pHEnomIC

I am wondering how to clean my maf sensor/housing/screen. I am not having problems but the screen and housing looks a little dusty. I was hoping i could clean that up just to make sure its working 100% correctly.

Kataklysm

Carefully take the ends apart. You can use a q-tip to clean the maf sensor things but be VERY careful as not to break any of them. Just lightly brush them and you can usually see the junk that will come off. For the screen it just pops out, I ran mine under hot water and put a q-tip in the honey comb looking holes. You can polish the ends if you want.

Megalis

I would not even worry about those little sensors. They are so damn delicate. One wrong thing you do and thats it for the maf and you may not have a running car till you get another one.

I would suggest that while you have the maf out, that you at least port it. And either polish or paint the ends with High Temp paint. Good luck either way and careful!

Kataklysm

Theres no need to port or descreen a MAF. It does nothing.

Fast Orange

i dont even plug mine in.. it runs better than with it pluged in..

Megalis

Ok, this needs to be explained to me. I am not saying this to be sarcastic, I just really want to know. If the idea is to get maximum air flow, and a screen of any kind clearly prevents that from happening, as well as a clunk of metal in the middle MAF, how is it that NOT removing these items will NOT get you better and less restricted airflow?? I try to live by logic, so I don't want a he said she said, friend of mine, type answer. Only science will do here. So please explain. Especially since every other store that sells parts for our cars sells after market mafs that are ported with no screens. Just want to know.

fesgali

I used some electrical cleaner from Autozone and spraed it on to clean it up, works/looks good as new.

truedualws6

I have used a spray cleaner, like brake cleaner or something similar. My MAF
is descreened so it's very easy. Just spray clean the wires. No touching is
necessary. Just do it with the MAF off the car. GM makes a spray "Top End"
cleaner that is designed for this, but it costs a lot more than other cleaners.
I also think the top end cleaner is no longer available in CA.

Also, if you ever do use the top end cleaner, be extremely careful around the
TPS. If any gets in the TPS it's trash. The stuff eats up carbon like pac-man.

96capricemgr

Megalis, removing the screen or worse yet removeing housing material totally destroys the calibration of the unit so the pcm is now getting false info about the airflow the engine is getting and then tries to make fueling decisions based on that bad info. In stock form the tuning is too rich so porting the MAF can result in temporary gains because the MAF is underreporting airflow, thing is the O2s will see the lean condition and lean it out leaving you with nothing more than a screwed up MAF. The calibration tables in the pcm can be tweaked to work right with non-stock MAFs but it is a fair amount of skilled work that needs to be done and the stock MAF is capable of flowing enough air for all but the most radical combinations so exept for a very few cases porting a MAF is nothing but a mistake. Do a search here we have hashed this out a number of times and each time a few more people understand.

stereomandan

Clean the sensors with Electrical Cleaner only! At least I wouldn't risk anything else, that could possibly remove any coatings on the sensors/wires. Cleaning the actual sensors can make a BIG difference. If you do not clean the sensors, you may not see any benefit from cleaning the MAF at all. Take the MAF out, spray the sensors well with electrical cleaner, and wipe them off gently with a Q-tip. Also wipe the wires/guides leading to the sensors. The first time I did this, at about 50,000 miles, I could not believe the drastic improvement in the smoothness of my engine. Since then, I've done it a few times at about 9000 mile intervals, and don't see as much of an improvement. Must have been very dirty the first time. I do this at the kitchen table with a pan underneath so I can be gentle and not screw it up. Just spraying it did not clean it good enough, I had to get the Q-tip out and wipe it gently.

I have removed my screen a long time ago, and have absolutely no problems. This issue has gone back and forth a number of times. Would I do it again, yes, but that doesn't mean that it is the best thing to do for everyone.

Dan

Tails

Yes make sure you only use Electrical Cleaner or computer parts cleaner. Look for the can that says Leaves No Residue. If you have to use a q-tip be VERY careful on the sensors. Do NOT, lemme repeat that, DO NOT, use brake cleaner, WD-40 or any other cleaner. Yes it may work a few times but it leaves residue on the sensors and will mess em up over time....


Tails

pHEnomIC

When you guys say electrical cleaner, do you mean something like a solvent that takes gunk off or are you just talking about endust or some kind of compressed air sort or thing for computers?

Tails

Here ya go:

http://www.caswellplating.com/permat...mcleaners.html

or

http://www.skymartsales.com/lpslabs/ec.asp

And no don't use the compressed air in a can that you'd use to dust off a computer. A it won't clean anything, and B it could damage the sensors..

Tails

Pasky

Because the computer will compensate the air/fuel ratio negating its gains after it learns to.

fesgali

The electrical cleaner is electrical clearner. Go to any parts store and look for electrical cleaner, should be a spray can type of thing. It'll say safe to use on alternator, wires, blah blah. I didn't have to use a q-tip to clean them, just get a good shot at the sensors and whatever is on them will come off.