Cleaning MAF

[Clemsonfan15]

So I'm in the process of cleaning my MAF and TB and I've been following JA guide. I came to a problem though. My MAF looks nothing like his. On his writeup he says to unscrew the MAF from the housing, but mine has no screws.

Can someone tell me if I'm missing something or am just overlooking something?

 

[RonMAIDEN]

got a pic?

 

[Elton H]

96-98 has different style maf sensor

 

[Clemsonfan15]

96-98 has different style maf sensor

Can it be cleaned?

 

[Elton H]

i guess spray the inside with maf cleaner and let it dry ?

 

[brian2sun]

I just shoot the cleaner in there the best I can towards the little wires that you can see way in there. IMO, our design is actually better because it appears like the sensor wires are protected better. I didn't clean mine for several years and it was shiny spotless still at 185K (probably the 1st time it was ever cleaned). I've seen some other's '99+ MAFs and they're filthy after < year.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

Here are some pictures. You can see the blackish bulb in the top right corner. That's about the only thing I see to clean.

 

[brian2sun]

IIRC, I can see the little wires if I look through the hole down the middle of mine.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

I'm trying to get remove the throttle body. How do I remove the line going to the circular silver thing in this picture? Do I need to add locktite or anything to the bolts when I put them back on?

Here is a link to the picture: http://www.top4runners.com/cgi-bin/image.pl?/ja/1999/cleantb/tb3.jpg

 

[brian2sun]

Don't use loctite, just torque them down to 13 ft lbs. You can reuse the TB gasket, but new ones are ~$5 from the dealer. The rubber hose just pulls off the circular silver thing (vacuum actuator - I think).

 

[Duhockey]

thats it

spray some in that, but keep it on its side or something...

it will collect fluid, just make sure the MAF cleaner doesnt collect in the sensor area in there

you should be able to see the little wire under good light when its clean

 

[Clemsonfan15]

Thanks for the information guys. I finally got everything done. Advance Auto Parts had a special, buy the MAF cleaner get the TB cleaner free. The MAF cleaner still cost $8.15 though.

I got a flashlight out and shined it down in that hole and saw the two wires. The one on the right was pretty clean, but the one on the left was black. I ended up spraying it a good 10-15 times with a 10 minute break between each five while I was working on the TB. I ended up getting the one on the left pretty clean. It wasn't totally clean, but I didn't think it was gonna get any cleaner. After spraying the wires I titled the MAF upside down to let any extra cleaner drain out. Only three to five drops came out each time. The stuff dries pretty fast.

I ended up not removing the hose to the vacuum actuator because it wouldn't come off. I was surprised how dirty my TB was. I spent a good thirty minutes cleaning all the carbon off. Got a tooth brush down in there and got most of it out.

I'm hoping to gain a mile per gallon or two. Even if I don't though I'm still glad I went through the process. Learned a good bit tonight.

 

[CajunRunner]

Definitely update this thread after you run a few tanks of gas through it and let us know if you see any difference. I've been considering this on mine and had the same questions about the 97 MAF sensor being different than what's posted in other threads.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

I definitely will. I should be filling up tomorrow or Thursday so the next filling up will probably come a week or so from then.

I've been getting like 16.5-17 and I'm not super happy about that. If I could get into the 18's or possibly close to 19 that would be awesome.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

After cleaning those items I'm idling around 700 in "P". Just filled up today so hopefully I'll see some results soon.

 

[JohnsD90]

I definitely will. I should be filling up tomorrow or Thursday so the next filling up will probably come a week or so from then.

I've been getting like 16.5-17 and I'm not super happy about that. If I could get into the 18's or possibly close to 19 that would be awesome.

More highway driving, and lay off the throttle.

 

[Clemsonfan15]

More highway driving, and lay off the throttle.

Highway driving won't get me anywhere I need to go.

I already keep the throttle easy. I never go over 2,500 RPM.

 

[Qyota]

16.5 - 17 is typical for in-city driving. Not much you can do about that.

Are you commenting on your 700RPM idle as being higher than normal?

 

[Clemsonfan15]

16.5 - 17 is typical for in-city driving. Not much you can do about that.

Are you commenting on your 700RPM idle as being higher than normal?

Yeah, that's what I've noticed. I'd still like to get more though. I might be too optimistic though. Ha.

I couldn't remember what I was idling at before. Just threw it out there to see if it was more or less than others.

 

[Maxil]

I cleaned mine this past Saturday along with the K&N filter. For all the bad things I have heard about oiled filters, my MAF sensor was pretty darn clean after 50k miles on the filter. I was kinda hoping it was really dirty so I get some extra MPG, hopefully I still will though.