I woke up this morning and headed into work. on my way in my truck suddenly started decreasing in speed. when i stepped into the gas it started slowing almost to a crawl. i pulled into a parking lot and threw it in park. the idle evened out. i took off again and within a half mile it started again. i am clueless as to what is going on. the only thing weird that happened today...it started right after i ran through a puddle and noticed a pretty heavy cloud of steam come off the rear passenger wheel.

if anyone has experienced something similar or may have some insight for me, i would greatly appreciate it! i'll be checking the post all day so i can answer any questions. i'm at work right now so i cant activly check anything...

 

its a 1995 F150 XLT Supercab 4x4 with the 4.9L 300 I-6

 

i'm thinking it could be a clogged fuel filter or some other fuel delivery issue. maybe some dirty gas. i dont know. maybe the fuel pump got wet? is it on the outside of the tank? yes, it does have dual tanks but i only use the rear tank because the front tank leaks.

 

Fuel pumps are inside the tanks. Cloud of steam was probably from cat converter. Check engine light come on? I'd check for codes first.

 

it came on for about 30 seconds then shut off when i pulled over.

 

Ok, so I ran my wife to work in the truck earlier because it is snowing like mad out here and its our only 4wd. It ran fine until i got within about a mile and started bogging down again. When I would stop at a stop light and it sat for a few seconds, it ran fine for a minute or two then went back to losing power. I sat in the parking lot for a few minutes after I dropped her off to let it run for a few. I noticed that the overdrive was on. I shut the overdrive off and it hasn't happened since. I don't know if this is just a coincidence or if its actually related. I am thinking that I am probably looking at a clogged fuel filter, clogged fuel line, water in the gas, clogged injectors, maybe an air flow issue. I honestly have no clue whats going on here. If anyone has some suggestions please let me know. As soon as I can run by autozone or advance auto I'll have them hook up the reader and see if it is registering any codes. Other than that, the only thing I know to do would be to run some dry gas through it or maybe some injector cleaner. I just filled the tank up last night so maybe I got some bad gas. I dunno. I'll look into it as soon as I can. This weather out here is insane right now. There is about an inch thick layer of frozen slush under about 2-3 inches of snow. We are supposed to get somewhere between 6-12 inches by tomorrow morning. YAY! (sarcasm...) I really can't have my 4x4 down right now. This is not good!!!

 

I would start with codes. Then I would change the fuel filter if it hasn't been changed in the last 2 years. I ran into a similar problem, with a LEAN CODE. Ended up being the fuel pump was going bad, well it went bad..Barely got it home to get it into the driveway. Changed out the Fuel pump, not a problem since.

Run with OD OFF. See if that's part of the problem. I know your misery with the snow. Let us know what you come up with.

 

still doin it with OD off. turned off the engine and checked fluids just for shiggles...everything looks good. started it back up and the idle started racing to about 2000 rpms and check engine came on. goosed the gas and it evened out. choke stickin?

 

Maybe a pump, filter, tank selector valve, TPS. You need to pull codes.

 

seems like its doin it once it warms up. once the heater starts runnin hot...

 

One flaw associated with OBD 1 systems is that generally when one sensor or component begins to fail or fails, other GOOD known components start to exhibit problems.

Definately need to pull codes to start at a location that may actaully be failing causing other system to fall like dominoes.

If you want to pull codes for free and not worry about having to rely on a parts store or dealer is go to the link below. Ford Fuel Injection has a wealth of information relating to Fords and can save you many dollars in the process. You can also purchase a Equues code reader for about $25-35 and it to can help you with simplifing the translation of codes and also with couting the CEL light.

http://www.fordfuelinjection.com/

 

headed for advance auto now... i'll update.

 

they dont have an OBD1 reader. back to sq1. anyone know how to pull the codes from an obd 1 without a reader?

 

i just ahead and picked up an OBD1 reader. been doin some reading and looks like i'm lookn at a few possible problems. EGR, TPS, fuel filter, or vacuum line. thats the most common causes. i've got a lonh process ahead of me. i'm about ready to just take the thing to a shop. i've barely owned the truck for 2 weeks and its already causing me headaches...

 

Hopefully you won't take it to a shop, unless you really don't feel qualified to repair it. Start with the codes, and go from there. Ask around and do searches on here about certain components and well try to help you out the best we can. That's how we got here.

What codes are coming up? I can give you an in-depth breakdown as to what each means as long as I am familar wth it. Many other here can too.

Post back with your results!