MAF Sensor Dirty Build Up - Before and After

[drof]

Hi all,

Thought I'd post a photo of the crud that I found built up on my MAF sensor.

Saw over on the newtriton forums that many members were finding MAF sensors quite dirty, so I decided to pull mine out and have a look (1 minute job). Turns out the upstream (filter) side was covered in a build up of black/brown crud (I'm running factory paper filters). I cleaned it off with CRC MAF Sensor cleaner and put it back in.

My vehicle has only done 35,000kms, and was only in for a service 2 months ago, so looks like it doesn't get inspected as part of Mitsubishi scheduled servicing.

Not sure if it's going to make much difference, but I had found my vehicle blowing a little more smoke recently, which is what prompted me to look for some answers. Will keep an eye on it now and see if things change at all.

I think the photos are pretty good evidence that it's probably worth adding this to your regular DIY inspections/servicing. Takes <5mins to remove, clean and reinstall.

Be interested to hear what others find.

Cheers,

Drof

[ShortandFat]

drof

"where", and "how to" removed might make your thread a little more informative

reg S&F

[260DET]

Mine was cleaned under warranty after excessive black smoke emission, made a lot of difference including to general performance. Certainly something to keep in mind for DIY attention.

[drof]

"where", and "how to" removed might make your thread a little more informative

reg S&F

MAF Sensor is located just downstream (a few inches) of the airfilter box. The sensor sits in the induction piping between the filter and the turbo. It's easily identified, as it has an electrical plug (5 wires from memory) attached to the top. The sensor can be removed by undoing the 2 Philips head screws and simplying pulling the sensor assembly out -there's no need to undo the sensor connector.

WARNING - do not drop anything in the open hole when the sensor is out (inlcuding sand, dirt etc) as this all downstream of the filter!

Simply spray the hot wire assembly (little probe with 2 wires and a small knob on the end) with the MAF cleaner. You must use MAF cleaner, not degreaser, or any other solvent. Follow instruction on the can and DO NOT touch the hot wire with the cleaner can/tube, fingers, screwdriver etc.

Whole job takes under 5 minutes. Can of cleaner can be found at Repco etc for around $20. I'd imagine you'd get several (5?) cleans out of one can.

Drof

[02-SR5]

I do this once a month, but I didn't know about this thing.

I remove the inter cooler pipe on the inlet side and hit it with carby/MAF cleaner.

[mudguard1]

After 16K mine was looking the same as the after pic , but give it a good squirt anyway. Local Repco wanted $23.99 minus my NRMA discount , but as is usual with Repco they did not have any in stock, so bought it from Supercheap for $24.99.

[Kingbrown]

You may find that there is also a sensor up inside the tube-like structure that must be cleaned (most likely this is the mass airflow sensor).
The bulb shaped item that we see exposed in the picture would be a temperature sensor.
It's important for both sensors to be clean - so the ECU can work out the correct air/fuel mix.

[Griff76]

Kingbrown… "Most likely" or is? :-)

[BMN]

Yep......its the thin wires down the tube you need to clean, as Kingbrown says the bulb shape is just the temp sensor

[Griff76]

How do you do those thin wires? Hit it direct with the MAF cleaner? Is there a way to take them out first?

[Trisome]

Just did mine after 12 months of owning the vehicle, fair bit of build up on the wires. I am doing a 500 kms round trip on Thursady will be interesting to see if it makes any difference.

Trisome

[Trisome]

Just worked out how to put pictures up, here are the before and after.

Trisome

[BMN]

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&rc...86744383158771

Hopefully this link works

[Trisome]

Did the 500 km round trip today after cleaning the MAF sensor the other day, different 4x4, smoother, more power, and 9.5 l/100kms, same mileage I got driving it back from Melbourne to Brisbane when it was first bought, well worth the 10 minutes it took to clean it.

flat tire, when I diverted to look at an out of the way campsite, can't blame that on the MAF............

If you are a do it yourself mechanic like me, it would probably be worth doing it every service.

Trisome