'93 Ford Explorer dies when warm

1993 Ford Explorer 6 cyl, starts and runs when cold. After 20 minutes driving +/-, the engine stalls. Allow 10 minutes+/- cooling, it will start and run. The warm engine will fire but not start. My guess is that it’s not getting fuel. The symptoms are like old fashioned vapor lock, but I suspect that it cold also be a tired electronic control. Any ideas? The mechanic said that it was symptomatic of old age death throes. Other than being a gas hog, it seems to run well otherwise.

It could be a heat-sensitive component in the ignition system. The part that signals the coil just when to fire a spark could be failing. Ignition control module, signal generator, pickup coil, etc. are some of the names this part has.

On distributors it takes the place of “points.” In distributorless ignitions it still exists but just in a different location.

The mechanic’s diagnosis is pretty weak if it’s based only on the symptoms you describe.