When it stalls, does it cut out right away or does it slowly die? Usually, the first would indicate an ignition problem, the second a fuel problem.
Next time it stalls out, go to the gas tank and take off the cap. If you get a whoooshing sound, it's a bad gas cap (must be a vented cap). The other possibility is something in the tank clogging up the exit of gas and when the car dies it falls back and then the car will start again. Then it can repeat itself.
I’d definitely check the gas cap to see if that’s
part of the issue. I had similar problems and am now on my *fifth* gas cap in trying to solve it.
The one that came with the car was non-vented, so I replaced it. The second and third ones (different brands and different vendors - one was a Stant; can’t remember the other one) were both supposedly vented but the venting wasn’t working properly: I would get a very big “whoosh” even after a short drive (one time, the pressure was so strong that it blew the gas cap out of my hand as I was taking it off because I only had a light grip on it). I cut away some of the rubber gasket inside the third one as someone on this forum or elsewhere had recommended, but that didn’t change anything. The fourth one is a vintage reproduction from one of the usual t-bird suppliers in which I drilled a very small hole. That one works - when I drive with that one on, I no longer get the “ran out of gas feeling” stalling that I was getting before and I don’t get a “whoosh” when I open the cap after a drive. But (1) it continues to strike me as potentially unsafe (even though it’s only a very small hole, I now only ever fill the tank half full for fear of gas sloshing out; plus, the fumes themselves are flammable) and (2) there’s obviously a stronger gas smell when driving with that cap, which isn’t pleasant and which reinforces my safety concerns.
So, I recently bought a fifth one. The venting is better - still a “whoosh” when I open it after a drive, but less than with the other non-drilled caps. But: the car now again stalled while sitting at a stop during a 30 minute drive yesterday. I flicked the electric fuel pump on and was able to get it restarted, but it was a bummer.
I say all that to say:
1. Definitely check your gas cap.
2. Could folks who have vented gas caps that actually work properly *without needing to drill a hole or cut away the gasket* please post the brand, model, and vendor from which you got it?
If my experience is anything to go by, there’s a very high failure rate with the vented caps, so “crowdsourcing” might be helpful.
