Can dust from a cracked intake box mess up the MAF Sensor?

[Mark_BC]

I was in Baja California last week on a dusty road and came upon a 1st gen Tacoma (5VZ-FE) with hood open. His idle was at times crazy high, up to 5000 rpm, but settled down a bit when I was there. He had started on the dusty road about 20 km previously (pavement before that) and when they checked to see what the problem may be they found the cracked air box so he JB Welded it up. I suggested that the dust getting through had coated the MAF Sensor and screwed it up so the computer go confused and wouldn't idle right. Unfortunately no one had MAF Sensor cleaner so he headed back into town.

Should I always carry MAF Sensor cleaner? What if my intake box breaks in a dusty area? Is there a more conventional cleaner you can use if this happens in the middle of nowhere?

 

[T4R2014]

Electrical contact cleaner. Maybe rubbing alcohol could work in a pinch.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Brake clean can work in a pinch.

 

[JAXJeremy]

Brake clean can work in a pinch.

Disagree, I'd never use brake cleaner on a MAF, you could ruin the sensors..

 

[jgue467]

...

Should I always carry MAF Sensor cleaner? ...

I do (along with half of my garage maintenance stuff!), I mean its a small can that weighs 4 oz maybe?


Luck and enjoy those Toyotas. : ^ )))

 

[mtbtim]

I also carry MAF sensor cleaner on road trips and wheeling trips. I've gotten that P0171 CEL (System Too Lean - Bank 1) enough times away from home and instead of getting annoyed with seeing the CEL dash light lit and clearing it out multiple times, I just remove the MAF wherever is convenient, clean it out really quick and get back on the road. If I know it's going to be particularly dusty, I'll even carry an extra air filter.

 

[AntleredRuin]

I'd say carry MAF Cleaner, but also consider buying and running a spare offbrand MAF for offroad/emergency situations. I got an eBay special for like $15 that worked just fine a few years ago. Longevity is a crapshoot on offbrand, but usually the functionality is fine.

I've heard too many horror stories about cleaning the MAF actually making it worse, even using the correct cleaner. It'd be just my luck that I'd clean it while away from home and completely fry it and then the truck wouldn't even start, vs just have some idle issues. I'd much rather do that kind of maintenance at home.

Run a cheap MAF as the offroad/dust dummy and swap in the OEM when on the way home.