We recently picked up an ’87 244DL with 140k as a backup car (it was dirt cheap, but runs very well). My daughter’s car is an 84 244GL and is the subject of this question.

Recently, we’ve had a little trouble with SB. He began to dislike starting after a rain. With the help of this great forum, I had my daughter on the phone in the college parking lot where the car stays while I was looking at this forum on my computer at work (technology is amazing). Several of you said the dist cap and plug wires were suspect, so my daughter got the cap off (she’s a pretty smart cookie), dried everything out (not really wet), put it back and sprayed some WD40 on the wires. Started right up. That night, I stopped by Autozone on the way home and picked up a cap and rotor and by the time I got home, my daughter had arrived and we proceeded to install those parts plus a new coil. Fired up and on her way she went on a hundred mile road trip. She called and said it stalled twice, but started back up right away. After the trip, we pulled off the dist cap and, woops, I had put it on 180 degrees off and the cap contact was worn to a nub. She had to leave so we buttoned it up , it started up and away she went. For three miles. The car quit on a busy road, on a hill, at night in the cold. Dad to the rescue. I took off the dist cap from the 87 and ran down, installed it and cranked the engine. No start. Not even trying. We pushed the car to a driveway and as we waited for the tow truck, I pulled one plug and cranked the engine. I had spark, so I assumed no fuel, then I assumed bad fuel pump relay (note: she had a similar problem a few months ago and I replaced the big fuse by the coil with a water-proof one and several of the ceramic fuses and used dielectric grease on them). Car got towed home. She drove the 87 back to school.

Today, I got a new dist cap and rotor, installed it (the right way) and jumped started the car (too much cranking the night before). Silly thing started right up. I drove it 15 miles and it never stalled.

Now I worry about her driving the car. What is making it quit? Can a fuel pump relay be intermittent? What’s the best way to check? Other ideas? Is it possible that the cap and rotor solved the problem?

Also, The car has drivability problems. It hesitates on acceleration (it’s done that for a couple of years) and has low power UNTIL it hits about 3000 rpm, then it takes off. But at low rpms, it’s not too strong and it’s a dog at a standing start, Idle is just a bit rough, but it never stalls (except on cold start – stalls once, then is fine, just…doggy. The 87 is smooth and powerful at all throttle settings and never hesitates, so I know SB can be that way too.

What’s the easiest and cheapest things to try first? I only have a few hours of troubleshooting until she needs it again. I’d sure like to make it as driveable as the 87.

Thanks for taking a look!