Engine stall

[Dodgey350]

Hi All,

My 1983 W350 (5.9 ltr) stalls only at slow speeds. The idling is good. When the engine dies, I shift to neutral and try to start the truck but it would not. Then I stop the truck, shift to park and try to restart. Then it starts right away!

I currently work and live in southern Africa and few mechanics have experience in working on American vehicles in this region. Almost all of them work on Japanese and British vehicles. Mechanics in this town have no clue why my engine stalls and then restarts only when it is on Park and not in Neutral.

I am sure you guys will be able to help me out.

Happy trucking!

[712edf]

Does it crank in neutral? If not then suspect the neutral safety switch which is located on the driver's (In America) side of the transmission & has 3 wires going to it. If it does crank in neutral then I suspect a wiring problem elsewhere.

Also to comment on your other question about 20" rims, taller tires generally hurt slow speed (off-road) operation (power/mileage), but benefit highway driving. If you primarily use this rig off road expect 10-12 mpg. Maybe worse.

[Dodgey350]

W350 engine stall

Does it crank in neutral? If not then suspect the neutral safety switch which is located on the driver's (In America) side of the transmission & has 3 wires going to it. If it does crank in neutral then I suspect a wiring problem elsewhere.

Also to comment on your other question about 20" rims, taller tires generally hurt slow speed (off-road) operation (power/mileage), but benefit highway driving. If you primarily use this rig off road expect 10-12 mpg. Maybe worse.

Thanks! Out of the 3 wires, one was off. I reconnected it and cranked in neutral - and the engine started!

Yet, my joy was short-lived. The engine keeps going off whenever the vehicle is moving at 5 mph or slower. When I crank, it starts again and everything is fine - until it I drive it slow again after a while! Any idea where the problem could be?

Cheers!
Anith

[712edf]

Sounds most likely some sort of electrical problem that's heat related. Will the truck idle in gear? How long between "seizures"? If you were to drive it at highway speeds for a long period of time would it ever stall, or just when you slow down? I once had a vehicle that would cruise all day but die if you came up to a traffic light and didn't shift to neutral & put a little pressure on the accelerator. Never fixed it but ruled out the fuel system from being the culprit. Give a little more details please & maybe some one will come up with an answer.

Bucky

[Dodgey350]

Sounds most likely some sort of electrical problem that's heat related. Will the truck idle in gear? How long between "seizures"? If you were to drive it at highway speeds for a long period of time would it ever stall, or just when you slow down? I once had a vehicle that would cruise all day but die if you came up to a traffic light and didn't shift to neutral & put a little pressure on the accelerator. Never fixed it but ruled out the fuel system from being the culprit. Give a little more details please & maybe some one will come up with an answer.

Bucky

Thanks Bucky. To answer some of your questions:
1. Yes it idles in gear.
2. The interval between seizures is irregular but seems to be about 15-20 minutes.
3. No, it does never stall at highway speeds but only does when it is very slow while negotiating the potholes near my house!

Will try to provide more info soon.

Cheers!
Anith