'96 C220 - Hesitation, CEL - loss in power

[michakaveli]

Our C220 started acting funny this morning. My girl started her up and she stalled. When she re-fired to get her going it was running rather rough until it smoothed out. My girlfriend called me to inform me of these symptoms and that the car is hesitating a lot, the car won't stall but it bucks when you try to increase the throttle substancially.

I went to check out the car myself. I started the car up and it ran fine but with a CEL. I disconnected the battery, re-connected and started her up. No CEL. I took her back to work and within the first minute car ran smooth, no hesitation. Soon after that the hesitation just above 2,000RPM started to occur and the throughout the RPM range after that for the entire ride back to work. The CEL did not come back on but I was only a few miles from where I picked the car form my girlfriend.

* Yesterday I did do a few things with the car. I replaced the headlamp lenses as the OEM's were cracked down the middle. There is a baffle for the air intake which I have removed due to the fact that it was impossible to get to the side screw to remove the assembly. After that I power-washed the vehicle and engine and changed the oil. Obviously from seeing "power-washing" and hesitation in the same thread you can put 2 + 2 together. The car did have a brief hesitation right after the washing but had cleared away and ran just as it had before. Is it safe to assume that the MAF had gotten damaged and it causing the hesitation and loss of power? The plugs, air filter, etc. are good and have been replaced within the last 20K. The air filter within the last year. I checked the airbox and air filter to see if there was any visible moisture in the air box, but to no avail.