Oh for heaven's sake (censored for sensitive ears lol)

[dub-diva]

 AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH  I HATE CARS 

Took MrDiva to work this morning (chucked £5 of petrol in on the way) and came home to take the diva-ettes to school. Oldest diva-ette had missed the bus cos she was doing her hair so had to drive her across town to her school... all was well until I was waiting in traffic and my fuel pump started to make a random but worrying squealing/whistling/bubbling noise and then my golf just... stopped  . It didn't buck or kick or jump or do anything, it was as if my engine had been turned off... It started again straight away, pump started whistling/bubbling noise again then it died. Started it again and it seemed ok and moved closer to the busy roundabout that I was queuing at and then died just as I turned left managed to get it into a bus stop that was about 20 yards along. Tried to start it and the pump was sort of hissing then the car wouldn't start without immediate death 

Thought I'd better rule out the possibility of not having put in enough petrol this morning before I called the breakdown people out, so trudged a mile with the children in tow to the petrol station (that I had just driven past ) and got back to the car, emptied the can into the tank and waited for a couple of minutes. Started ok, pump was bubbling and had a muffled squealing noise, revved it a bit and it seemed ok. Drove diva-ettes to school and all seemed fine....

Until I was 2 miles away from home and on a one-track country lane when it started the random noise and died  again  Was thinking several rude words whilst trying to start it and it seemed ok after the third try but the pump started hissing ... then I got it rolling again, but it would only reach 15-20 mph tops... then came a massive jump (no bangs or pops like backfiring, just the jump) and I got power back. Pump stopped making that god-awful noise and all seems alright now.

Goodness only knows what's wrong with the stupid thing....anyone got any ideas? 

Btw, it's a 1988 Mk1 Golf GTi cabriolet...

[Horney]

Could have been a blockage in the pump causing it to work harder and starving the engine.

Nick

[[han]]

sounds like the problems i've had, mine was a metering head issue.

thread are here
http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=58905.0

definitely worth 5 mins fo your time to read:)

a mk2 early metering head will fit a gti cab too, and you can pick them up cheap, i paid a pint for mine form a mater, you just need to swap the airbox tops as the mk2 one is different.

we replaced the pump as cos the garage had spent almost a fortnihgt trying to start the pump, under stupid pressure it wasnt priming/working.

there is a filter in the lift tank i think that can get easily blocked, if its been run low on fuel youll pick upyears of debris from the bottom of the tank. i rarely let mine go below quarter to save this happening

good luck

[dub-diva]

  thanks for your help

[Agreeable Slick]

First port of call change the lift pump, they are dead cheap and a easy swap. They normally go first and can then knacker the main pump.