So my truck cut off three different times in the past month and I'm really stumped on this. Since each situation was a little different I'm going to explain what happened each time. Sorry for the length, but I feel its important for me to tell you as much info as possible so you guys can get a better idea of what's going on.

The First Time
I was driving to school on the interstate going about 60-65 and my heater shut off which was weird, but my truck still ran. Then about 5 miles later when I took my foot off the gas to get on the exit ramp my brake light on the dash turned on and my truck shut down. At first I thought I was out of gas since I was pretty low but my mileage for that tank was about 30 miles less than I usually get. Having never ran out of gas I was pretty angry at myself but luckily I was able to coast almost all the way to the closest gas station.

Second Time
Until a couple of weeks ago I continued to think I ran out of gas that day until the same thing happened when I had half a tank of gas. About 3 miles from my house my truck started to run real rough, like it was misfiring, and then again my heater shut off and my engine shortly followed. I then coasted into a court and let my truck sit for a second and then started it back up but it wouldn't run unless I kept the rpms up to about 1500. I waited about 2 minutes, turned off all electrical accessories and then started it back up and it ran fine. This then led me to believe I was loading up my alternator too much from my amp, radio, clinometer lights, heater and headlights.

Third Time
Then today, when all electrical accessories where off in my truck, it cut out again. After I struggled to drive the 2 miles back from my g/f's work by not letting off the gas at idle, I let the truck sit for 10 minutes and then it started up and ran fine.

Now I'm pretty much stumped b/c this seems really weird and happens so randomly. Every time I think I know what's causing it, my truck proves otherwise. Not to mention the truck will run normally for hundreds of miles in between incidents and I have no idea what triggers it. Has anything like this ever happened to any of you guys? Comments, suggestions?

Have you replaced your fuel filter lately?

does it start right up after it dies...the first thing i thought of while reading is a fuel pump on the fritz but dieing on the highway and running really rough ...maybe your egr valve is getting stuck

Check all of your ground wires... Good time to upgrade them, too.

I had the exact same problem on an old Mazda i had years ago... it ended up being a faulty coil or ballast resistor (i replaced both at same time so not sure what fixed problem). It had me stumped for ages but that sorted it out (after replacing 1/2 the electrics/motor)

Could also be a faulty immobilisor/kill switch.

fuel filter has less than 5k on it and im running 2 gauge ground wires from my battery to my block and from my cylinder head to the body. ive been questioning the egr valve though. i recently swapped it w/ another one from the junkyard to see if it would solve my intermittent miss at idle and above 3,000 rpms, but it made my truck run worse so i swapped the stock one back on. but i believe that has to do w/ my 268 eb cam not providing enough vacuum to it.

the truck does start back up immediately afterwards but dies instantly unless i press the gas.

i was just thinking about it and there may be another problem... i'm not sure if the toyota petrol motors have a fuel cut-off solenoid on the carb, but could be dodgy wiring up to the solenoid.

Only in the idle circuit, otherwise that would be a good guess.

Any fuel coming out of the fuel pump weep holes?

Sticky needle valve?

Um.... Carb bolts tight?

And, IIRC, the EGR issues with the cam is in regards to it pulling too much vacuum and opening it too early.

after i read almost every single post on 4x4wire regarding the egr, im almost positive my egr valve is sticking open and causing my truck to die. but because my truck has had a slight miss at almost all rpm's even before this started, it leads me to believe my egr was stuck shut before. i wish thief was still around so he could give me some insight. i should mention that before i put on my eb street rv head and 268 cam my truck ran smoothly. so my cam likely plays a large part in my problem.

im running a carter electric fuel pump so i dont have any weep holes.

how do you fix a sticky needle valve, carb rebuild?

when you asked if my carb bolts are tight, that made me wonder. when i hit the gas my carb makes a sucking sound, almost like an air leak, just like the intake on my moms v8 camaro which has a k&n intake kit. but my truck didnt always do this.

Do yoe still have the stock carb? When you mentioned the electric pump it made me wonder if you have a weber..

Yes, to fix a sticky needle you pretty much gotta take the carb apart and clean it out. I don't really think this is you problem, but its POSSIBLE that theres some dirt in your float bowl and every now and then a chunk gets stirred up and clogs a jet for a few minutes. Rebuild would fix that.. but i'd put that towards the end of your list for sure.

As for the air noise.. do you have the stock air intake or some modified type? The stock intake is designed to be as quiet as possible.. any modifications will make it louder. Easy way to check for air/vacum leaks.. at idle spray carb cleaner around joints/hoses. If the idle changes at all, you got a leak.

Hope that helps.. don't really know if any of it relates to your problem <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

-Scerb