1997 850 GLT idle is rough

[digitalwizzard]

HI

I have a 1997 850 GLT with about 208,000 miles on it.
It was idling a little loopy.. Meaning the idle would wander, dip and rise but ran pretty great.
It began smoking a thick black smoke. I had a mechanic look at the car...he said the MAF... and it needs spark plug wires, plugs, rotor and cap.I replaced the MAF with one I purchased online. I have not had the codes scanned. The problem got better after replacing the MAF as the smoke has significantly improved, but the mixture still smells rich as there is a fuel smell from the exhaust and a little smoke is visible. However the car does not accelerate and when climbing a hill it dies. The idle still dips and is irregular. I read a post from an old thread about this issue and suspected that the replacement MAF (not OEM) is not really compatible. So i unplugged it and the car runs Ok...smokes a little and smells a little rich, but has power to climb a hill.. not the kind of power it has when running like it should....
Pretty much runs like it did with the old MAF installed. I also do not know when the spark plugs, rotor or cap were replaced last. We have had this car for about 6 years and have driven about 100,000 miles...
What would you suggest as possible options to look at.I think I have the skills to do these basic fixes. And hopefully with your help I can troubleshoot this. I am certainly able to basically troubleshoot and tear down any engine pre-computers, bit this car is a computer with pistons and a turbocharger so it is a little beyond where i feel completely comfortable. After reading your posts to people here I have a modest level of confidence that I can fix this car with your guidance. Where do you suggest I begin.

[rspi]

Well, you might want to start with a good Bosch MAF. However, you need to consider a stage 0, which is a full tune up and fix anything that is broken or worn.

You can actually look on your spark plug wires to see how old they are. They have the week and year stamped on them 29/97. Also, plugs are suppose to be changed every 30,000 miles. If you added 100,000 and have not done that, you're way behind on maintenance.

Since you have issues, I recommend that you only use OEM parts. That way you don't have to second guess issues. You likely have vacuum issues as well. Wont do any good dumping money into a car that has a bad motor.

Have you been changing oil regularly? If not, you may want to do a compression test prior to putting any money in the car. It may be at it's motor's life end.

If you have a CEL you may want to invest in a code reader so you can know what codes are being thrown.