I have also tried cleaning my fully functional MAF just for maintenance reasons using this same method with the same cleaner but my results were on the contrary and I had to replace it with a new MAF. Unless you are having problems with your MAF I suggest not mess with it, but if you already have an issue with it, it is definitely worth the shot since you have nothing to lose.

 

my 4th maf just went on me
ive owned this car for 1 year and a month

im gonna try to clean this thing tomorrow

 

the maf deal happened to me some years ago, it was a great mod incentive(i replaced all sorts of stuff) down the road we tried cleaning my maf a $6.00 cost and solved all my problims in 20 min. now i carry an exrta maf and a can of elec cleaner not a prob for at least two years (the car gets out maybe once a month)

 

I hate to tell you, but you can not resurrect a blown MAF by cleaning it. Cleaning it won't heal fried circuitry. The purpose of cleaning is to remove contaminants before they cause a MAF to become electrically challenged (fry). If you are going through that many MAFs, something is wrong with intake or tuning IMHO.

 

mine was dirty from an oiled filter once i cleaned it and replaced the filter with evos paper filter all was fine and still is.. i did replace the maf just for drill 10,000 miles ago

 

Hi, new to the boards, will make a formal intro soon. I saw this thread after looking through search. I have the same problems, running rich, got an estimate, then took the car home. Tried the cleaning fix with the electronic spray seemed ok but the CEL did not go off. Does it need to be reset? Is the MAF fried? Does MAF look different when fried?

My car also seems to emit steam from the exhaust whilst idling.
Thanks in advance for any response.

 

Can anyone post a picture of where the MAF is?

At the begining of the thread it says there are two bolts holding it, and the piece I thought it was only has one bolt. Am I looking at the wrong thing here?

 

Here it is.... I've lower the contrast on the second pic to see better... You probably looked at the pressure and temperature sensor which is located just before the throttle body and got only one screw....

 

about the 986 MAF, which model year should we use, i would like to try it out in my car, maybe it will solve my MAF issues.

 

how are you guys so sure it's the MAF? I don't see anyone posting their symptoms. Just that they are having MAF issues.

 

First, thanks to Ruiner for a great writeup. I took out the MAF and cleaned... simple job with immediate results. Sorry for the rookie question: I notice that the connector on the MAF appears to be symmetrical. Does it matter which way the MAF is facing when reinstalled into the airbox? Thanks in advance.

 

Yes it matters a lot,the hole in the maf must be in the direction to the air filter
so the air flows in the maf.

 

It's not symmetrical - you can't put it in the wrong way - I have tried!

 

Thanks guys... for some reason it did look symmetrical. In either case, I assumed correctly, and got it reinstalled. Thanks much.

 

Thanks for the write up and pictures that were just reposted a fee months back. I have the same thing and will be cleaning mine later today- after chopping down a Christmas tree.

Great forum with so much helpful info!