1988 245 5x manual shift, about 175000 miles (odometer not working)Problem: engine suddenly loses power while driving. I can be driving along normally when the engine suddenly refuses to respond to the throttle -- at least going no higher than, I would guess, around 1500 rpm. It does not stall -- in fact idles normally and smoothly. If I turn off the ignition, it will restart immediately and runs normally. This has happened mostly after a sharpish turn -- i.e. accelerating away from the turn, the engine suddenly has no power. I don't know whether the power loss has anything to do with the turn itself, or more with the taking of the foot off the accelerator before making the turn.
The car was off the road for 2.5 years. I kept it on a float charger and started it once every two months or so, letting the engine run until it reached normal temperature. About a year ago I started driving it again. No problem until late last fall, when the engine began faltering and occasionally dying. Three service visits so far: fuel injection relay and air mass sensor replaced; and some fuel system wiring under the hood -- I don't know what -- re-routed in accordance with a service bulletin. Leak at inlet manifold apparently cured by tightening the nuts. Timing belt also replaced, though I don't see how that could link to the intermittent power loss problem. After each repair the car seemed fine. But this occasional power loss started again about a week after the new air mass sensor was fitted and the manifold nuts tightened.
Any advice would be much appreciated. I kept this car for my now 18 yr old son to drive, and want it to be reliable. Fuel filter clogged? Bad in-tank fuel pump? Fuel pressure regulator? Some bad sensor? ECU? -- I hope not.
Peter Bakewell