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Cleaning the Mass Airflow (MAF) Sensor

MAF Sensor Maintenance
By: iMR2 

Please refer to the service manual before working on any electrical components.
Damage may result if safety precautions aren’t taken.

UPDATED: 3/16/2002

The Mass Air Flow sensor is crucial to the fuel systems operation. This is the sensor that the engine computer uses to measure how much air is entering the engine so that it may properly deliver the proper amount of fuel.  A dirty MAF sensor hot wire may cause several problems to include: difficult start, poor acceleration, pinging, rough idling, to name a few.  This whole procedure should take you less than ten minutes.

 
Locate the MAF Sensor on the air intake pipe just behind the air filter box.
Disconnect the MAF Sensor wire harness by pressing the tab and pulling.
 
Remove the MAF Sensor from the air intake pipe by removing the two phillips screws.
 
Inspect the platinum hot wire inside the MAF housing.
 
This is the carbeuretor & throttle body cleaner I used.   Other brands of carb cleaner should work as well.  The main thing is to use a cleaner that will not attack plastic or leave a residue on the wires.
 
Spray cleaner on to the platinum wires liberally to clean off  any built on dirt residue. You may want to remove the rubber o-ring around the housing to prevent the possibility of the cleaning agent making it brittle.
 
Here is a close up shot of the two beasties you are trying to keep clean.  Clean them, but keep in mind they are delicate so don't break them.
 
Replace the cleaned MAF sensor back into air intake pipe.  You can see the air temperature thermistor on the side in this view.
 
Zip it up and you're done.  Check the MAF for dirt and deposits every time you check the air filter, and that should help keep your engine running at top performance.
 
Here is a before and after MAF cleaning dyno chart plotting torque over RPM.  There's no magical power gain, but it's a good idea to keep your engine maintained.
 

 




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