Anybody know of a safe way to clean a MAF sensor? It looks really fragile like a bulb filiment in there. The reason I am asking is that I just took out my Kand N filter to clean and recharge it and I was thinking that there might be some residue on the MAF due to me over-oiling it last time. I hear great stories about new MAF sensors and the car runningmuch better, so what about cleaning one? HOw can you tell if tis really firty or not? Is a firty one easily seen as being clogged? or is simply a residue on the tiny wires enough to hinder performance?

 

IIRC, it is safe to clean the MAF sensor, you just have to be really careful. I remember reading a thread a while back where some recommended just plain old carb cleaner for cleaning the MAF, while others recommended electronics cleaner from radioshack. Hopefully others will chime in with info about what solution to clean with.

 

I use rubbing alcohol, a q-tip and a delicate tough.

 

I have also heard that MAF sensors have a heat cycle when you start the car whick should burn off any junk that has accumulated on it, Has anyone else heard any thing like this???

 

I believe you are talking about the MAS (Mass Airflow Sensor)
DO NOT CLEAN IT! it is very delicate. if you really want to know if you running with the right fuel/air mix, take it to a professional. there could me numerous reasons why you could be running rich or lean. the cost of a new MAS is not cheap - if you get a used one you always have to wonder if it is right or not. if you are not 100% sure there is something wrong with it, dont mess with it. you are not going to get any substantial gains if you attempt to clean it.

my 2 cents

 

he just wants to clean it becuase he might have oil form his filter in the senosr....and it is a MAF (MASS AIRFLOW METER)...he is also not talkinf about lean/richness either his simple concern is whether or not the oil form his fliter will hurt it and how can he clean it.......jsut do what mzmtg says...be very carefull.....it is very delicate

 

When I cleaned mine last year, I just took the MAF sensor out of the car and poured rubbing alcohol from one side and I let the it dry off for 10 mins. Then pour some rubbing alcohol from the other side and let it dry off. Never touched the sensor part since I didn't know how delicate it was

 

So I cleaned the MAF sensor CAREFULY with a cotton swab and alcohol. The swab got a little gray, but nothing crazy. I drove around, nothing really improved, maybe a little better response. But it certaintly did not hurt. I don't recomend doing this if you are a clutz or you do not know how to handle delicate things. I just gently rubbed the swab against all the metal parts inside.

 

I cleaned the screen portion only with rubbing alcohol and a q-tip, and there was a pretty good layer of soot on it. I didn't try cleaning the element in the middle due to warnings in the shop manual and posting here. I've never cleaned the MAF in 8.5 years of owning the car, so the performance increase was big. The power comes on early, and there is much more passing power. Before cleaning the MAF, performance was so bad I thought I had a bad KS or TPS. I checked all those out and checked for engine codes, and found nothing wrong. After cleaning the MAF, I also tested for codes in the automatic trans computer while I was tinkering around, and that process resets the computer and syncs it up to the engine. The power is back on, and the car drives great. It made a huge difference in my car, but only after resetting the auto trans cpu by checking for codes.

 

That is Exactly what I did.



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I got a used one on Ebay for around $50 bucks, not cheap, but also not terribly expensive. I wanted to have one in case I messed up my original one cleaning it. I did not though. I also did try the new/used one for a month with no issues.

 

Okay, so I took the car out just now on a joyride being that its late and the Highway as empty. There is a DEFINITE increase in torque in the 3-4k RPM range. For example, if I am doing about 40 and push the pedal to the metal, the car literally surges ahead. I don't recall having this much of a surge of power in that speed range. I sure as hell like it though. Believe it or not, after cleaning the TB by hand a few weeks ago, doing a seafoam treatment right before my oil change and now cleaning the MAF, my car has never ran so good. I was actually impressed with my cars performance tonight. ;-)

 

How do I reset the auto trans CPU? Why would these two computers be out of sync? Can the two comps eventually come back into sync? Hmmm, Ya know what? I cleaned the element but not the screen! Maybe I will clean the screan in the morning. Couldnt hurt. I did not think the screen, as long as there was no apparent blockage, would be that important to performance. Also, which electronics cleaner is the one that we are supposed to use? Rat shack has three different kinds. They have a volume **** spray, pro gold and deoxit.Just wanted to know for reference. http://www.radioshack.com/search.asp?find=contact+cleaner&site=search&SRC=1

 

I got the CRC QD spray. Worked really well at cleaning the screan. It was gleaming!

 

I don't know is the computers on mine were out of sync, but I do know that resetting it made a huge difference. Where did you get the CRC QD spray? Is that from Radio Shack or an auto store? Glad it did the trick on yours. Did you spray the center element also, or just the screen?

 

I sprayed both the element and the springs. I sprayed the element with a very gentile spray. I got the spray at strauss discount auto.

 

Super...will get some this weekend and give it a try...thanks.