On my 02 F250, 5.4, while plowing snow the other day it would stall when going from Drive to reverse,, it will start right up, except one time,,, it spun over several times before firing,,,, No error codes on my code reader,, fuel pressure at rail on right side,,,, 40 with turn key,,,, then drops to less than 30 while idling. I realize it could a zillion things,, but any ideas where to start,,,,,, ???? I put a can of Sta-Bil in it after this started,,,, truck has close to 100k miles,, never had any fuel or ignition work done to it ,,,,

 

Hi Bubba,
I'm not sure if you really mean you are driving this truck this long without changing the spark plugs , can this be so?
Having learned the hard way , " Don't go looking for far out remedies when the basics have not been covered", so that is why I am asking about the plugs,

 

Thanks for the reply,,,,, According to Ford, the original plugs are good for 100,000 miles,,- have 95xxx-,, so yes could use plugs,, and those are those evil long-legged plugs that can be tricky to replace. I am not thinking it is the plugs,, because, it does run good,,, no misses, or coughs or gags,, only that occasional stalling while changing directions,,,, I put my code reader on,, no error codes,,,so,, I would think any electrical hiccups would appear on code reader,,,, but I do not have a high end code reader,,, it was only like $130,,,, without any codes,,, tough to troubleshoot,,,, bad fuel,,, failing fuel pump,,,fuel filter,,,,, fuel regulator,,,,, plugs,,, coils,, ignition switch,,,,,,any one of a hundred 'wires' corroded,,,, hanging by a thread,,,,,, ugh,,,,, where to start,,,,

http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/en...8-spark-plugs/

 

Your vehicle's engine is not included in those with the spark plug problem.
That 100,000 mi figure might apply to a vehicle that never did a lot of idling and ran highway miles, but you know yours worked under different circumstances.
Since this is a routine maintenance item, might be a good place to start.

 

It might be the transmission range selector. Is it hard to change from drive to reverse? If so range selector is frozen to shaft on trans.Meaning rusted maybe frozen with ice.Another poster had large amount of ice on range selector giving him trouble

 

I always thought this truck had those weird spark plugs,,, will consider plug change now,,,,, those super long plugs scared me,,,, if I do plugs,, a guy should maybe change coils also,,,,, thing is,, in my farm-kid-shade-tree-mechanic mind,,I think plugs would act up at high speed and under load,,, as much or more than at idle/changing gears,,,,,,transmission range selector,,,, if that is the plastic switch on drivers side of tranny, on shift shaft,,, I have changed that a couple times,,, it got very hard to shift from Drive to Reverse,,,,, took a while to zero in on that being the problem,,, many mechanics did not believe that flimsy plastic switch would bind up the shifting,,,,,, so,, again with no error codes,,,, not sure where to go first,,, fuel pump, fuel filter,,,, or s-plugs and coils, or all of the above,,,,,,

 

One way to help determine where the problem lies is to attempt to isolate different areas one at a time. For instance if you suspect the range switch on the trans disconnecting the cable down there will tell you right away if the shift selector moves easily or not. ff easily , it is at the trans if not ,it's further up into the vehicle , could be cable , selector on column (if column shift) etc There have been instances where the range sw. was the problem as you suggested and removal was a project in itself.

If the routine maintenance was not considered and done , whether you do it now or later , you are going to do them. I say this because after chasing down a problem expecting it to be something really serious, wasting a lot of time and $$$ only to find it was something that should have been done as regular maintenance and after getting burned a few times, we learn , check the BASICS. You could be on the right track with what you suspect, but shooting from the hip can get costly.
Fuel press appears OK. If the filter was not replaced last year, I woiuld recommend replacing it. Just remembe to release the pressure in the system before attempting to change it. Pull the fuel pump fuse while the engine is idling and it will quit due to lack of fuel---- no pressure. You should get the little tool to release the retainers on both sides of the filter Will usually take about 15 min to do it . Fuel will run out of the filter when the lines are removed so expect that and gasoline today is not what it used to be so wear gloves to prevent it from getting on you. if you can.

 

Thanks Hanky for your help,,,,,
I am not thinking it is the switch on the transmission, [pic above ] not sure how it would stall the engine, what it can do is make the shifting difficult, and not allow a start,,, but that is not a problem I have now. My truck stalls when stopping and reversing,,, and now while backing and stopping quickly, I can make it stall. So,, will get a set of plugs and a fuel filter for sure,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I am thinking about also getting new coils,, rather than worry about damaging the coils while changing plugs. Fuel pump will be next, if need be. I made it stall this afternoon, by backing up and stopping quickly,,,, I will put my code reader on it again,,,, see if it will find anything,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

This video, even though a little newer F-150 ,, not 250,,,,, has a 'similar' issue,,,, this truck stalls when put into reverse gear,, mine seems to stall after backing up,,,,then stopping quickly,,,,

 

So,,,,, after looking at the previous video,,,,, I checked my Trans. fluid,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, it was low,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,so,,, ,, before,,,, I could make engine stall,, sitting in driveway,,,, and backing up,, then stopping quickly,, did that 3 times within a few seconds,,,,AFTER I some added some ATF,,,, I could not make it stall doing the backup thing,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,So,,,, all that appears to have been needed,, was ATF,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, now ,, it could use all those other parts,,,,,, plugs,,, tranny filter,, fuel filter, coil-packs, ,,,, but so far the major cause of stalling,, was because of having low level of tranny fluid. The parts I got are not a waste,,,,, just past due TLC. I will post again after new parts are on,,, if anyone cares to keep following,,,,,,