Who will be first?

[Robert Phelan <centuri@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ok, this phantom problem is getting more annoying and more dangerous
everyday.  Let's see who can get the right answer first.  Maybe they'll
even get a little certificate or prize of some kind :)

Car Info
86 325es
5spd
Fuel hoses good
Fuel Pressure Regulator just replaced
Fuel Filter Just replaced (Thanks for all the advice)

Symptoms:
Problem 1:
    Throttle is jumpy, if I accelerate with my foot 70% to the floor the
car will run at 70%, then suddenly drop to about 40%, then to back to
70%, then to 20% then to 60% then to 30%, all while I have the
accelerator at 70%.  Basically the car lurches and draws back as though
my foot were having muscle spasms!  The most annoying part is that some
days it will only lurch once, some days not at all, then some days it's
horrible, with no noticeable pattern.

Problem 2:
    Car will randomly die.  This is no sputtering, stalling death, it
just dies!  It is not affected by speed, throttle, or engine revs, as it
will die at any point (including idle).  The tach will drop like a rock,
you could be at 5000rpms, and if you blink at the wrong time, you'll
miss it falling to 0.   It's just -JOLT- (depending on your previous
throttle, if you're just coasting it wont jolt) and then you're looking
at you panel with the tach at Zero.  Sometimes it takes a few seconds
for all the warning lights to come on (just as it would if you stalled
the engine), but it will usually start right back up, with two
exceptions.
    1.  When you put the clutch in (hopefully you're going down-hill),
and turn the key you hear a grinding noise, the same kind you'd hear if
the engine were running and you tried to start it.
    2.  You crank the engine but it wont start, the tach remains at
ZERO, usually even if you're having problems starting the tach will
raise to 200 or so.  In cases such as this it wont start for a good
minute or more.

The other odd thing about this problem is that the brakes and power
steering seem to work to an extent, not like an american car when it
dies (nih impossible to turn or stop).  This problem is also annoying in
the fact that it's completely random.   The only pattern seems to be
that it dies in groups.  It'll die 7 times one trip and be perfect the
next.  You rarely will have it die just once, it will do it a few times
in a row, and then stop when the car has been running a while.  Even
when the engine is warm though (say I came in for a quick lunch and left
again) it will die.  It just seems that once you've been out for a while
it doesn't die.

Any ideas folks?  Questions?

Thanks,
Robert Phelan

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