Hello,

My beloved 1996 Jetta has a peculiar problem. I was driving it just fine last week, made a left turn from first gear, shifted to second, and the car lost fuel, and died. I had to get towed, but as the tow truck was loading the car onto the flatbed the car turned over and started. I let the car sit a day and it started right up. My brother-in-law came over to look at it, took it for a test drive, and it died again after a few miles. Let the car sit for a few hours, and it finally turned over, got it back home and it then it died again trying to back in the driveway. We changed the fuel filter and the car started again, but after alot of cranking.

It seems to us like the fuel pump, or the injectorscould beto blame. However, the car also has a minor coolant leak, most likely the head gasket or the head itself. I'vehad the head gasket replacedtwice so far. I also noticed that the car was down about a quart of oil after it was towed. My brother-in-law said the oil cap appears "milky" like coolant was getting into the cyilinders, also I noticed that coolant was creeping into the air filter, during an oil change last year. I have to add about a cup ofcoolant to the car every month or so - could it be that the slow leak from the head finally expanded enough to flood the cyilinders so the car just chokes out?

Anyway, I am curious to find out if anyone here had any ideas as to the cause of the issue.

I am the original owner, and the car has about 225k on it. I also own a 2006 Jetta and so far its been a weekend car.Iam hoping to continue to use my 96 for my dailywork commute.

Although I love my 96, if she needs an expensive overhaul, I may just put her out to pasture and draft my 2006 into daily duty...