Well I did the old q-tip to the MAF sensor this weekend and . . .

voila, pinging is gone!

I tried some hard acceleration and partial acceleration (uphill and flat). Before it would ping mainly going uphill under partial and full throttle . . . now the only sound is how its supposed to.

I used alcohol as I didn't have any windex and sure enough, when I looked at the q-tip after cleaning there was some grude and grime that came off the sensor. It's clean now and I'm quite happy considering how easy it was.

Thanks for everyone's help.

- Coug

 

now the place that you are cleaning the is little thing inside the air inlet tube, right?

and i can assume its the one in the inlet closest to the intake?

 

I've got a 2004 with the 5.4 3v. The MAF sensor is located on the driver's side of the airbox. It's held in place by two Torx bit screws. Unplug the wire bundle. Unscrew the unit, pull it out, spray it with Electrical Parts cleaner ONLY, allow to dry thoroughly, screw the unit back in place and reattach the wires. Simple. I cleaned mine two days ago and it reduced some pinging and the engine idles better now.

 

alright.. since mine is a 97, i also see where the one is under the airbox on the driver side.. i will have to find a torxbit though to see which one fits.. but thanks for your help..

one more question, how long should i keep the battery cables off to ensure a proper reset of the computer?

 

Ten minutes should do it.

 

Hope yuh have a dremell tool, you'll have to grind out those knobbies in the middle of the torx bolts first.

 

CRC Mass Air Flow Cleaner is available at any decent auto parts store. I would use this to clean you MAF since that is what it's made for.

 

Kinda looks like dis -

 

It's a very acceptable practice. However, you are not to touch it, ever. So when I see people who say they use q-tips, I cringe every time. There are specific products made for this, specifically MAF Clean, which is available at most parts stores. If it isn't available, Throttle Body and Intake Cleaner, and even Non-Chlorinated Brake Clean is acceptable. Where most people screw up is touching the sensor element. They are extremely sensitive and bend very, very easy, they should never be touched. Just get the proper cleaner and hose the living **** out of them and all is good!

 

HAHA, he's right , I tried the Q-tip and alcohol method long time ago. Everything would have been fine if the freakin fuzz ball didn't get hung up on my MAF. The MAF ties off on little posts- on mine the end of the wires stick out enough to become a problem with this method of cleaning. I had a set of extra long needle nosers that I eventually used to pull that freakin fuzzy off the wires . Well, I got it , but like tritonpwr mentioned in his post they bend . They bend back too , but they are pretty fragile . I'll carb cleaner or what ever I have along those lines , but never would I let that stuff stay on the MAF, don't like the idea of it . If you have a good separator on a compressor and can dial it down to about 10lbs or so, a shot of air cleans them the best after you soak em.

 

i want to thank everyone for your help.. the spray cleanser helped alot, cel is off, and reset is complete.

Jason

 

Be careful when spraying the MAF;some of these chemicals leave residue.
If you can find it,use CRC electrical contact cleaner. A good alternate is to use isopropryl alcohol in a spray bottle(remove the MAF) to do this.

 

i didnt even have to remove the maf.. i just sprayed the cleanser in the hole where the air goes through it.. was VERY simple process..

 

KDOT that looks like the stadium at OSU Stillwater

 

Yep it is, or it'll look like that in another year and a half.