The following script illustrates the problem.

//open some $sock
socket_set_timeout( $sock, 45 );
if(!($ret = fread( $sock, 255 )) {
//Happens randomly
	$status = socket_get_status( $sock );
	if( $status['timeout'] )
		echo 'I timed out!';
}

The problem is in php_sockwait_for_data:ext/standard/file.c
If a timeout is set, ptimeout is equated to a non-initialized variable.
This explains the random timeout behavior

a diff follow of fsock.c follows:

--- /home/tcarroll/cvs-php/php4/ext/standard/fsock.c    Sun Aug 27 00:14:47 2000
+++/home/tcarroll/php-4.0.2/ext/standard/fsock.c     Fri Oct  6 16:14:22 2000
@@ -493,9 +493,9 @@

 static void php_sockwait_for_data(php_sockbuf *sock)
 {
-       fd_set fdr, tfdr;
+       fd_set fdr;
        int retval;
-       struct timeval timeout, *ptimeout;
+       struct timeval *ptimeout;

        FD_ZERO(&fdr);
        FD_SET(sock->socket, &fdr);
@@ -504,13 +504,10 @@
        if (sock->timeout.tv_sec == -1)
                ptimeout = NULL;
        else
-               ptimeout = &timeout;
+               ptimeout = &sock->timeout;

        while(1) {
-               tfdr = fdr;
-               timeout = sock->timeout;
-
-               retval = select(sock->socket + 1, &tfdr, NULL, NULL, ptimeout);
+               retval = select(sock->socket + 1, &fdr, NULL, NULL, ptimeout);

                if (retval == 0)
                        sock->timeout_event = 1;