why me

[charlie cleveland]

i have been planning this turkey hunting trip for a while....whent to wally world yesterday and got my supplies...i loaded up my bed rolls and hunting gear last night...finished loading up my guns and ammo and food this morning.. was to pick up a friend at 1.00 oclock all went well we stoped and got a tank of gas and had been on the road for about a1 1/2 hrs when the truck started bucking and jumping went dead and so happened i actually coasted into a auto parts store...looked the truck over good and studied the situation over....cranked the truck up it ran fine we decided it must have been some warer in the gas we just bought...wrong a 30 minutes later we were having the same problems....decided to turn around and try to get as far toward home as we could get...well top speed was 35 mph it was 3.30 on a friday evening you can imagine all the bad looks the people gave me when they got a chance to pass me...i had a big semi behind me i pulled over oo the shoulder of the road to let him by me but all most got hit in the rear doing so....last time i pulled over to let any body by... my trip the rest of the way home was between the speeds of 10 to 35 mph with one exception we knocked it out of gear on a small hill and got up tp 45 mph...boy was we moving...that was the only real hill we had the whole journey. the rest of the road was about like driving in kansas ...country was flat...well after driving for about 7 hrs i finally made it home.... after letting the truck rest for about 2 hrs i went out there and crancked the little truck thats all it needed was a little rest it was running as fine as frog hair...but it looks like ive got a little wrench work to do monday...i sure would hate to make that trip again and old nellybell act up again...this will be a turkey hunting trip i will long remember...i will go hunting in the morning but it want be were i wanted to go.... charlie

[ch]

suppose its ignition?

[Dean Romig]

Same thing happened to me with my '85 GMC. Lucky for me I was coming home from deer season in Vermont. Truck did the same thing to me at 9:30 at night at the top of the 5 mile grade into Franconia Notch. It was about 19 degrees with a 25 mph breeze from the North driving a snow squall with it. I had to sit there for about a half-hour after checking for spark and other stuff under the hood. Finally it started and I limped home, like you say, anywhere from 15 - 40 mph for the 150 mile ride home.
Turns out it was junk in the fuel that clogged my fuel filter and injection system and I discovered it came from the bottom of BOTH of my fuel tanks rusting on the bottom from water condensation that had just sat there for a while. It was a costly repair cleaning the fuel system and replacing both tanks.

Good Luck Charlie

[TARNATION !!!]

Bummer Charlie. Fuel delivery or spark. You'll find the crud or the burned/cracked wire somewhere. So, why head home as the first option?
Cheers,
Jack

[Hammer Fan]

Make sure it also isn't a plugged up catalytic converter. I had the same thing happen on a return trip after fishing up in Canada with an 88' Blazer. We could drive for a number of miles, and would gradually lose power. After pulling over and letting it cool off for awhile, we could get going again. Luckily a very nice woman pulled over while we were stopped and told us to drive it into their resort a few miles down the road. We had it towed into Thunder Bay the next day and had the catalytic converter replaced. Ran like a champ after that.

If you can run a code check on it, make sure you are not getting any for the exhaust system. There are a number of things that can cause the symptoms you are describing, but the exhaust system is one that can be overlooked sometimes. Whatever it is I hope it is a simple (and inexpensive) fix.

Good luck.

[Phil C]

Charlie,

I have had two different vehicles do this. Both times it was a partially clogged fuel filter. A partially clogged filter will allow some has through but will not allow you to accelerate, without missing or dying completely. It’s an easy check in some cases. That said both times they were carbureted engines.

[Richard Flanders]

The quick cure in a pinch for a clogged inline fuel filter is to remove it, shake it out as well as you can then reinstall it backwards. Might blow some grunge through the carb but it will run fine.... Might not be a good idea with an injected engine...

[Marc Retallack]

Charlie, I'm sure it's little consolation but I missed my spring turkey trip last year as well due to vehicle problems. I was on my way to pick up my partner for the 4 hr trip north when the alternator in my Super Duty died. A simple fix but apparently alternators for Ford diesels were in short supply here. My buddy's Jeep was already in the garage and I had to wait 4 days for an alternator to come in.

Cheers
Marcus

[charlie cleveland]

have not worked on the truck yet have been busy chasing local turkeys at my house...was with in 75 yards saturday morning on a nice gobbler but the hens led him away from me...turkey gobbled for over a hour but some other hunter got his sights on him and shut him up for good....gobblers have been talking quite a bit for the last 4 days the temperature has been from the 70s into the 80s.... i thank all of you fellas for your suggestions.... i will change the fuel filter tomorrow hope this fixs it...i drove the truck saturday and this morning with no problems makes me think it might be the coil... this is a old 92 geo traker fuel injected ride... boy that alternator trouble is rough too no way to regain a lost hunting trip due to break downs.... charlie

[Phil Yearout]

Originally Posted by charlie cleveland

...the rest of the road was about like driving in kansas ...

Charlie, sorry for your problems, but maybe it's a good thing you weren't on those "flat" Kansas roads :