jbrisimi

This post is for anyone who may decide to clean out their MAS. Don't do it!!!

I was reading the post (which I can't find now) on cleaning out your Mass Air Flow sensor this weekend and decided to give mine a clean too. The post suggested spraying STP throttle body cleaner into the MAS intake which I did.

After I put it back together the car has never been the same since. It's be bucking quite bad and I'm getting a weird smell out of the catalytics and the "check engine" light. I suspect the MAS is garbage now as a result of this "tip" so I've ordered a replacement.....$200 used!

Not only is the MAS garbage it's feeding the ECU wrong information so the car is running rich which maybe why I'm getting the wierd smell from the cats.

After reading about it some more on other sites I haven't see anything good about giving this sensor a clean.

Just my two cents.

JBrisimi

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

Bro, don’t discredit anyone’s intentions. If you don’t know what you’re doing, then you shouldn’t be messing with your MAF.

I really have no idea WHAT you did. Can you explain what you exactly did?

Anyone else had this problem?

skperformance

iTrader: (6)

I have go to agree with both of you.
You should be "CAREFUL" and what you are doing.

I did mine last week like i do to all my cars as part of an oil change and throttle body clean.
I only spray small amounts of the tb cleaner followed by touches of brake cleens then followed last by compressed air .
All done with very low pressure.
I would clean teh maf again but slowly and properly.
BTW did you unbolt the sensor alone ,or did you disconnect the piping and spray the whole thing , as either one reinstalled improperly will cause an airleak and CEL's

phillipin

i did clean my maf this weekend, stupid stupid stupid

it ran like crap for a few days, but today it ran fine, no ecu codes, so i have no idea, maybe i damaged it, but tomarrow i'm check it with a volt meter an ohm meter so hopefully it was just residue that got taken off after 80-100 miles of driving

jbrisimi

Don't mean to discredit anyone's posting which is why I posted a "CAREFUL" tag in the title.

I'm not a mechanic by trade but I do have a fair amount of knowledge in fixing cars. When I read the posting I thought it made good sense which is why I decided to try it out myself. What I suspect is that some of the cleaner I used (TB/Intake Cleaner) may have seeped into the curcuit board of the MAF module which may explain the issues I've been having. I haven't done any electrical testing yet but I'll try tomorrow to see if I'm getting the proper resistence.

I'm sharing my experience in the event that if someone tries they can be careful. Next time around maybe I'll approach this a little differently.

JBrisimi

phillipin

well on my lunch break, i poped out the maf top sensor, and put it back on thinking maybe the seal wasnt good since the problem is intermittent, and you put it in, press it down, then i decided to make sure it was really snug so i pushed down firmly and wiggled it left and right and it popped down lower than it was, i drove it around and it ran fine, i think maybe the maf top sensor wasnt low enough in the chamber, but time will tell. It did go lower than i had it so im betting it wasnt seated and that was cause the randomness from intermit pressure drops in the swirl chamber

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

One other caveat to add to this list:

Simple spray carborator cleaner can damage the 02 sensors. You need to make sure to get the variety that is labeled 'safe for 02 sensors'. Not all brands are; read the label of the carb cleaner or throttle body cleaner you buy.

hyperopt

MAF sensor is high on my not to mess with list. Goodluck if you mess with it!

koolaidman

hes right ppl. DO NOT CLEAN THE MAF. if u do it will run well for a week. and then it crokes over

skperformance

iTrader: (6)

Are you sure about that?
What makes you so confident that it always will break after cleaning it?

So by me saying i clean all of mine often i should be lieing ,although i doubt you are implying that.


It is like anything ,do it properly and it will be fine.

koolaidman

tell me whats proper procedure on cleaning it?

skperformance

iTrader: (6)

as per the other thread which started this all ,this is what i posted there.


You have to clean out the maf after cleaning it.
Meaning tb cleaner
then brake clean to loosen any left over residue and wash it out
then compressed air to dry it off.
All down with very light amounts of pressure from the cans.

Other wise you leave the deposits all over teh wire and it causes the ecu to think no air is coming in as the filament is now caked with dirt ,basically it is protecting it from reading the air passing by it like a coat.

koolaidman

tb leaves a residue on the map
and so does brake clean

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

This isnt my first car, and not the first time I do this. It made a significant amount of difference in my car. Runs and accelerates much better. Now im starting to think someone is doing something wrong if it works for some, and not others.

jbrisimi

Guys, whether you have experience or not, the jest of this post is that the MAF is a very sensitive part that should be handled carefully when you try to clean it or work on it. It sounds like we all know enough about these great cars to know that they are sensitive.

Cheers.

Jbrisimi