Intermittent stalling issue when hot
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Joined: Jul 2023
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Intermittent stalling issue when hot
Hello everybody! I just thought I’d ask since I’ve been researching and pondering for a while now about this…
(1987 f-150 5.0 efi) starts, runs and drives perfect for how long I’ve needed it to (it’s a project so I never take it more than 30 minutes from my home) and sometimes I’ll pull in somewhere and shut her off, then do my thing and when I go to start I can hear the high pressure pump kick on for the 2 seconds and then…crank crank crank. So I’ll pop the hood and start messing with connections, tfi, ignition coil, etc. and then I’ll jump back in and sometimes it’ll fire right back up but sometimes it’ll fight me and I’ll have to keep pumping the gas to keep it from dying out.
In other scenarios, I’ll get home & park and when I come back out it’ll fire right up within a normal 3 cranks and idle fine. Problem is I’ll go to put it in reverse to back out of the driveway and when the engine catches the gear and brings the rpm down it shuts off like I have turned the key and then does the crank crank crank. Any ideas on how to fix this or what could be the issue??
Thanks in advance. -Bryson
(1987 f-150 5.0 efi) starts, runs and drives perfect for how long I’ve needed it to (it’s a project so I never take it more than 30 minutes from my home) and sometimes I’ll pull in somewhere and shut her off, then do my thing and when I go to start I can hear the high pressure pump kick on for the 2 seconds and then…crank crank crank. So I’ll pop the hood and start messing with connections, tfi, ignition coil, etc. and then I’ll jump back in and sometimes it’ll fire right back up but sometimes it’ll fight me and I’ll have to keep pumping the gas to keep it from dying out.
In other scenarios, I’ll get home & park and when I come back out it’ll fire right up within a normal 3 cranks and idle fine. Problem is I’ll go to put it in reverse to back out of the driveway and when the engine catches the gear and brings the rpm down it shuts off like I have turned the key and then does the crank crank crank. Any ideas on how to fix this or what could be the issue??
Thanks in advance. -Bryson
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Joined: Oct 2016
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From: Parts Unknown
Verify proper fuel pressure of 30-45 psi at all times, especially when the engine falters. Just hearing the pump run doesn't mean it is delivering proper pressure to the injectors. Verify that you have good spark when the engine fails to start.Ignition components can be intermittent, especially the pickup coil in the distributor and the distributor mounted ignition module.Both have had a high failure rate in the past. I have often used a heat gun and electronic freeze spray on ignition components when there were intermittent issues.
Last edited by raski; Jul 8, 2023 at 05:47 AM.
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 3,702
Likes: 766
From: Parts Unknown
I would not mess with the timing right now, that will not cause his intermittent problem.The timing won't change unless someone messed with the distributor or internal timing components within the engine have failed and that itself won't cause an intermittent problem.Nor would I change any parts unless it is proven to be defective. Part changing could complicate and introduce a new problem.