Hey.

My 1990 740 has gotten progressively harder and harder to cold-start in the year I have owned it. I have replaced every electrical component, put in rebuilt injectors, new pressure regulator, swapped out relays, plugs, cap, rotors, coil, yada yada yada. Just kept getting worse.

When it did start, it would run unevenly, very rich (gas smell!) until something clicked and it would then run fine.

Wednesday, it was very cold here. I cranked it for 15 minutes and it never started.

Yesterday it had warmed up to 30 by the time I got home from work, so I went out to start it. 20 minutes of farting around, and it finally did. Worst it's ever been. I was concerned.

Poking around under the hood, I noticed the tiniest of cracks in the vacuum hose running from the manifold to the fuel pressure regulator. It was the only thing I could see.

I replaced the hose today. It cost under a buck for a length of fuel line.

The car started on the 2d turn and the idle IMMEDIATELY settled down to normal. I mean, it started like a new car.

Today is pretty warm-- it was 25 degrees F outside -- but the way the car started was qualitatively different than ever before. So I'm optimistic.

I took the old hose into the garage and tested it with a vacuum pump. It does, in fact, leak.

Fingers crossed. I will report back in a day or 2.

cheers