okay, when i was cleaning out the throttle body on my 92se, i (idiotically) broke the wire mesh frame on the intake of the air flow meter component....what effect can this have on the flow measurement, and what happens if some sort of debris that would have been blocked by this mesh fram gets in?

 

just hope that u dont' get any debris in there. like mosquito's and stuff like that.

 

I wouldn't worry about it too much, shouldn't cause any adversed affect. By choice some have removed the screens hoping to gain hp, but they gained nothing.

 

if you're careful, you can possibly repair/replace the screen, but to be honest I wouldn't worry about it unless the car starts having problems with throttle response.

 

well for about a week after this happened, the car ran fine, with a little fluctuation in rpm when started. then one morning i turned it on and heard some crackling sound (possibly debris in air flow component?) and I shut off the car...when I started it again, the rpm fluctuated greatly and the engine made some squeaking noise like it was getting enough fuel,and the car would stall unless I pressed on the gas pedal...however, now it's starting fine again, except that it will make one squeak when i first start it. i dunno what it is.

 

that crackling sound is most likely the valves or something tapping

 

I also noticed fluctuation in my rpm after cleaning the TB, I wouldn't think your fluctuation due to the screen breaking. I "think" the screen is to reduce the air turbulence going thru the meter for a accurate air flow reading.