John Etnier

I haven't updated this in some time because the work being done was so various and interrelated I couldn't really pull it together into a rational order. Suffice to say that the car is running well now, better than it has in years. really. I think most of my trouble was with the MAF. Mike Nott was kind enough to loan me a unit to use as a test, and suggested Parts Heaven as a source for a used one if mine proved bad. For a while here I had both on hand and both solved the ragged-running issues. We were simultaneously dealing with a rusted RSBarn exhaust header, and its replacement (I went back to stock) had its effect in making diagnosis difficult. Other complications included going back to an undrilled airbox for a while (mine had gotten a bit deformed and wouldn't fit), the cleaning of the idle control valve and replacement of the fuel filter. Plus some other stuff I've lost track of.

While several online sources offered rebuilt 968 MAF’s, they all showed them out of inventory when I called. I don’t think they exist there. Partsheaven sold me a used one for $275.00. It had some minor corrosion on the casting and a bit of broken input grill.

Does anyone know how to remove those grills? I would like to swap from my unit, so I don't have to wonder about grill fragments going up into the throttle body.

The partsheaven MAF also has a cylindrical extension in the casting right next to the connector, something not present in the other two MAF’s that were on hand here, so I expect it’s an early model. All numbers match.

Injectionlabs (thanks jfrahm) charges $265.00 to rebuild our MAFs. Maybe sometime in the future I will head that way with my old, broken one.

Here's my quick summary of what I think I’ve learned:

• Replacing the MAF seemed to cure rough-idle, uneven idle speed and insufficient power problems which crippled the car and started the repair process.
• I think that cleaning out the idle control valve cured some other longer-standing problems: difficulty with cold starts and some hot restarts.

Other than that, given all the back-and-forth which took place, it's hard to extrapolate more than that from what occurred over the past few weeks.

My thanks to everyone who posted here, and to Mike Nott for providing the loaner.

biosurfer1

Thanks for giving an update with lots of info. Guys like myself, who are learning before we buy, appreciate follow ups when issues are solved so we can book mark them and/or search later on if we have the same symptoms!

John Etnier

Sadly, Injection Labs has not proved to be much of a source in this regard. I bought a used MAF with the intent of having it rebuilt by these guys. Sent them the exact year and model of my car, waited quite a while and received this:
.... so I don't really know what to make of this shop.
Any input appreciated. It seems like a stretch to pay the full rebuild cost under these circumstances.

John Etnier

Here' s an update: spoke with Kevin, the owner of Injection Labs, and he was very confident that he could rebuild to spec. Sadly, a week or so later the MAF arrived unusable. This was doubly-bad because I have a used unit in place that I wanted to return for a refund after the rebuild: I was moving out of the 90-day return period (the used unit came with a damaged intake grill and I can see plastic getting into the throttle body or worse). Kevin apologized, had me measure a voltage at the connector and said he'd fix my MAF again, plus rebuild the used one for free. So we're waiting for the 2nd rebuild on my original to come in to test out. He's putting a trimpot in, just in case he doesn't hit the right point. Kevin has been very nice to deal with throughout.

Hope this all makes some kind of sense to y'all...

John Etnier

I never wrapped this up, I see. Kevin's second iteration was spot-on: I never needed to touch the trimpot. He was great to work with throughout, and even rebuilt my 'placeholder' used MAF for free as a courtesy after the first one was completed. I can't speak highly enough of Kevin and injectionlabs.