Jetta won't start

[DrtBikDave]

I've been racking my brains with this car for (2) days. It's my father in laws 1990 Volkswagen Jetta Carat (Wolfsburg Edition), It has the 1.8 Liter Gas engine with an automatic. Last sunday when he went to church it ran fine (around 40 miles), After church he went out to start it and it would crank and try to catch but just wouldn't stay running for more than a few seceonds. One of his churchmates noticed a stream of gas coming from his car and this is where I got involved. I am an ASE sertified mechanic so he called my wife and asked her to have me go down there and for me to bring some gas and be prepared to repair a fuel leak, Which I did. well the car would not start after that so I had it towed to my house. Well yesterday I verified that the fuel pump was supplying pressure (40-45 PSI) which according to Mitchell on Demand is sufficient. and it has good fuel flow. The timing is correct and all the timing marks line up at top dead center. The cap rotor plugs and wires test fine. The thing that bothers me most is that I don't see how the fuel leak could be related to this. I did change the fuel filter and you can here the fuel pump run when you cycle the ignition key. Can anybody please give me some more ideas. I am not in a shop setting but have a suffecient set of tools.

[direland]

I had this issue, not with the fuel leak though. I would not stay running. Turned out that a vacuum line had been rubbing on the alternator pulley and had a hole wore in it. May be worth checking for vacuum leaks.

[Doug Tatham]

I'd try removing the bolt that covers the fuel pressure testing connection, putting a tube on it and running it to a gas can. Remove the seat belt from the door so it can't start and turn the key to run the fuel pump. Do this until all the air is vented from the lines and injection manifold. Also, put a gage on the fuel pressure and watch it when someone cranks the motor. See if the pressure remains at 40+ psi.

[bryant.barber]

i had a similar problem. check the relay.