Over the last three weeks the engine in my truck has died four times without warning. In each case it started up again with just a small amount of extra cranking and then ran fine.
The first time it happened I had was in heavy traffic and idling along in first gear. After about 10 minutes of this the engine just quit. Cranked it and although it cranked for maybe a second or two longer than normal, it fired up and ran fine.
The second time it happened I had started it first thing in the morning and then let it idle for maybe ten minutes. Normally I just drive off after starting. After idling like that I shut it off for maybe 20 minutes and then fired it up again. It started perfectly but then just died. Cranked it and it started again but I did notice a cloud of black smoke for a second or two but the engine was at about a 55 F temperature.
The third time was yesterday and it did not quit, but the engine slowed way down and ran rough. Even when I pressed the accelerator down nothing happened for a short while and then it revved up and ran fine again.
The forth time was today it had been shut down for a couple of hours so was still warm when I cranked it over. It fired up immediately but then slowed down to about 300 rpm for about three seconds and ran a bit rough, but then suddenly roared back to life.
Every time this has happened I checked the fuel pressure and it was normal at about 6.5 to 7 psi. All the temps were as they should be.
After the second time I changed the fuel filter. It was dirtier than I had ever seen it, but not clogged. There was no water lying in the bottom of the canister.
Any ideas what would cause this and what do I need to do to fix it? I now have 62,000 miles on the engine and change the oil regularly. So far it has never missed a beat.

 

I'd dump codes and see if you have anything stored.

fwiw - my '03 (also an HO six speed) has done similar things maybe twice in it's life for seemingly no reason. Both times were within days/weeks of each other then it's been fine ever since. My best guess is that some water or something got through the fuel filter and up to the injectors. I didn't have any error codes set.

I'd give it a heavy dose of fuel treatment in the next tank, change the fuel filter again, and hope for the best.

 

Thanks.
No codes. No increase in oil levels and no diesel smell on the dipstick. . Have already dumped some DieselKleen in the tank. So far so good. Strange that it only does it at idle and not when pulling hard.

 

It's funny that you posted this today because the same thing happened to me this morning on my way to work. Truck had been running about 15 mins.,I had driven 10-12 miles. I was sitting at a red light in drive waiting to go and it just died suddenly. All gauges were normal, engine~190*, oil press.~45, everything normal. I just turned the key off for a second then it cranked it back like normal and no more problems. Seems wierd. It was 26*F here this morning but other than that nothing out of the ordinary.
Please post any info you find out and I'll do the same. Later

P.S.- this is the first time it's happened to me.

 

I would go with the simple things first:

Make sure the fuel filter is not clogged and free of water.
Run some Marvel Mystery (4oz per 10 gal) & Power Service (7oz per 10gal) in your next tank.

 

Mine did this 3 times in one day.Third time set a cam sensor code.Code reset same day.Never has done it again.

 

I guess i'm not the only 3rd gen truck that has this happen. My problem was pretty bad for quite a while right after I bought it with 92,500 on it. It would drop rpm's below 500 then rev itself back up and idle fine....sometimes it would do it repeatedly...I'm talking to the point of being embarassing. I took it to the dealer and they did a transfer pump relocation kit, and the next day it did it all evening, then it was fine. I rescheduled another appointment but never took it in cuz it stopped doing it and I didn't want to have my truck gone with the dealer scratching their butts wondering what excuse to give me. It's only done it a few times here and there since. The only time it really ticked me off though was when it started doing it during the 4w jamboree this september with a bunch of people walking around....real nice. I gotta say when it was doing it I would get so ticked off and rev it like a son of a gun and just drop the clutch to feel better.....didn't work too well

 

Mine did not idle low.It just knocked off like you turned the key off.Would restart with no issues.Third time the cam sensor code poped up.Then never again.