(yes I posted this in the other section too...I am desperate)

I have a 95 C4 automatic. I have the weirdest thing and will welcome any help.

Sometimes it wont start. It will crank and not catch. Sometimes it happens after its been sitting for a while. Sometimes it will just jerk, stall out while running and then not start again. I can go back to it HOURS later and it starts right up. I can be driving and it will act like it isnt getting any gas, the tach will bounce all over the place, then it will just stop running. I have to coast to safety and see if it will start again. Sometimes it will sometimes it wont. Last night when I was driving it, it started backfiring, acting like it wasnt getting any gas, acted like it wanted to stall, it didnt and then it was fine. I was on the freeway when this happened and it was scary.

I have replaced the water pump because it went out. Then it started acting like this and I had to replace the entire distributor assembly twice because the first one was bad, The transmission is new. I had a missing hose clamp on the intake and replaced it because the code on the comp. told me the mass airflow sensor was getting bad readings. Still it wont run properly. It will just stall out and die intermittently. I love my car and I dont wanna get rid of it but I am at my wits end!

Has anyone had anything like this happen? I need help.

 

i'm not an expert but I would

Check for codes, even if you don't have a light on.

Check fuel pressure

Check for spark.

Take it from there

 

I quoted the above from your post, because it seems to give a clue.

The water pump going out very well could have caused your Opti (distributor) to fail.

So, you replaced it. Then you had to replace it again because the first one was bad. Now you have the same symptoms back again?

So, did you use the same brand of distributor when you replaced the fist bad one? What brand are you getting?

99% of Opti problems can be traced back to "cheap parts" or bad installs.

I am not a mechanic though, but what I mentioned is pretty common.

 

Good catch Greg. I don't have an opti so I didn't think about that.

 

Do the testing to isolate the problem, the Factory Service Manual is your best option. You will soon get many replies saying " I replaced (insert any part here) and it fixed mine and it was doing the same thing."
Don't fall into the trap thinking it is the easy way out or you will soon spend more than necessary, good luck.