'84 stalls unpredictably

[Mr Sabetodo]

does anyone have suggestions?

It can go for days without stalling.

It will rev up at a stop light on its own, so I need to put my foot on the break harder to prevent taking off.

Sometimes while shifting gears, mostly to reverse.

Car smells like gas when windows are rolled down.

other people say there's an air leak by listening, but I can't hear it. I sprayed starter fluid on the hoses to see if the rpms would go up but nothing happened.

[mydamnvolvo]

Does the temp gage fluctuate when it surges?

[lummert]

If you can smell gas you have a leak of some type.

[mydamnvolvo]

If you can smell gas you have a leak of some type.

Not necessarily, he could be smelling fumes from the engine compartment. If the temp gage is fluctuating, that means that the coolant temp sensor is not receiving the right temperature.

[93Regina]

If the temp gage is fluctuating, that means...

that gauge has no relationship to ECU's temp-sensor.

Increased idling means additional air is coming into intake manifold, so the logical suspects,

1. Brake's hydrovac unit not fit for duty, diaphragm slit
2. IAC, if throttle switch is sending correct signal to ECU
3. Intake manifold, throttle body, sucking additional air
4. Fuel injectors' o-rings need to be replaced.

He says, "other people say there's an air leak by listening," so find it.

[mydamnvolvo]

If the temp gage is fluctuating, that means...

that gauge has no relationship to ECU's temp-sensor.

But, if the car is reading an abnormally cool temperature, the car will increase its idle to increase the temperature of the engine, resulting in stalling because the car starts to overheat. The temperature gage would fluctuate because the car would read cool, then overheat, then off.

[mydamnvolvo]

If the temp gage is not fluctuating, you may have a crack in the intake gasket. Try spraying carb cleaner on a joint where the manifold connects to cylinder head.