Intermittent stall - no start

[golfaang]

My 97 F-250 is misbehaving. Here is the scenario: When the truck is running it runs perfectly. Then it will do one of the two. 1- Act like it is going to stall out while I am driving (or while it is idling) and then pick right up again as if nothing is wrong. 2- It will stall out completely while driving or idling. When attempting a restart it cranks fine but has the sound of no fuel while cranking. First guess was the cps. Tried that. Ran for about three miles. Thought maybe I got a bad cps off the shelf so I put in another. That did not do it. No codes come up from my scanner. Any ideas where I should go next? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[SCUFFY828]

Originally Posted by golfaang

My 97 F-250 is misbehaving. Here is the scenario: When the truck is running it runs perfectly. Then it will do one of the two. 1- Act like it is going to stall out while I am driving (or while it is idling) and then pick right up again as if nothing is wrong. 2- It will stall out completely while driving or idling. When attempting a restart it cranks fine but has the sound of no fuel while cranking. First guess was the cps. Tried that. Ran for about three miles. Thought maybe I got a bad cps off the shelf so I put in another. That did not do it. No codes come up from my scanner. Any ideas where I should go next? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

the reason it sounds like its running out of fuel is very possibly because it is , need to run a fuel pressure test, needs to be at about 50 at idle and increase under load can go up to 100 lbs or so

[golfaang]

Thanks Scuffy. Am I right to assume that if the fuel pump is working at below proper operating pressure it will eventually supply enough fuel to the cannister to run for awhile but then be unable to keep up with demand and run out? Short of having the proper test equipment, what if I put fuel in the cannister to see if it runs? (for awhile). I did change the fuel filter and it seemed to have plenty of fuel when I pulled out the old filter.

[SCUFFY828]

having plenty of fuel and enough pressure are two different things , get a cheap gauge and run a pressure test ,and get back with me , the shrader valve to check it is on the filter housing

[golfaang]

Fuel pressure test complete. The truck actually decided to start for me. At Idle the needle flutters between 65 and 80. At engine rev it goes up to 90 or so. I was watching the guage during the no fuel symptom while cranking. Needle got up to about 50. On the next crank I heard a clack clack clack noise from under the fuel filter housing just before it fired up. Noise quit and it has been running fine (idling) for about 20 minutes now.
Side note: Fuel pump was replaced app. 11,500 miles ago.
Any ideas? I am confused. Appreciate your help.

[golfaang]

Went for a test drive since it seems to be runnin fine. Tow strap on the seat and my buddy followin me. 4 miles. Shut it down and stopped to visit. 4 miles back and she died 300 feet from my driveway. Coasted in. Back to the cranks fine - no fuel scenario. Same results after 4 times when it dexides it will run fine. Seems like it is always 4-8 miles before she decides to drop out. This is my work rig and I am scared to take it to the shop and have em start throwin parts at her at my expense. does anyone have any suggestions.
Just as a side note: I have obtained so much valuable info from everyone's postings that I decided to put my $20 in and go premium. This a great site. Thanks for all your help.

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Last edited by golfaang : 09-20-2007 at 08:59 PM.

[Big Ol Big]

I just took ownership of a 2003 Crew Cab 4x4 7.3 three days ago. On the 2nd day it started acting the exact same way as you describe. The truck is currently at a local diesel mechanic shop. They called me and told me the only thing they found was a bad IPM wiring harness and that it was probably the cause. They ordered a new one and said I should be back rolling sometime in the morning. Hope this helps!

[golfaang]

Thanks Big O. Since you're the the first to take the dive please let me know if that fixes the problem.

[SCUFFY828]

if you dont have a check engine light thats not your problem ,the harness that is , but it does sound like fuel pressure ok, may need to get this thing on a scanner and run some diag