Stalling Problem

[thebusguy]

New Member here. I have a 1995 Explorer 4x4 w/4.0 L engine, which I bought four years ago. It periodically stalls/dies, sometimes at highway speed, sometimes at a stop. Usually, if you get it out of the road (it cuts off) and let it sit for about 15 mintes, it cranks just fine and runs with no further trouble. It has done this three or four times since I bought it. I dump a can of Sea Foam into the fuel tank about once a month, but there hasn't seemed to have been anything common about the times it has cut off.

Anyone have this problem, and how did you fix it?

 

[slyfoxexplore]

check plugs and wires first and another big issue i had was fuel pump was going out and it would not hurt to check fuel fillter. Mine did this for about a month till i changed pump and fillter. But mine is 5.0

 

[MazdaGreg]

Tell us more about when it stalls. are you at highway speed? are you idling? Is it hot / cold? That should narrow it down a bit more.

 

[thebusguy]

more info on stalling problem

Tell us more about when it stalls. are you at highway speed? are you idling? Is it hot / cold? That should narrow it down a bit more.

the times this has happened, the vehicle had been running for a while. It has stalled out at highway speed (55 - 65 mph), in town (25 - 35 mph) and idling (at a stop at an intersection). Once it sits for a while, it restarts and does fine, generally with weeks/months between stalling episodes.

 

[MazdaGreg]

Well,

The only things I would know that would cause stalling at highway speed as well as Idle would be

Loose or failing Crankshaft Position Sensor
Ignition Coil Pack (faulty wiring to it also if it's loose)
Fuel Pump? (You may be able to hear this one stop if you cycle the key and it's quiet)
PCM (Last Resort)

Because your time between failures is so far apart, my next guess would be to try and pull codes. even though you may not have a check engine light, you could have set a code last time it stalled.
Next, i would get in there and wiggle wires on the Coil pack and Crank position sensor while it's running to see if maybe one of those is failing or loose.

Thirdly. It would suck, but next time it fails - Have a spark tester tool in the truck. Jump out and while it's failed, test for spark with one of the wires. You need to narrow it down. it's either Spark or Fuel, and Spark is the more likely cantidate.

Also, Cycle the key, or if somebody is with you, have them cycle the key and listen in the fuel filler to see if the pump is still running. Those pumps can also be screwy like that, and once they cool down, i.e. 15 minutes later, they may rev up and work like nothing happened.

Tough problem you have there. But, it is fixable. it's going to take some detective work on your end however.

hope that gives you a few ideas to start with.

 

[thebusguy]

Well,

The only things I would know that would cause stalling at highway speed as well as Idle would be

Loose or failing Crankshaft Position Sensor
Ignition Coil Pack (faulty wiring to it also if it's loose)
Fuel Pump? (You may be able to hear this one stop if you cycle the key and it's quiet)
PCM (Last Resort)

Because your time between failures is so far apart, my next guess would be to try and pull codes. even though you may not have a check engine light, you could have set a code last time it stalled.
Next, i would get in there and wiggle wires on the Coil pack and Crank position sensor while it's running to see if maybe one of those is failing or loose.

Thirdly. It would suck, but next time it fails - Have a spark tester tool in the truck. Jump out and while it's failed, test for spark with one of the wires. You need to narrow it down. it's either Spark or Fuel, and Spark is the more likely cantidate.

Also, Cycle the key, or if somebody is with you, have them cycle the key and listen in the fuel filler to see if the pump is still running. Those pumps can also be screwy like that, and once they cool down, i.e. 15 minutes later, they may rev up and work like nothing happened.

Tough problem you have there. But, it is fixable. it's going to take some detective work on your end however.

hope that gives you a few ideas to start with.

Thanks for the input. I'll give them a try (particularly the trouble codes) and post again when I find the prtoblem