'88 5kcstq dies, very noisy fool pump [very long]

["Ken Keith" <auditude@neta.com>]

Well, I think I'm overdue to ask for help with a problem on my new 
to me Audi.  I mean, I've had it for three days now.

I have a problem with the car, if you want to cut to the chase, skip 
down to the last paragraph in this message.  Otherwise, read on for 
some background information.

Later in the day after I bought my '88 5kcstq, I went out to take it 
for a drive.  I had a brain fart, and forgot about being able to start it 
in gear without the clutch being depressed.  (forgive me, it's been 
at least a year since I've driving an Audi)  So, I lurched the car 
forward a bit.  After that, it wouldn't start.

After trying to start it for a while, I called the PO and asked him if 
there were any tricks to starting the car.  He vehemently stated 
that the car never every had any problems starting or running.  So, I 
go back to the car, and keep trying.  After a while, it starts and I 
leave.

But when I drive around town, it exhibits some problems.  When I 
make left turns from a stop, and right after I shift into second gear, 
the car hesitates and loses power.  Almost all of the times this 
occurred, it recovered.

Then I pickup my girlfriend, and as we're driving, the car stalls dead 
every time I come to a stop.  This was very annoying as we were in 
pretty busy traffic, and I had just bought the car earlier that day.

Strangely enough, every time it stalled, I was able to fire it up again 
right away.  I would think that if I stalled it, whatever caused the 
problem wouldn't be suddenly "healed" soon enough to allow such 
a quick restart.  Perhaps it's the mechanics rag in the gas tank 
floating covering the gas pickup, then floating away when the 
suction goes away. <g>

It did this until I got a full tank of Chevron 92 octane (perhaps 
coincidence), and my gf kissed the dash to help it run better.  After 
those two things, it ran okay and didn't have the symptoms.

I took a chance and drove it 400 miles home the next day, no 
problems.

Today, I realized how lucky I really was, because on my way back 
from the a/c shop where I will have to take the car for service (he 
said it appeared that the compressor clutch was okay), I made a 
left turn, and it started to lose power again.

I continued down the street, and I could feel the hesitation, really 
bad now.  I only got a few blocks when I could tell that I wasn't 
going to make it.  It died and I coasted far enough to pull it off of 
the main street into a residential area.

I was able to restart it, but it was extrememly shaky, and the fuel 
pump was whining like crazy.  I could tell that the car was not 
getting enough fuel, and it coincided with the noisy fuel pump's 
oscillating whine.  The louder the pump got, the closer the car got 
to dying.  It was like the pump was straining, with a direct 
relationship between the sound and the poor idle.  Eventually it 
died and would not restart.

I had to tow it home this evening.  After I got it home, I was able to 
start it.  It seemed to run fine, and then the pump got noisy and it 
died.

So, I'm thinking that the fuel pump is going out.  What do you all 
think?  Perhaps the fuel filter is clogged, and the pump is straining 
to try to pump through the filter?

Of note, the car was reportedly sitting for about three months 
before I bought it.  It was in Tarzana, California, so the climate was 
mild.  I don't know if that is a factor.  Perhaps the fuel pump or 
something got too dry from sitting.

Your opinions are welcome, please cc me directly so that I get it 
quicker.  The digest volume seems to be down somewhat.

Also, the car died near an Autozone, so I went in and priced a fuel 
pump from them.  I think it was $189 with a lifetime warranty.  I will 
be ordering a bomb from someone, so I have the opportunity to 
tack the fuel pump onto that order, or not.  What are some 
thoughts on a "Pep Boy's" type of fuel pump.

Okay, one more thought.  I was thinking I should rule out the fuel 
filter by replacing that first, and seeing if it still had the problem.  
Since I should replace the fuel filter anyway.  Then again, a new 
fuel pump couldn't hurt.  Are there any high performance fuel 
pumps available or needed?

Thanks!

Ken
Glad I hung onto that rental Mustang, for a while at least...  what a 
world.

p.s.  My insurance went up $500 a year by replacing my '94 Saturn 
SL2 with the '88 5kcstq!  Yikes!