Hey this afternoon when I was going to class, the whole time I was driving it felt like the car was sputtering and getting fuel cut, but when I kept the revs high or let off the gas it was fine. Now, I go to start it it just starts for about 3 seconds and shuts off. And to start it its a PITA, I got to keep on stopming on the gas......Is this a Fuel pump or some thing else.
Any input would be great.

Thanks,
Ahmad

Hard to tell- could be a vacuum leak. What condition are the intake boots in?

I just got the car home, at every light it felt like it was gonna die on me, it was sputtering like crazy.....I'll have to get back to you on the Intake Boot.
Could that be it, would it have trouble starting due to a vacuum leak??
Thanks again,
Ahmad

I checked the intake hose it seems fine, its on nice and snug. The car smells like gasoline, I dont know what that indicates....Another thing, for the past two or three months now, whenever I would start the car it would need two or three cranks, but would always be fine. I think this has been happening ever since I changed the fuel filter.
-Ahmad

Does the car feel like it's running on all 4 cylinders when it's going at say 35mph?

Trying to rule out an ignition issue.

Besides the erratic sputtering, the car feels fine at all speeds, it pulls hard in all gears. To let you know the car has been re-ignitioned at some point in its life....but would that cause the problems I'm having??
Thanks

Might not be related to your problem........but i had a case of the splutters and shutdowns early this year. It would shutoff (any freakin time it wanted!!) and not restart for about 15-20mins.

Replaced the intank pump, the external pump and the filter. Had a spare ignition module lying about and tried that.......nothing!!

Was about to replace the accumulator and then replaced the dizzy with a spare i had from a parts car. Been fine ever since.

Replaced the dizzy with a spare......what do you mean by that?
I think it might be the fuel pump, but I dont want to replace something and later find out its doing the same thing.
Thanks for the info though.

Dizzy = Distributor (ignition distributor)

I guess that could also be a culprit, so as of now I think I have to look into either a ignition distributor or a fuel pump.

Would there be anything else that I should look into?
Thanks,
Ahmad

Vacuum leaks :)

Hazard switch could be causing it too (joking :D)

It smells like gasoline? I just had that problem, it would sputter off when I started going or stopped, but it felt fine sorta normally.... I check my fuel injection lines with the car on, and I had a crack in the hose, and it was spraying gas. So check all hoses, the past like 10 things that were wrong with my car was hose related (vacuum hose, Coolant hose, injection hose, ect.) They just get old and hard and fall apart.

When I replaced my fuel filter I replaced the Fuel lines going in and out of the Fuel filter, so I guess those are out of the question.

Yeah those hoses and crap could also be a possibility.I'll check my hoses and lines tommorow, when theres enough light out.

Hey Broly238
Did you also have trouble getting the car started when you were experiencing these problems?
-Ahmad

P.S. I checked bavauto and the fuel filter is 129.00, I hope itisnt that.

I meant fuel pump...not filter

I cant remember on startup... But just look at the yellow hoses connecting to the fuel injectors, if you see gas spraying, then theres a problem... haha. But in general if you smell gas, its not a good thing. I would not drive it until you find out whats wrong, if thats possible

I dont have classes tommorow, so I'll have to check whats up then

My freind said that it might be a fuel pressure regulator....What do youy all think??

It 'could' be - only way to find out is to have the system pressure tested.

As it turns out it was the vacuum hoses, they had a crazy leak. My mechanic repaced them. My brother drove it home fine, and now the car wont start. My brother took it back to the mechanic after he got it started again( I think he used jumper cables to get it started), now it seems like it needs a starter, thats what my mechanic says any way, what do u guys think?

My brother posted about getting a starter, and the general consensus is to go with the e30 m3 starter, well anyway before I purchase a starter, is there any way to tell that it is the starter for sure?

Sorry about the long post, its just that Im real frustrated with finals and my car just sitting in the garage.

-Ahmad