My 1989 D150 2wd 318 Auto transmission with about 118k miles has been intermittently shutting off after warming up. I'll be driving at speed and it will cut out, i can usually hit the gas and the truck will come back on, this has been going on for a while and has recently gotten worse. It would most always start right back up, sometimes just from hitting the throttle, and occasionally I'd have to use the key. In the last week or two it's become harder to get started again. I'll have to crank for quite a while.
Over the last few months here's what I've done: replace fuel filter, use de-icer to remove water, replace spark plugs and wires. Had my shop check it out and they couldn't come up with much of anything.

Any ideas on where to look next?

 

have you tried cycling the key 2-3 times before starting it? almost sounds like what mine is doing right now but i know my issue is the used pump i put in it. it can be a bit tricky to diagnose a bad pump on these things since they only need about 14psi which they get most of the time but it is when they start getting less that they start having issues.

 

Do you think that cycling the key would help even though the problem isn't at startup, but generally after warmed up. I'm thinking fuel pump could be the thing, do you just install an inline pressure gauge to test?
BTW, is the pump in the fuel tank itself or inline?

 

cycling the key will help build fuel pressure when you are having issue. if cycling the key helps gets it started quicker then it is most likley a fuel pump. ya you just install an inline pressure gauge. should see 14+ psi. the pump is in the tank.

 

The truck starts up cold every time, although it does have a pretty big surge (revs real high for 3-5 seconds) at each startup.
What type of fuel pressure gauge would you suggest?

 

Ok, so still trying to figure out this issue. Last weekend I replaced the ASD relay, after reading that when it fails the fuel pump and injectors would cut off. That didn't seem to fix it. I'm willing to replace the fuel pump, but I'm still unsure if thats the issue. After replacing the ASD relay, I drove it hard around town and on the highway for about an hour. It has fine pickup, starts up fine, but will occasionally hiccup, I'll notice a stutter when accelerating. If my foot is on the pedal it just hiccups and keeps going, but if I'm coasting without throttle, it will hiccup and cut off. I did notice today, as crazzywolfie mentioned, that if i cycle the key a couple times it will start more easily, but when I do this it really revs high for 5 seconds or so once it starts. It seems like the truck runs fine until it is well warmed up. Like on the way to work this morning i only had a couple hiccups, but on the way home in the hot afternoon it seemed to hiccup or just cut off quite a few times.

Everything else on the truck works pretty well, although recently I had a short in the interior light circuit and pulled the fuse on that after it was draining the battery. Any other ideas, things to check out?

 

you could try replacing the hall effect sensor in the distributor first. it is a bit easier to swap out than the fuel pump.

 

Thanks, Do you know how I can identify which sensor is correct for my vehicle?
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...ckup+coil,7176

 

should be the 3 wire one