I was drivin down the road the other day and just as I was about to shift to 3rd I lost fuel or else spark for about 3 sec. then it kicked back in agian. I just shrugged it off and now two days later it did it twice today just in town. I thought it might have been the fuel filter, but why would it run good the rest of the day? Then I thought the advance was screwed up, but it did it at a lower rpm today in 4th gear just cruzin about 40. I thought maybe the battery cable was loose and I lost power, but it starts the pickup fine all the time. I recently got a Holley Reman for the truck, so it could be some weird carb prob. but I don't know what would cause the occasional problem. Only other thing I can think of is a short in the battery. It's a 86 F-150 4x4 with a 300, 4spd manual. Any other ideas on this problem?

Redneck-Cowboy

 

Last year I was driving down the highway and bam the truck just shut down and I couldn't start it, no crank, nothing. It turned out to be a fuse, I don't remember which one. Sorry I can't be more specific but you might want to check them out. Maybe loose or something

 

I would suspect an ignition problem...

the TFI ignition is known to either intermittantly fail, or just fail alltogether.

 

Did the thing quit just as you hit a bump in the road?

It is a really freaky feeling when this happens when youare driving along.

Check for wiring rubbing on things

Did it die like it does when it runs out of gas, or does it just die?

I had a 400 that just dang quit as I pulled away in granny gear, and I new instantly that it was toast. Turned out a tiny spring in the lifter broke up ( which I fixed months before) and a little piece about 1/8 inch long evaded my clean up during repair and got past the oil pump intake screen and jammed the oil pump, snapping the shear pin in the pump drive and the distributer drive. Just by the way it stopped I knew it was getting towed home

 

I've been thinking, and could it possiably be something like mild vapor lock? Because all the times it's done it, it's been in the afternoon, not in the morning or night and above 96 degrees. But it's never done it any other time in the 17 years it's been around.
When it does cut out though it's just like the fuel pump quit working for a little bit, it could also be that, but I just replaced it less then a year ago. I checked all the wiring when I made it home, everything looked good and tight, nothing I could find that was unplugged or tore. If it was the ignition and it does go bad I'd really like to get rid of all the electrical engine stuff on the motor, all it's ever been for me is a nightmare.

Redneck-Cowboy

 

Ok, it was 103 today and the truck ran fine, so I'm still clueless to what's going on.

Redneck-Cowboy

 

if you have a local autozone, you should have your ignition module tested.... i believe they do the test for free.

Could also be a bad ground for the ignition module...