Ford Repair: truck wants to sputter on idle and while driving, sparkplug wires, distributor cap

Question
have a 1985 F 150  stright 6 was wondering what would cause it to spit and sputter while driving and idleing

Answer
There are several things that can cause those problems, most likely ignition related. The early electronics had problems in the ditributor. If you can pull the distributor cap off and see if the inside has a black pickup assembly that would tell me a lot. Being 20 years old I would expect it has been updated somewhere along the way. If not you should consider replacement of the ignition module and pickup.

Sparkplugs or sparkplug wires may also be your problem. A quick code check might help, especially if there are codes. The distributor cap could be cracked or arcing, fuel pressure may be low, EGR valve could be a problem too. If you have Autozone in your area I think they still do free code testing. DON'T buy any parts based on what they may tell you. If there are codes let me know what they are before investing in any parts and I will do my best to steer you in theright direction.