500E Hesitation after sitting

I have a 92 500E with 25,000 miles on it. It has had this problem for a while and no one can figure out the cause. WHen the car sits for a few days, 3 or more days, it starts normally but then hesitates and is jerky under accleration for 20 mins or so. Sometimes the jerkyness will totally dissapear for a few seconds and then return. While the car is hesitating it probably has about 30% of its power. After the car runs for a while this clears up. Lately, it even idles rough during this period. Any ideas?

Shawn

[mbdoc]

Have someone remove the distributor caps & check for corrosion.

[-fad]

2nd benzmac's opinion

had this scenario happen to mine...corrected the condition and now I drive it more often

if that doesn't cure it, you can delve into it further: fuel, air, spark, sensors, etc.

good luck and let us know what turns out- - its not generally good for a car to be sitting too much (stuff like this happens)

how's the a/c operating?

-fad

[slowmoe]

How old is the gas?

[d2bernhard]

I think you better let me use the car for awhile so I can figure it out. I can usually find the problem in about 3-5 years. (~_-)

The gas is new and the AC works well. Im going to have the distrbutors checked today or tomorrow. Should they be cleaned or replaced?

Thanks alot for everyones help.

Shawn

[-fad]

>if the dist caps and rotors are corroded and/or have moisture- - then they should be replaced

these are maintence items....probably should go ahead and do the 30K service (w/ r/r plugs too)

hope this helps and let us know what turns out
-fad

[pentoman]

I get this exactly after sitting, usually from damp. Clears up after 20 minutes like you said. Your cause is possibly damp, and almost certainly ignition related. Definitely, on this 10 year old car that may not have been serviced many times before (v. low miles), go ahead and do the spark plugs & leads, rotor and cap too if you like. They are always the first stop for a misfire like yours.

Let us know how you get on

[Michael]

Thanks to MBDoc who replied (Benzmac'd likely have said the same thing).

Given the age, replace caps & rotors. Then, with due haste, drive aggressively

[rainmaker]

Same thing happened to me...I had the car sitting for a month while I was away travelling. On startup, the car would idle roughly, oil pressure seemed pegged at max, etc. etc. Tech replaced my rotors (caps were replaced several months back), plugs were changed as well. She's now as good as new...