I drove my truck to the bank this morning and it ran fine, but when I came home and parked it and went to crank it back up to leave it won't stay on and stalls out. It's a 1996 Ford F150 with a 351W and an auto tranny.
It'll crank up, but then the rpms fall faster than hell, then stalls out. When I hit the gas it won't even respond, just keep on falling and finally stalling out.

Anyone have this happen to them? Or know what it may be?

 

first off, pull your codes and see if the computer tells you what is wrong.

it sort of sounds like a fuel issue to me, it's hard to say. Do you hear the fuel pumps click on when you turn the key to the on position? c

check the codes and check for the fuel pumps as a start.

 

Can't hear nothing from it because of the rain and it's too tall to fit in the garage. It won't crank at all now. Just turns over and attempts to, but it's not getting the fuel to crank up. Seems like a fuel pump issue maybe, if it is then this sucks. haha

 

RAIN ??????

Could be somethings wet, or a moisture problem.

 

No, the hood is doing it's job keeping the rain off my engine. I'm going to try changing the filter out and see if that's the problem. Acts like it might be, it's never been changed to my knowledge even though I paid for it to be. Maybe I'll get lucky.

 

there are a couple of other simpler and cheaper things that could be wrong though. Like, the FP relay and the EEC relay. they are like $10 each, and a quick changeout.

You should jumper the fuel pump on at the test connector port. go to this page:

http://fordfuelinjection.com/?p=13

The fourth picture shows the self-tester connector. If you put a wire between the fuel pump input and the signal RTN port, the fuel pumps will turn on. If you jumper this and nothing happens, then your pump might be bad. But, if you jumper the pumps on and you hear them click on, you might have another issue.

But, that's another reason to check the codes. If you do the self test (descirbed on that link above) the computer will give you an idea of what the problem is (like 95 or 96 for fuel pump, etc). It's just an expensive idea to throw money at the problem by replacing what 'could' be wrong with the truck.

 

Alrighty man. I appreciate it.

 

Umm, don't forget to turn on the key switch too.

Good testing procedure, but do you know whether it's getting too much fuel or not enough? Does it stink really rich when you're trying to start? While you're testing the pump, check the FPR while you're at it to see if it's leaking and flooding the engine. Pull the vacuum line off the FPR while the pump is running, and see if fuel comes out the nipple. If so, replace the FPR.

If you have a hand held vacuum pump and fuel pressure gauge, you can actually check the idle and WOT pressure without the engine running. When idling, the highest vacuum is present, around 20 inches Hg (mercury), assuming all intake gaskets are intact and there are no vacuum leaks. At WOT, the intake is at approximately atmospheric pressure (0 inches). Hook the vacuum pump to the FPR, and start the fuel pump as described. At 0 inches vacuum (WOT) you should have close to 45 PSI fuel pressure at the schrader valve on the rail. At 20 inches vacuum, you should have about 35 PSI fuel pressure. As you increase the vacuum, the fuel pressure will drop, but should go no lower than around 35 PSI. +/- 3 PSI is the most variation I've heard of.

I recommend buying a good vacuum gauge, vacuum pump, and fuel pressure gauge to help you avoid buying a lot of expensive parts. If you don't want to buy them find someone to borrow those items from. Those tools aren't cheap, but neither is taking one to a dealer or mechanic.

 

Like you said try the filter. That was what my old truck was doing with a fully clogged fuel filter. Kept running crappy,then wouldn't start up at all while cranking. It is cheap $7 but a PITA job, make sure you do it when it is board game night or do dishes night or other similiar function you do not want to go to, because you will smell like fuel for at least a day and probably the week!

 

Turned out to be the Fuel pump, hit above it on the tank with a hammer and the truck cranked up. It's in the shop now getting the fuel pump replaced and the infamous shifter column, then shocks. Then I'm selling it to buy something to do some serious trail riding with. I need a fuel tanker to follow me into the woods when I take my truck. So I'm thinking about an ol' CJ or Wrangler, or a trail ready set up Cherokee. I'm considering getting into Geocaching, seems interesting and purty fun too.