Hesitation/acceleration problem-Please help!

[star13]

I have a 96 Escort LX with 106K miles on it. Lately it has been almost skidding when I accelerate from being braked. It feels as though the power is building up but not going anywhere. Also, it randomly loses power when I am driving, almost "bucking" and feeling like it is going to stall out. I don't really feel safe driving it this point.

Strangely this happens more as the engine warms up-it drives nice and steadily with a cold engine! My brother in law is going to change the plugs and wires tomorrow and my little brother is going to change the fuel filter this weekend. Any other ideas? (P.S.- I don't know that much about cars, so try to dumb it down for me!) Thanks!

[rhamm]

I had a problem similar to yours. It ended up being the Mass Airflow Sensor that is located just past the air filter and needs a special tool to be able to get to it.

Those things are kind of expensive.....a few hundred dollars. It fixed my problem and also got me gas mileage like the car did originally.

[crashzeroseven]

I fixed the one on my mustang with a amall screwdriver some dikes and q-tips. You have to remove the mass air sensor it is behind the filter and has four wires on the plug. They use tamper resistant screws. Once removed: Use the q-tip to remove any dirt on two glass filaments. Once clean: reinstall. Pull the main cpu power fuse to reset the computer. your car will drive funny for a few miles. Use a high qaulity air filter to delay any future cleanings.