fuel pump and fuel filter. I assume because of the successful reset that I have some sensor problem going on-can't afford to have it put on the machine and have no warning lights on- so was just wondering if someone has had the same problems and what their fix was. Sorry this is so long, but it's my daily driver and can't be blowing a motor! Thanks for any help!

I'm new to fixing up my B2200 but...
 

Have you tried Sea Foam? My car performed perfectly for a while after I used it but of I think there's an issue with the carb so of course it didn't last forever, though the heinous clicking sound it used to make has officially stopped! You could try sea foaming yours just to clean out any old gunk that could be in the internals. My car also sputters (maybe the same as the bogging down problem you're having?) and the carb is the last thing that I'm getting to so I'll let you know if it fixes the problem, if you'd like

Oh and I also had these problems too after tuning it up and things. I also had a new O2 sensor put in because the engine light came on but that didn't make any difference to its performance. Sorry if that doesn't help but I'm slowly narrowing my options down so hopefully I'll figure it out!

Try checking your engine ground. The cable that goes from the block to the frame. I had a very similar problem with a vehicle one time, and it turned out that when under a load, do to the lack of a good ground, the engine was getting a very week spark. This is why it lost power on hills and such. Sometimes the computers will sense there is an issue and when you put it in neutral, it will rev very high because of more air and fuel being dumped in.

Buy a Weber.

Weber carb: Might not be a bad idea. I partially rebuilt the Nikkei carb on my old 87 B2200 which helped. Found the real problem to be that it would stick in the high idle mode. There is a very weak spring that takes it off off high idle (it moves a little lever arm on the side of the carb). Anyway, if it sticks in high idle, it runs like crap. I fixed it by spraying carb cleaner on the choke and the external linkages that operate that high idle lever. If these parts get just a little gummmed up it won't come off high idle. I also had an intermittent ignition problem when the engine was hot. Replaced the igniter module in the distributor to fix that ($69, Duralast brand) which I got at the local parts store. Maybe the carb float is sticking or the float level is wrong. Could be a lot of things. Good luck with that.

Weber all the way. The stock carbs are junk that should fix your prob.

You may need to look into buying a new distributor cap, see is the cap metal prongs are worn. then have a compression test done on the cylinders. if have stock carb, adjust two small screws near drivers side base of carb to help with the idle mixture

One or both of your Cat converters is plugged. I've had that same problem on a few vehicles, and removing the cat hoses off the carb (3 funky hoses at the front) will tell you which cat is plugged by the way the truck runs when the hose is removed..

*OR*

Just pull both cats and hollow them out..