driving home from work, everything was normal, it was snowing lightly, and the tempature was -2 (celcius, which is 2 degrees below freezing)

all of a sudden, it felt like someone turned my key to off, then back on, my foot was still on the gas, lost all power from the motor for about half a second, then it came back... figured it was a patch of ice and the back tires spun, losing the power pushing forward, then grabbed the pavement and tossed me back again...

about 3 km later, the truck starts doing it again, but this time more than once, off and on, off and on, i killed the ignition (while in gear and rolling) and turned it back on, hoping to reset what ever was wrong, nothing... it kept doing it, more and more frequent, to the point i was actually losing speed... i pulled over, let it idle, it idled just fine, reved it up, held it at about 2000, nothing seemed out of place... put it back in gear went to pull out, and within 10 feet, started bucking and dying on me, pulled back over, popped the hood, looked around, nothing seemed out of place, it sounded normal, i could hear a slight valve tick, but that's it... no hissing like a vacuum leak, nothing... the only thing i did notice, was the slight smell of burning or melting rubber on the drivers side, it could also be smelled below the truck, on the drivers side, very faint... not present on the passenger side...

looked around for about 5 minutes and figured **** it, i've got to get home some how... hopped back in the truck and started to drive away... ran just fine, not another issue the entire way home... and the rest of the trip was about 40 km

the CEL is on, and it was before this happened... i think it was on origionally because of not clamping the fuel filler lines properly, when i put my BL on, i haven't had a chance to get it reset (want to pull the code to make sure that's all it is, before i reset them) so it may have thrown an additional code...

and no, i did not stop somewhere to get it read on the way home, i doubt anyone would be open this early, for 1, and 2, i've now been up for 22 hours, and am damn tired...

anyone had this happen? thoughts as to what it could be?


another thing i noticed, probably unrelated, but i should mention it... when i start it cold, it often has a chirping noise, it sounds like a dry water pump or something like that, chirping lasts about 1 full second then goes away, and SOMETIMES appears on a re-start, i hear it almost every day when i come out from work or to go to work in the morning...

work done in recent history; new clutch set (about a month ago) 3" pa body lift, 33x12.5's new brake pads on the front (about a week ago) and work straightening the skid plate yesterday morning, i did not do it, so i don't know if they touched anything else...

 

My old truck had similar symptoms, it turned out to be dirt fuel injectors. Cleaned them and my problems went away.

 

It sounds like a fuel issue to me. I have had my truck do that in the past when the fuel pump was dying. It would idle fine and rev fine in park because there was no load, when I went to pull away it would start doing it again.

When you would lose power was it instantaneous like someone flicked a switch, or did it sputter down as it lost power? That well help tell if its fuel related or spark related.

 

like someone flipped a switch... i'll see if i can make it to a parts store to get the codes read today, i just woke up, and i don't know what time they close at, so we will see...

 

got codes read today, i think the number was 85? "small leak in fuel system" which was me not tightening the hose clamp on the fuel filler extension, which has been fixed, and code cleared...

thoughts for what is going on with my truck? do you guys think it is literally a fuel problem, or a fuel delivery problem?

it almost seemed like i was running out of gas, except i was at half a tank

 

I agree it sounds fuel related, but if not maybe a loose ground strap/wire somewhere that is coming in and out of contact?

 

i was thinking that maybe, i did have to change 2 grounds when i did the body lift, but neither seemed like it would cause this, as if it were to come loose, it would fall away from everything, the one was from the frame to the body, which i can't see causing this, the other was on the fenderwell, which i can't see coming loose like this... it didn't look loose when i popped the hood this morning, i did look at it, but i didn't wiggle it... plus it's not a very big wire, so it can't be the main motor ground...

i should also add, all of my electronics on the truck, dash, stereo, heater, all worked normal

 

more then likely a fuel delivery problem..... worst thing is when its intermitent like you are saying. does it one minute the next its fine.

clean injectors, fuel filter and check the pump.....

and grounds can be sneaky like that.....

 

try a fuel filter. kinda seems like it may be it, but it could be somthing bigger. they are cheap and easy to do. not sure about up there fuel wise but the amount of ethanol being tossed in is doing a number on filters and small eingine carbs. last year my father in law went through carb on his pressure washer, chain saw, and riding mower and was all due to the ethanol tearing them to bits(small parts inside that is). after the fuel filter i would have a shop try a leak down test on the fuel rail to see if your loosing pressure and a pressure check while its running to make sure its running right.

 

weirdest thing i thought though, no codes...

how often should all of that be done on a vehicle? i've had my truck since september, put 20 000km on it, (12 000 miles) truck has almost 80 000 km on it, (50 000miles)

 

fuel filter should be changed every year, although almost no one does

 

where is it located and what's it worth?

also, is it bolt/hose clamped on, or is it ac/fuel line connectored on?

 

Mine was done for the first time (maybe second if dealer did it back at 50k) at 122k miles. Yeah. I hate my previous owner. With a passion.

 

It comes off with a fuel line disconnect tool. You will get drenched with fuel when the lines empty. It is in connected to the fuel line and the frame. About a foot ahead of your gas tank towards the engine. Just crawl on down there and look for the black soda can looking thing. Ford emblem on it.

 

Ford recommends 30,000 IIRC.

 

I changed mine at 50,000KM, cost me 20$ for it

 

sounds good, i'll be changing mine some time in the coming week

 

you dont need any special tools to change the filter either. just throwing that out there.

 

except a fuel line disco tool

 

not for a fuel filter. the newer trucks you dont need any special tools unless your truck is different being Canadian. I changed mine at the end of last year.

 

Vista's right, you don't need any special tools to remove the clips. If I remember correctly, you just need a flat head screwdriver to help push in the clips to pull it apart.

 

ya i think thats all i used. I cant remember exactly Id have to hop back under the truck and refresh my memory.

 

All i needed on my 87 was a flat head screw driver filter cost 6 bucks.

 

That exactly happened to me when I took off the exhaust.

 

fuel filter is easy