shane.emc

These are the directions for cleaning your MAF. I gathered the directions and parts list from different threads. None of the directions or pictures belong to me. I just gathered them all up and put them in a doc so I could print it out. I figured since I had the document created anyway I would share it. The document has directions, parts list, places to purchase parts, and pictures.

If cleaning the MAF fixed a specific problem for you please reply to the thread and explain what it fixed. This could be helpful for other people troubleshooting MAF related issues.

Thanks to everyone who I gathered these directions from.

Enjoy.

Wachuko

Cool! Thank you!

wross996tt

That was very nice of you to compile this! Thanks. I for one have not received any benefit from cleaning the MAF and when it fails no cleaning has helped. But that's just me.

Y65MPH

I carry a spare under the bonnet. Blow them out on a regular basis.

Craig

tkerrmd

shane, nice job, thanks. I keep a spare.

TwinTime

Well I cleaned my MAF and I do feel a difference. The response feels better and the acceleration is much smoother. My MAF looked pretty clean but since it was off anyway I went ahead and cleaned all the different parts including the connectors. I wasn't expecting to feel any difference at all but did notice the car had a better response and a smoother acceleration.

For $10.00 this was well worth the time and money. I highly recommend it.

FYI...
My car is a 2002 996 Turbo with 22k miles on it and stock airfilter. If you have an after market air filter like K&N it's probably a good idea to clean your MAF anytime you re-charge or replace the air filter or every 5k miles.

shane.emc

Cleaned each part with 4 coats. The plug connector I did seperately then let it dry. Then cleaned the other 3 parts. Not really sure what all needs to be cleaned so I cleaned it all. After applying each coat I let it air dry with a micro fiber cloth on the bottom to soak up any extra stuff. I agree with twintime. Better response and much smoother acceleration.

When driving 50MPH and having the car in 5th gear then stepping on the gas the car would sputter a little bit then go. This was fixed with the MAF cleaning.

wross996tt

Could someone please explain why cleaning the car will have any effect on performance...I guess I'm asking what signal does the MAF send (digital) that would change the performance of the car to create the "better response and smoother acceleration". I'm not trying to be an *sshole, I just don't get it. Oh and by the way have you read tthis?:

http://www.knfilters.com/MAF/massair.htm

shane.emc

Good question I was going to ask this myself. I don't think the K&N filter will necessarily cause the MAF to fail but maybe excessive oil from a newly charged filter could cause the MAF to not function 100%. Also I doubt many dealerships would actually just clean the MAF they would most likely just replace it and call it a day. Since the only thing between the MAF and the outside world is the air filter that leaves little else to blame but the filter itself. I'm sure if you had a stock filter that was dirty at all they would want to replace that too.

My questions:
What part of the MAF actually collects data? I saw 3 different parts that looked like they may collected data. If all 3 of them collect data then what happens when 1, 2 or all 3 of them gets dirty? What happens if just half of one of the collectors gets dirty? And last of all what are the symptoms of a bad MAF?

shane.emc

I spoke to a guy at a shop that gave me detailed information of how a MAF works. I wish I could remember everything he told me. But basically the wires on the MAF heat up and cool down from the air passing by the wires. The way the wires cool down and heat up controls how the air / fuel ratio's should be mapped. Something like that anyway. If anybody can explain this better please feel free.

JasonAndreas

You want to spray #2



in the direction of the arrows.



Internally your 996TT MAF looks like

wross996tt

Unfortunately the guy you talked to apparently is a little misinformed as the MAFs in our cars are not wire MAFs...but foil.

"One side of the film encounters cooling airflow, while the shielded backside maintains a consistent temperature, and the current differential between the two is measured and relayed as a square-wave digital frequency output, between around 30Hz at idle and 150Hz at wide-open throttle. Hot film sensors tend to be more robust and less susceptible to contamination than hot-wire types."

Gary (Fl)

Hmm... could that be my old blown MAF ???

JasonAndreas

Yup and unfortunately I managed to damage the etched wafer that the (already cracked) vacuum coated mylar(?) element attached to. Which made microprobing impossible and any photos of the cracked element useless. I can still post some this weekend but they won't tell you anything and are basically, "aw cool" photos.

Woodster

Jason,
does this mean after unhooking MAF: that you must take the MAF apart in order to spray/clean
#5: the hybrid ???

please advise,

MK