91 740 Wagon - Dies on starting, then hard to restart

[duh]

I've got a 91 740 Wagon, 260k miles. Just recently took it in to get
some seals replaced (had been leaking oil for a long time, flame guard
got clogged, blew out some seals).

When I got the car back, when I would start it, it was prone to dying,
and then taking some amount of cranking to get it started. Today I
thought I wasn't going to get it restarted at all. I finally waited for
a half hour, and it started. However, I had to keep the pedal depressed
because it was sort of cutting out, which I guess is the problem with it
stalling.

They also replaced the timing belt, but it doesn't seem to be out of
time, but I could be wrong.

Its fuel injected, so I can't be flooding it, can I?

Another thought is water in the fuel.

So, what would be causing these rough starts, stalling, and then
difficult starting?

 

[Mike F]

I've got a 91 740 Wagon, 260k miles. Just recently took it in to get
some seals replaced (had been leaking oil for a long time, flame guard
got clogged, blew out some seals).

When I got the car back, when I would start it, it was prone to dying,
and then taking some amount of cranking to get it started. Today I
thought I wasn't going to get it restarted at all. I finally waited for
a half hour, and it started. However, I had to keep the pedal depressed
because it was sort of cutting out, which I guess is the problem with it
stalling.

They also replaced the timing belt, but it doesn't seem to be out of
time, but I could be wrong.

Its fuel injected, so I can't be flooding it, can I?

Another thought is water in the fuel.

So, what would be causing these rough starts, stalling, and then
difficult starting?

If the problem started immediately after the timing belt change, then
it's possible the timing belt wasn't put on correctly. If it was OK for
a while, then as long as the timing belt is tight, that won't be the
problem.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

 

[Perry Noid]

take a look for any vacuum hoses that might have become disconnected while
the car was being serviced. Personally, I'd suspect the timing belt was
installed incorrectly, but checking hoses is quicker than checking the belt
installation!....

 

[James Sweet]

I've got a 91 740 Wagon, 260k miles. Just recently took it in to get some
seals replaced (had been leaking oil for a long time, flame guard got
clogged, blew out some seals).

When I got the car back, when I would start it, it was prone to dying, and
then taking some amount of cranking to get it started. Today I thought I
wasn't going to get it restarted at all. I finally waited for a half
hour, and it started. However, I had to keep the pedal depressed because
it was sort of cutting out, which I guess is the problem with it stalling.

They also replaced the timing belt, but it doesn't seem to be out of time,
but I could be wrong.

Its fuel injected, so I can't be flooding it, can I?

Another thought is water in the fuel.

So, what would be causing these rough starts, stalling, and then difficult
starting?

Air mass meter failing will cause pretty much these exact symptoms. You
could also check the coolant temperature sensor, it's under the intake
manifold between #3 and #4 with the blue plug on it. If the resistance is
somewhere under about 4K it's probably fine.