89 Ford ranger randomly died

[BearitvRanger]

I have a 89 ranger that randomly died while going camping, it would not immediately restart. The total trip took about an hour and a half before it died with alot of very steep inclines.

After 10 min of checking fuses and connections/grounds it restarted after finding no obvious issues. Was also getting fuel pressure at the fuel rail

The engine was running normal temperature (I have two temp gauges) oil pressure is about 40psi. No new knocks or ticks, the engine was fully rebuilt and bored last year.

Any ideas on what could cause this issue? I'm thinking possibly fuel pump or ecu over heating. Everything except the block, crankshaft, and electrical got replaced last year so I'm kind of stumped.

 

[RonD]

1989 Ranger 2.9l or 2.3l?

TFI module fits for 2.9l
ICU for the 2.3l

Both are the Spark modules and will get heat sensitive when older, not might, will
When they cool off a bit they start working again

Generally speaking when driving the air flow in engine bay keeps them cool, when you slow down or stop engine bay gets hotter and hotter, fan does keep the air moving but not like driving does

Just a guess

If you keep a can of Quick Start handy, you can spray some into the engine at the next stall and no start, the 50/50 test
If it starts and dies then it is a fuel delivery issue(pressure doesn't mean injectors are working)
If it doesn't start its a spark issue
50/50 instant results on what the issue is

 

[BearitvRanger]

Great information! Its a 2.9l. This happened when the truck was idling, I was watching a Tacoma try and get himself unstuck.
It really felt like a computer lost connection or overheated so I'll rip open the "tfi" and see if it has any corrosion

 

[dirtymike]

Was the distributor rebuilt to?, with a functional hall effects sensor. I haven't had much luck changing TFI modules, got three and they all work. I don't do a lot of driving on the highway either. They don't fair well in the extreme heat very long. Curious as to what the issue is. Dirty