1988 GMC Safari sputtering problem

The problem is I have about zero mechanical skills and know nothing when it comes to cars. We've had lots of work done on our Safari. We've had the fuel pump replaced, power steering replaced, alternator replaced and I don't even remember what all else. The most recent problem it has is sputtering. It doesn't sputter consistently, it's kind of an off an on thing. We've noticed when it sputters and we rev up the engine the sputtering goes a way for a bit, it never loses it's speed or power. It also seems to be better after being driven on the highway but then it seems to always eventually go back to sputtering, seems to be worse when idleing, such as waiting at traffic lights. We're preparing to go on a long trip, from Texas to Canada to be exact and we can't afford to keep taking the van to the shop but at the same time we don't want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere between Texas and Canada. We plan on getting AAA before we go but we still don't want to have to have our trip delayed or to have to face huge repair bills along the trip. We aren't completely confident of the mechanic that we've been using as it seems as though every time we get the van repaired, there's some other problem that pops up afterwards that we didn't have before the "repairs". I know once after getting it repaired we had a huge part fall off of it in the middle of a busy street and we had to sit and wait in a parking lot wondering what to do to get it. A car ran over it and it bounced off the street and into the parking lot and we were able to retrieve it and have it put back on. We don't want to take the van to that shop again and risk it coming out worse than it is now but don't want to suffer any setbacks along the trip either. We have no clue about how to find a mechanic we know for a fact we can trust in this town. We'd just like any help as to what the problem might be and if you guys think it's anything serious that would absolutely have to be looked at before we take this long raod trip. Thank you much!

tikisurfgod well knowing these safari's and hereing the symptoms it almost sounds to me as though you have a leaky fuel injector.

And if i am right i would say yes you do need to have the van looked at before you go on your trip. This can really rais the temp of one of the cylinders, Hurt your gas millage, And even contaminate the oil enoghe to kill compression And wear components of the engine. I know it seems as though your mechanic intentionally breaks things every time you go in for repairs, but there is no way for a mechanic to predict everything that will go wrong after the car leaves the shop.

True, it would have been nice for him to point out the obvious things that look like they might be at risk for breaking, but I doubt that he intentially broke something and then sent you on your way.

Aaron Hotrodkush thanks for aproaching this i was going to leave it alone but we do want people to know that mechanics are not always to blame. Not to say there are not bad ones out there but most of us really want to do the best work that can be done. Mechanics are very proud of there work and are prestegious. Just writing to update in case anyone has a similar problem. The problem ended up being the exhaust valve. Thanks for the update