1988 240 wagon, NA with 212K miles

I had some hard start problems for the last few months and have exonerated various things including spark, fuel flow (recently) etc.

In the last 2 weeks however, the car has completely died on me twice on the way to work. Both times at about the same place on the road.

Within the first 10 minutes of starting I drive up a fairly steep hill (about 50 mph in 4th then drop into 3rd gear as the rpms drop), drive a mile or so up & down a few very slight hills, sharp turn to the right, sharp turn to the left, then within 15 to 20 seconds the car hesitates and dies. (this last part is up a slight grade) Also worth noting the tank was almost completely full the first time, half full the second time.

It starts up again in a couple of minutes (not immediately).

After the first occurance I had the 25amp fuse & holder replaced with the new waterproof fuse holder. I also had the fuel pump flow test performed (2 liters/minute).

The mechanic who did this told me I should replace my fuel pump relay (I recently resoldered it).

The main suspect in my mind is the CAT. I'm wondering if loose stuff in it rolls to the back when going up the steep hill, then hard turns L & R center it to where it can roll back & plug the exhaust.

Does this sound plausible?

I'm wondering about contaminants in the gas, but the flow is good.

Other things I should check?

It's been a good car for the 6 years I've had it, want to keep it but the recent reliability problems cause me to wonder if it's time to part company.

Thanks for the advice. This forum has been very helpful for me.

Mike

I kinda like the plugged cat idea, but I think it ought to do it EVERY time you stand on the gas, like that first long hill...
I'm going to suggest the connections to the Air Mass Meter might be bad, or even not plugged in fully. You can tweak these slightly to make better contact, using a jeweler's screwdriver or something similar. Worth a shot and it's free. DON'T plug or unplug your AMM with the ignition on.

Good luck!
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 229K, 88 744GLE- 218K, 82 245T-181K Also responsible for the care and feeding of: 88 745GLE, 231K, 87 244DL, 239K, 88 245DL, 246K

to test your theory on the convertor, remove the o2 sensor. it'll be loud, but if there's a clogged conv, there's your bypass. good luck, chuck.

i had a similar problem on my 88 wagon
it turned out to be a ground wire on the fuel rail
it's worth a look