Fuel Accumulator

Since I've had the car, it has had a hot start problem. You would have to crank on it pretty hard for a long time to get it started only when it had been run up to temp from anywhere between 5 mins and 5 hours.

It seemed to get worse last fall so I finally called the guys down at DMCH. James told me 90% of the time the hot start problem is caused by a failing fuel accumulator. The accumulator is part of the Bosch K-Jet fuel injection system. It holds the "rest pressure" so that the car can start w/o much fuss after the motor has been recently run. It sits between the fuel pump and the fuel filter, which is right behind the fuel injection manifold.

It is in the middle of the frame in a little cutout section for access. In order to get to it, you either need a lift or jack up the car and put it as high as you can get using jack stands. Since I did this job in my garage, the latter was my only option. The entire replacement job took maybe 2 hours. After I replaced it I started the car to check for leaks. I had a significant dripping leak so I crawled back underneath the car and tightened the offending fuel line. Then I started the car again and checked to make sure there were no more leaks.

After that I got the engine up to temperature and then shut it off. I waited 5 minutes and started it again without and trouble. Then I waited about an hour and tried it again. It fired right up. I'll continue to monitor it but I think the issue has been resolved.

Here's a picture of the replacement and the original. The original looks to be significantly larger than the replacement, but it all connected just fine without issue. The kit came with 2 hoses and 4 hose clamps. I replaced them too in the process.