2001 Voyager Lx-Poor MPG and Black Smoke
 

Hi, I purchased a used 2001 Voyager LX a few months back and have had problems with it running correctly since I purchased it. I have taken it to 2 different garages to have the computer connected to it and at both places no error codes came up and they said to me that it can be several different things and to bring it it for them to look at it but my problem is that I am a woman and I fear they will rip me off for that reason so I am hoping someone here may be able to help so I can have a neighbor fix it for me. When it first starts it runs very rough and for about the first 2 miles it feels as though it has no power and just chugs along only allowing me to get up to about 20 mph and the RPMs will go to about 4 then it will have a big puff of smoke come from the tailpipe and then it will run fine. It has been getting horrible gas mileage, like maybe 5 mpg and I do smell a faint gas odor while driving. Another thing I will mention is that the van seems to run better on E85 than regular gas (no sputtering or revving or gas odor) and gets a little better gas mileage but still only about 8 MPG.I am getting ready to take a 4 hour trip and am worried that it wont make it there and will cost me an arm and a leg for gas! Thank you so much in advance for any help you may have and if you need anymore info on the van please let me know.