Cleaning the MAF sensor (am I missing something?)

[S. Allen]

After reading all the hub-bub about cleaning the MAF sensor and knowing that I have never done it on my 95 Explorer, I decided that last night, I'd take it open and clean it.

Well, I followed the instructions of those more in the know on this subject from this site and my MAF sensor did not look dirty!

Yeah..no kidding! I opened it up, expecting to see tons of crap or gunk all over it, since I have not touched it in the 6 years we have owned this beast, but it looks like two pieces of silver wire...thats all.

So...I was wondering...do I need to clean it with carb cleaner ANYWAY? Is the corrosion/dirt/accumulations something I cannot see with a naked eye? I usually replace the air filter 2-3 times a year and don't drive down too many dusty roads..could that explain the clean MAF?

Its not too difficult to get to (I already own a huge set of torx screwdrivers, so I can get anywhere on a car!)...will cleaning it out anyway help my rough idle?

Should my MAF sensor be dirtier after 6 years and 135K miles? It didn't look bad at all.

(stumped)

Thanks,

-SA

 

[Stephen S]

The dirt buildup will not be visible with your eyes, sort of. The air filter does a pretty good job of keeping "chunks" of debris out of your engine, so you shouldn't see any on your MAS. What you should be able to see is a light coating of a grayish-black dust like substance coating the entire inside of your intake tube (I did). This is what is built up on your MAS as well. Take a white paper towel and rub it around inside your intake tube and you'll see the dust I am talking about.

I used O2 safe throttle body cleaner to clean mine. And it was a nice change once it was clean. Be sure to reset the computer by disconnecting the battery for an hour or so when you are done.