I have noticed many "MAF" issues as of late. Some are complete failures (this guide will not help those) while more are intermediate issues (like mine and jags911tt's). The MAF still works, but it measures an incorrect amount of air coming through the intake. That can cause you to run lean under throttle, rich under idle, and buck/surge while driving at 2-5mph while applying a small amount of gas - among other things. I have 32k on the clock with a new, stock air filter and a stock ECU. This just goes to show that it can happen to anyone. Those of you with after market filters may really want to pay attention to this guide.

It's an easy job and could save you $350-420 for a replacement MAF. I performed these very steps on my MAF last night and my car no longer surges/bucks/hesitates under low-speed throttle and the power seems to come on more smoothly when I give it throttle. More importantly, my Long Term Fuel Trims (LTFT) for both banks have returned back to +/- 1-2% and my Short Term Fuel Trims are no longer +/- 25%.

Pictures of the "old" graphs previous to the cleaning:




Old thread for those that want to see symptoms:
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...threadid=30929

Tools needed:

* T-20 torx socket/driver - "Tamper Proof" style with the hole in the middle
* A circuit/electronic cleaner that leaves no residue and is safe for plastic - it can be a spray or liquid solution. If you get the spray, make sure that it has the "spray tube" so that you can get to those hard to reach places.

I used this from Ace Hardware:

Step 1:

Locate and remove the two screws that hold the MAF onto the intake.



Picture of the MAF's location with screws:


Step 2:

Remove the MAF and spray with cleaner and/or soak the MAF in a solution for 20-30 minutes. I sprayed mine 3 or 4 times over 10 minutes or so.

You will want to spray as much of the MAF, especially the exposed metal inside the unit (refer to the markings in the below picture), as you can. Let it sit for ~30 minutes to AIR DRY completely and then re-install the MAF.



Step 3:

Start the car and have fun. I plan on doing this every 10-15k or so. It only takes a few minutes and the car feels like she is new again.

 

Excellent writeup. Thanks!

This should be a sticky...or maybe we should have a DIY subforum (hint, hint).

 

Great Post!

 

We already do.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...?s=&forumid=32

 

Very timely, thanks Ruiner.
I have intermittent hesitation at 2- 5 mph.

 

Very nice post! Lots of 6speeders have been asking for this. What a great forum!

 

Excellent write-up Ruiner! This is what I've been looking for. A proactive measure is the key. Is it an overkill to do this every 3k miles? Thank you for the write up.

 

Every 3k miles might be a bit much if you are on the stock air filter. However, if you have an "oiled" after market unit, it might affect the MAF a lot sooner being that some of the oil can splash onto the MAF and cause contamination. As long as your cleaner is of a "no/zero residue" type, I don't see why not. Once an oil change might be a better bet.

Stephen, any ideas on this?

 

Brandon -

You just saved me the price of a new MAF!!

I went out this afternoon and bought the very same product you used, and cleaned my MAF. I have been running either a BMC oiled filter, or the EVO oiled filter for over three and a half years. My '02 Turbo had a rough idle, wasn't smooth at all when cold, and had some power issues at WOT and high rpms. But NOW...

Holly smokes - it's no kidding like night and day!! The car runs smooth as silk, and the power delivery is much stronger and smoother!!

Many thanks for this simple - but major league effective- DIY fix to the engine's running "problems". It's made a huge difference on my car...

 

awesome Ruiner !

 

The force of the spray isn't strong enough to damage the MAF?

 

Oh man oh man.. brandon to the rescue!

 

No.

 

I agree. No residue is the key.

 

thanks for sharing... will try this soon!