1994 850 shuts off when switched to drive and gas pedal is pushed

[erikv11]

MAF sensor cleaner rarely does any help at all, unless the thing is so dirty you can see oil or other residue on it.

A great test, as suggested, is to unplug the MAF, then start it up and drive around. It will set a MAF code but if the problem is the MAF then the engine will usually run just fine in default air mixture mode

It is highly possible that water got down into the spark plug wells, or inside the distributor cap. I would pull those and make sure all is dry.

Is this car a turbo or non-turbo?

[fisherminisher]

This is a non-turbo model. I took off the distributor cap and checked the wires and nothing looked out of place or bad. I took off the spark plug cover but it got cold and dark and I have hardly any time to work on this problem. I'll the spark plugs tomorrow if the temps aren't too cold. I did try driving it the other day and noticed a trend. I start it and it starts rough, I actually have to give it gas and the motor seems really rough. After giving it a bit of throttle it shakes its way out and smoothes out to idle just fine. It's when it has hard starts like this that it shuts off later. I drove it a few days before that for 2 days and it didn't shut off. I live in a smaller town with not very many good Import mechanics around. I'm planning on driving it down to another city to a shop I know works on these. This is why I'm trying to solve the problem on my own. I hate throwing money at it but could it be the PCV system clogged up? I did the glove test and it filled up with air. I appreciate everyone's input.

[benpineapple]

PCV wouldn't cause this, unless it's been toast for a long time.

MAF cleaner won't help (or rarely does). What error codes are you getting?

In regards to the timing belt plastic cover: most of them are split or certainly not airtight. The design of the covers makes me think they're not supposed to be air tight, they're just supposed to keep debris and water out. Just a gut reaction, but I doubt whatever might have leaked in there could cause the belt to slip enough to trash your timing. Also your symptoms don't sound like timing related to me.

Fire up your car, let it idle for a minute, then unplug the MAF. If there is no effect to idle, than the car isn't reading the sensor even when it's plugged in, likely a bad sensor.

[abscate]

Mark the wires , pull that cap off, and look it over with a bright light. You can't inspect it on the car.

How old are your ignition parts?

[erikv11]

Oops - don't unplug the MAF with the car running, unplug it before you start it up.

[rspi]

Have you pulled the cover off of the top of the engine to see if water is under the cover? In the spark plug wells?