My truck stalls and wheel locks when slowing down

When cold my 96 Ram with auto would sometimes stall after backing out to the street and putting in Drive. Would restart it and it would be fine again. The cause was a loose transmission cover allowing fluid to slowly leak out making fluid level low. Once I tightened the pan bolts and topped off the trans fluid it never did that again.

Strange ? you say low fluid level in the trans caused your engine to stall? They are describing poor idle quality. engine not warming up fast enough for the driver. This begs the question... does it really take 10 minutes to warm up ? That is like cooling fan issue, too effective ? or thermostat does not close or it was removed ? Think about what has been done and try, with the engine off to spin the propeller by hand. is the fan clutch locked up always? or if it's electric has it been wired to always come on ? Did the thermostat get taken out ? Or did the one that is in there get stuck open ? Like several months ago ?

Well anywhere from 5 to 10 mins it will be fine. But if I jump in and take off it will stall in intersections as I am slowing down to turn. Just got back from Autozone, they hooked up the engine check and checked the alternator and they said no codes came up and my alternator is great at a 14 (whatever that means. I dont know much about cars.) He said what it sounds like is the Idle Change Valve? That opens and closes the throttle, but he said as to why if i let it run it is perfectly fine he said he isn't too sure what it could exactly be.

And no. Nothing has been done with my truck for 7 months now and that was for an inspection. And I changed the oil on Saturday to see if that would help since my check gauges light was on, but nothing. My dad said don't replace the Valve just let my truck "warm up" before driving...lol. Got to love dads who are mechanics sometimes.

Idle Control Valve*

Hmmm, idle change valve....on a 99.... Idle air bypass valve ? Idle control valve ? Could be what he thinks he means. Y'kno, that is an actuator....which means the computer commands it. A computer with a reading out of range from a sensor can command an actuator, and an idle air control can get a little pluggy. The thing to save wasted money spent here, is to get some readings. Since they read no codes, it has to be something like a live data reading your tech would monitor. That may lead him to a thermostat that does not stay shut till it warms up...thereby, making it take extra time. This means poor fuel economy and increased emissions in the long run. Take a thermometer and measure actual coolant temp after a few minutes. Put a wide flat pan down to catch any little spillage of coolant. a corrected thermometer from the kitchen should read 192 deg F at the vehicle reaching op. temp. see how many minutes that takes. Most engines can achieve that in 2 minutes. nowadays. The sensors and actuators will not act right or read right till 192. A thermostat is like 10 bucks and the sevice interval using aftermarket parts can be 1-2 years. Money well spent to save gas, time, and impatience. Safer to stay out of traffic till then.

But you also have a warning light for check gages, so which indicator is not indicating right ? or indicating correctly that something is not right ?

Are there fuses blown in the fuse panel or the power distribution center ?

You could possibly fix this thing yourself and tell your dad to put that on his kite and fly it, hahaha

Yes, the Idle Control Valve he said. I couldnt remember what it was called until I looked it up. lol. So buy a thermostat and check the coolant temp? The check gauges light was on so I changed the oil and that light went away, but the check engine has not come on before or after. And no, i do not believe there are any blown fuses. The guy at autozone said it could be what is not opening and closing the throttle which is making it stall when i slow down. But when I told him i let the truck run a few mins before taking off it is perfectly fine as if there are no problems. It only does it when i first am ready to go if i dont let the truck warm up. My dad bought me a tune up kit that he is going to use on Friday. But I will let him know what you said and maybe he can fix the problem himself! Thank you so much!

I assume it's not the steering wheel that locks up but the drive wheels? Could be the AOD clutch isn't releasing when cold as you slow down? That would stall the engine for sure. I had that issue once on yet another car. Drive it cold in D so it doesn't go into OD and see if it still happens?

In D? Is that for an automatic? This is a standard. Would that still be a possible problem?

Yeah, the temp warming up at its specified rate correctly with a good thermostat, would be quick, then open gradually and maintain the 192 deg F. It is a mechanical part and has a wax pellet that grows and pushes open. Then the sensors get their data right. the computer likes its readings sooner and goes into "closed loop" sooner. If you drive away while it is still in "open loop" it acts like it has not had its coffee yet. By this theory it would explain the dying. but no codes set. The test with the thermometer is painless and inexpensive and verifies this theory has any actual validity without reading live data with a scan tool.

Throttle plate wahing and idle control valve cleaning may still be part of your maintenance tune up. especially since you are missing your oil change interval recommended at 3 months. The icky vapors and dirty gummy formation of "coke" around its mouth would demonstrate what this means. You would open the exposed throttle plate and observe the butterfly disc. It would be blackened or sooty and gummed up. They sell carb spray for cleaning. the cheap kind, and plastic bottle brush or rag only. Teflon coated ones are sensitive. just wipe them. Harsh cleaning or rough treatment can make a sticking throttle result.

Foaming carb clean is used for idle control valves. motorcraft in the red can if you can get it.