Here is the deal, I have read through similar things on the site and will perform tests when I get home but let me just get started by saying it wasnt a good morning. It is raing in Mass today so it made it even more fun. Get up head out to my truck and try and start my truck. I have had this truck for five years and I am always saying that one thing I can count on is that it will always start. I might need new ball joints every year, need new hub bearings every two years and a tranny rebuilt or tranny work every two years but the stupid truck always starts.

Well it didnt start this morning easily. I had to pump the gas ( I never have to do that). I let it sit and run for a few and then started out of the drive and down the road. At the end of my street (maybe five min) the truck dies and will not restart. I did not lose elec. engine just died. Blocking the whole road and it is raining. A nicer older man helps me push the truck and I walk back home, in the rain. Grab the wifes car and head back down to the truck to make sure it is out of the way. Its 6:30am so it is kinda dark. Get back in the truck and it starts. It has maybe been 15-20 min since I last tried. Drove it home and parked it. I started it again while I was waiting for my wife and it ran for almost a half hour before we left in her car. Shut it off and restarted it again, like normal. It has 137K on it and have noticed other elec issues. I have a head light socket stop working on me. I rewired it to the drivers socket and works fine. The power door locks wont work with either switch only with my remote starter. The dinger for leaving the keys in the ign and the lights on doesnt work either. All little things I dont care about but I need this truck to run for another 137K miles and am hoping this is a one time issue, any chance of that? Do I have a bigger problem? What to look at first? I hope you guys are having a better day than I am!

 

Sounds like one of the sensors is on its way out. Given that the gauges don't go belly up, I would suspect cam sensor first.

 

How do I check it? Are they cheap and easy to replace? Is it worth it to just throw a new one at it?

 

Would be nice if you could actually verify that it is bad..... but, with intermittent failures, that isn't always possible. Only way to check that I am aware of (and I am not an expert on these trucks, yet.....) would be to test resistance when the truck won't start. There is an 01 service manual available for download in the FAQ section, might want to grab that.

The cam position sensor is in the distributor, it is 'easy' to replace, but, you need to b ea contortionist to do so. The distributor isn't exactly in an 'easy to get to' location... Pick one up from the dealership, I think they run 40 or 50 bucks?

Before jumping on it though, may wanna wait for a few more folks to chime in here. There are some VERY knowledgeable people here.

 

Check to see if there are any codes stored. And I have read on here quite a few time's of this happening with no probs after.. Could also be the distributor cap was damp inside.

 

Great so if I have to replace this thing being 6'3" and 270 pounds is not going to be helpful? I have downloaded that manual already and will look at it to test it. Looks like I may be carring my multimeter with me for a while in case it fails again so I can check it at that point.

 

Being 6'3" won't hurt you, the 270 lbs might though. Trick is, crawl right into the engine compartment, and have someone else there to hand you tools.

 

Old school: Moisture in the distributor cap. Pull the critter off and inspect it very carefully for arc tracks and so on, then wipe the thing down and inspect for hairline fractures that might have allowed moisture to enter. Because it warms up inside there when the engine's running, it will inhale atmospheric air when it cools -- and by golly it's raining there today.

 

Bad HeyYou LOL

 

so i read the codes and this is what I have. The first three I have seen before and cleared multiple times. the last three are new to me.

1 - P0138 O2 sensor circuit high voltage (bank 1 sensor 2)
2 - P0442 EVAP emissions control system leak (small)
3 - P0455 EVAP emissions control system leak (large)
4 - P0300 Random/Multiple misfire detected
5 - P0303 Cylinder 3 misfire detected
6 - P0307 cylinder 7 misfire detected.

Same thoughts? Do I need a tune up?