Well, let me start off by saying thank you in advance for taking the time to read over and trying to help a newbie out.
With that out of the way,here is some background information. I recently purchased a '95 SE from a small dealer, who was very honest and got the car after a repo. He mentioned this problem when we were test driving it, but i thought little of it, attributing it to something insignificant. Well, it vexes me now.
Well, here's the problem. It has 176k miles, and after it warms up, if I wind it out in a gear, then depress the clutch, the engine revs down rapidly and stalls. If I try to restart it, it turns over, acts as though it's flooded, then stalls again, unless I feather the throttle a bit. Another symptom, that seems to be related is the hesitation, I only feel when accellerating (sp?). This happens at WOT and partial throttle. It seems as though the engine is starving for air or fuel, It lurches, as though it can't find the power, finding "pockets" of power here and there. The air filter is new, the oil has been changed and I replaced the fuel filter yesterday, but to no avail. There are no major mods, yet. I am now considering cleaning the throttle body. BTW, is there a Mass Air Flow sensor on the '95?. If so, I will clean it as well. It has thrown no codes, yet, so I feel as though the likelihood of this being a bad sensor is not great, but any advice would be greatly appreciated. It idles around 650-700....after warming up. If there is anyone out there who can offer any advice, it would be greatly appreciated.
As a side note, I worked in the Car Audio business, so if anyone ever has any questions regarding anything under the sun @ car audio-entertainment, feel free to ask me, I will offer whatever help I can.
Thanks Again,
Lee Devine

 

The lurching and surging suggests to me that the problem may be electrical. I would suggest that you start by pulling the plugs and reading them. Plugs are the cheapest thing to change and may be the culprit. While you have them out, do a compression test on each cylinder. At 176K miles, the problem could be internal. If you have access to a volt-ohm meter, test each coil.

Cleaning the throttle body is a good idea, but I don't think I would mess with the MAS since it is so delicate.

Other things you could check are fuel pressure, a clogged fuel return line, or a blocked muffler.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

Yes, your engine has a Mass Air Flow Sensor. Yes, that could be causing your problem.

It would be instructive to have a friend follow your car and observe the exhaust color. Black smoke indicates an over-rich mixture. The absence of black smoke when this malfunction occurs might point to fuel starvation, possibly due to low fuel pressure.

At 176K, you may have "lazy" Oxygen Sensors. A lazy sensor still works but it responds slowly to changes in the oxygen concentration in the exhaust stream. There is no Malfunciton Indicator Light or Diagnostic Trouble Code. An Oxygen Sensor may become lazy due to high mileage or being "poisoned" by exposure to various substances including leaded fuels, anti-freeze, anti-sieze, RTV sealants, and the residue from burned engine oil.

Some people refer to a "tired" Oxygen Sensor. This is the same thing as lazy. Both are informal references to a sensor which is still doing its job, but not performing well.