hey guys,

i just boughtthis 1985 240DL with an automatic transmission and a fuel injected engine that has developed a problem. when i test drove it and for the first day or so that i owned it the car ran perfectly fine (though it did die a couple of times before it would catch when i would start it). however, it began to die every so often when i hit the gass to hard or tried to drive it without it being fully warmed up. it has gradually gotten worse to the point where it will only idle for maybe a minute and then it dies. trying to drive it at this point is impossible as the engine stumbles and dies everytime i try to give it gas.

i replaced the plugs and wires, so i know it isn't those. my inclanation is to say it is a fuel injection problem, but i don't really know much about fi systems, so i am not really sure where to look.

i do have one lead: i noticed that the rubber fuel hose that runs up the firewall to the top of the injectors (what i would call the "rail" of the injectors) has cracked and developed a slight leak. it's not a constant dripping or squirting leak, but like i said, i dont really know fi systems so it could be more important than it seems.

does anybody know of a common problemthat would cause this stalling? it also seems to miss and stumble if i rev the engine up high and hold it, which it also wasn't doing only a couple of days ago.

any help is greatly appreciated.

thanks!

casey