My PT is Choking!!!

[nasteven]

Anyone out there? I have never been on one of these sites...so I need help! I have a 2004 PT Cruiser with 68K miles on it. Never had too much problems except for replaceing brakes and a wheel ball joint (?) one time when it was new! My husband does mechanic work, but, not for a while...and only changes oil etc. in my car! I am field of real estate and I check out many properties, some on dirt roads, etc. A month ago while checkinig out the back of a property with 1 AC of dirt (soft dirt), I experiened when I got on the paved road that my engine light went of...then my car started like choking and it just wanted to die..but, it kept chugging until I had to pull over, rather than get rear ended. I would turn off my engine and wait a little, then I could make it home by babying it. I had my husband drive it...and nothinig..it was fine! Now...sporatically it will do it...unexpected...it even did it going 70 on the freeway...started choking....scarred the hell out of me! He seems to think it is my fuel filter (which I was told...cannot be replaced because it is "part" of the fuel pump???? I have been quoted $204-279). My husband has replaced the fuel pump by dropping the tank in his other cars. Question is...can only the fuel filter be replaced? Would we have to replace the whole fuel pump? Or could it be a restricted fuel line?...from the dirt I have gone over? I guess that is 3 question!! Money is very scarace right now...any help out there from you brilliant mechanics? thank you asap please? Will it be a whole job? I think the dealer will rake me for hundreds of $$$$.

[CREWZIN]

Originally Posted by nasteven

, I experiened when I got on the paved road that my engine light went of...then my car started like choking and it just wanted to die..but, it kept chugging until I had to pull over, rather than get rear ended.

Welcome to the forum. I can't quite make out if you saw the "check engine" light or not. If you did, do you know how to pull the code from the computer? That will help or guide us toward an answer to your problems.

That 1 acre of soft dirt, if you kicked it around a lot, could have gotten places that did some damage but might have just clogged your air filter. Did you check the filter to see how clean it was?

Was it just a guess about the fuel filter on your part or did someone tell you something you haven't told us?

Do you have the turbo engine or non-turbo?