Hi everyone. I decided to take a look at my MAF for an emissions issue I've been having and thought I'd take pictures in case it may help someone else.

1. The first step I took was disconnecting the negative cable from the battery. This isn't a must, but I had a CEL I wanted to reset.

2. Located the sensor. It's on top of the intake piping next to the airbox. It's actually mounted to the airbox cover.


3. I decided to take the entire airbox cover off. I went this route so I could have a look at the air filter as well as the inside of the airbox. These four screws need to be removed. Use either a phillips screwdriver or a 10mm socket. You also need to loosen the hose clamp shown to separate the airbox cover from the intake piping.


4. This is what the inside of the airbox and MAF look like. It was remarkably clean for a car with 125xxx miles on it. And I've never cleaned this part before.

The little red hot wire in there is what measures airflow. A constant voltage is applied. This wire is positioned in the air stream and is heated by the electrical current that the voltage produces. As air flows across it, it cools down. The heated wire is a positive temperature coefficient (ptc) resistor.

This means that it's resistance drops when it's temperature drops.
The drop in resistance allows more current to flow through it in order
to maintain the programmed temperature. This current is changed
to a frequency or a voltage which is sent to the computer and
interpreted as air flow.

IT IS IMPERATIVE TO NEVER TOUCH THE HOT WIRE!! It is incredibly sensitive and can be damaged very easily.

Always use MAF cleaner. NEVER use anything like brake clean or carb clean. MAF cleaner dries quickly and does not leave a residue. I sprayed both sides of the sensor for about 10 seconds, making sure to thoroughly coat it with the cleaner. I then let it sit and dry for about 20 minutes and then I sprayed again.

5. Make sure the part is completely dry before reinstalling. Reinstallation is the reverse of the removal.

 

Very awesome visual tutorial. I wish other DIY jobs were so well documented!

 

Just wanted to post this here in case anyone with MAF issues stumbles upon this in the future... Be sure to check the elbow for damage. You can see 2 spots in the 2nd picture where the elbow is broken. That is going to cause havoc with your readings and A/F ratio. I just ran into the same thing on mine and you couldn't see the damage until you physically moved the intake.

 

Thanks for the write up looking to do this soon