hey everyone,

it's been a while, but i'm back again for your advice.

for a whiile now, my girl's 88 240 has been having hard starting issues whenever it's been left for a couple of days with less than a full tank. car would crank and eventually almost catch, then buck sometimes, and repeat til it finally started. i knew i would eventually kill the original starter like this and that happened last week. so, i dropped it off for a new starter (thank you Import Parts Specialists for the great price, as usual!) to be installed. i told the mechanic there were fuel issues as well and i suspected the prepump since it also hesitates sometimes if shifted into the next gear a little early. the prepump was replaced somewhere around 115K miles ago, and i don't know their life expectancy.

should i be instructing the tech to check other things first? is there a way to check the function of the prepump without disconnecting the gas line? IPD's latest catalog has a tech tip suggesting using an ammeter to check the draw of the prepump. is this the best test? can i do it if the car won't start? i'd just like to avoid having the tech do unnecessary diagnostics since i'll have access to the car after work today while it's at his shop waiting to get worked on (probably tomorrow).

TIA for any suggestions,
jake