I have an '86 245 with an intermittant engine stutter for the last several months. This only happens after the car has been running for aout 20 minutes or on a hot day. It will stutter for several seconds (some times die) and then function normally for the next 10 to 30 minutes.

I replaced the fuel pump relay, did not help. The shop told me the in tank pump was bad so they replaced that. This seemed to fix the problem but a month later it started to do it again.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Papa Jim

Papa Jim,


It could be that the main pump is failing. You should hear how mine sounds...

If the tank pump really did originally fail, then it would have put a severe stress on the main pump. Replacing the tank pump may have helped for a while, but abusing the main pump may have put it on it’s last legs.

It’s hard to check the fuel pressure on this model without the factory equipment, but that is what needs to be done. Another way would be to bypass the fuel pump relay with a jumper, and listen if you can hear the main pump operating during a no-start. This will not conclusively prove that the pump has failed, but it is pretty damning.


Goatman