So a friend and I tried to install the Firm Fabrications intake. Everything went more or less well. The only problem was that we didn't know if the filter needed to be oiled or not. We decided on 'yes'. Sprayed the filter with K&N oil and let it dry -- or so we thought. An hour later I we installed the filter and off I went to test drive the car. Car seemed to pull well, a bit of low-end lost but high-end was pulling hard.

Later on at night, car starts reacting weirdly. Rough idle when I am completely stopped .. and car's acceleration was uneven. A few acceleration runs later, the car is acting worse: Now it hiccups just before hitting 4000 rpm and then it won't pass 4K!

We remove the filter and the MAF sensor -- to my horror I see that the oil from the filter had been sucked into the intake tract and drenched the MAF sensor .. and some oil was found close to the TB.

*sigh* Cleaned everything up as best as I could, dried things up, and reinstalled the stock components. Will take it into the dealer and hope they replace the MAF under warranty.

Is there anything I can do to salvage my existing MAF sensor? I never got a check engine light .. Should i NOT be driving my car in the meantime? Have I seriously damaged my car ? I'm hoping it's just the MAF, i'll swallow that loss. But if some oil got into the engine, what are the consequences?

Thanks for your input.

 

Some one said they cleaned the little wire in the MAF and it worked good. use like a q-tip that you use to clean your ears with. just push hard enough to clean the wire.

Did someone do this already????

 

Get a can (or cans) of electrical parts cleaner from radio shack. Remove the MAF. Blast your MAF every which way with the parts cleaner. Let it dry. re-install

DW

 

Thanks for the advice, i will try this 'electrical parts cleaner' -- never heard of it though but it sure is worth a try

 

And next time don't put so much oil on the filter.

_R

 

IF there is a next time .. :S i hope i haven't done any permanent damage

Does anyone know how long the electrical parts cleaner takes to dry? Also, do I spray the resistor directly or not ? What am I cleaning if it's not the resistor? The housing all around it?


The owner of Firm Fabrications had emailed me the same suggestion to fix the problem -- but he also specified: "and blow it out with no more than 5psi of compressed air and let it continue to air dry. be sure not to touch the resistor!"

How does one know how much is 5psi of compressed air?

 

You can use brake cleaner also. Like the other's said, spray it and let it dry then reinstall. Should work fine. I have done this to other cars with no problems.

 

Thanks! *crossing my fingers*

 

 

I used carbureator cleaner to clean mine (this was suggested by my mechanic)...Just sprayed it on and it dries in about 5 seconds...I would not suggest even touching the MAF sensors...they are very, very delicate...Just spray it on in every direction, shake it clean, and reinstall it...works like a charm

 

it is also known as contact cleaner. its same as electrical parts cleaner and is less harsh than carb or intake cleaner as well as brake parts cleaner.

 

Hmm, I found some at a hardware store and proceeded to clean the MAF. It seems to have helped some as the car responds better at different gears -- but the main problem of 1st gear full WOT acceleration is still there .. stalls at 4K.

Maybe it takes more than one cleaning?

What is weird though is that i let the sensor dry, and then later on took it for a spin to test out the results. When i unplugged it again, the bottom of the sensor seemed to be a bit dripping oil, or some liquid. What is this?! I've already put the stock intake back on, where would this oil be coming from? *perplexed*

 

The dripping may be excess cleaner. Did you spray the MAF while it was installed in the intake?

Also, did you drive the car after cleaning with the same overoiled K&N?

 

Hi,

Yes, I sprayed the MAF while it was CONNECTED to the stock intake -- i pulled out the MAF, but the wiring was still connected.

As for the second part, no, after I cleaned the MAF, the STOCK intake and assembly is back on the car, which is why I wonder where the oil comes from.

Possibly excess cleaner i guess .. but it seemed to dry pretty much instantly. And b4 I put it back into it's hole, it was completely dry to the touch.

 

Dude... you need to rewind and start over.

Did you know what you were doing? Did you consult the Org first?

 

Unfortunately, no.

I had just gotten the Firm intake and was going to have the dealer install it for me. but then they wanted to charge me 2 hours of labour, i thought it was insane seeing as though most ppl said it was 30 min job in general.

A friend volunteered to install it with me since he is an 'apprentice mechanic', didn't think an intake install would be hard.

All was ok except for the question of whether to oil the filter or not. That's where the crucial mistake was ..

anyhow, this electrical cleaner seems to have done the trick after multiple cleanings, thanks for everyone's help in this matter! I don't know if I have ALL my power back, but it certainly doesn't stall at 4k rpm anymore and I was able to get wheel hop in 1st gear WOT acceleration, that's a good sign.

On a different note, this whole ordeal seems like a moot point what with everyone talking about the GAB being better .. makes me wonder if I should even bother installing the Firm intake now. On my FIRST run with the Firm intake BEFORE i oiled it, car seemed rather mushy down low and I complained to my friend of loss of low-end tq .. he said it was normal. If the GAB doesn't exhibit this, i'd try that out.

Can someone direct me to a link on the GAB how-to? I couldn't find it in the FAQ or HOW-TO in the stickys .. much appreciated.

Again thanks to all those who replied and helped out, i'm glad i don't have to take it in to the dealer and beg for them to replace the MAF!