92 Chevy Astro Surging and Stalling

[RomanChariot]

I have a question for those with greater knowledge than myself. I have a lady that wants me to look at her high mileage 92 Astro. The car starts up fine and initially runs quite well. However, after idling for a couple of minutes the idled starts to surge up and down. When she put it in gear the van stalls unless she holds the RPMs up with the gas pedal. It also stalls when she stops at a light. It always fires back up without any problem.

She claims that this all started after she ran out of gas one day but that could just be coincidental. I am thinking that there might be a problem with the idle air controller. I don't have much time to spend on looking at her vehicle. Does anybody have any good suggestions?

[giant_mtb]

Fuel pump?

[MX793]

Fuel pump?

I was thinking the same.  Sucking the tank dry may have also pulled some crap into the filter and plugged it up.

[Soup DeVille]

IAC is likely clogged.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Vacuum leak. Spray some shit around the vacuum hoses while it's running to find it.

[RomanChariot]

Thank you for the feedback. I considered to fuel pump and filter but it would seem that those would affect engine performance even more under load than at idle and she has indicated that there are no problems under load. I have not driven the vehicle yet, just observed it in idle conditions.

I am definitely planning at looking at the IAC.

I really hope it is not a vacuum leak as tracking down hoses in a van engine compartment is a pain but I will spray around and see if anything pops up.