MAF (Mass AirFlow Sensor) Problem

[rmccullough]

I would have put this in the 911, but I dont have the 25 posts yet.

About a month ago I noticed a little hiccup in my motor while on a trip. I had also noticed a little hiccup while going up some long hills. It would come and go, very inconsistent.

I took my car into the local ford dealarship. They put it on the test computer and it came up as pass. They couldnt find any problems. They also pulled a spark plug and said the plugs looked good (put in double platinum plugs about 60-70k miles ago). They test drove it and could not reproduce the problem.

So, the hiccup got worse. It felt like fuel or spark. I replaced the fuel filter about 1.5 years ago, so it probly has about 30k miles on it, and ford said the plugs looked ok. So I bought a new set of wires from napa, they appear to be good belden ones. Much better quality than what I had on there.

I installed the wires and started. It ran like crap (idle'd rough and when I gave it gas it would backfire). So I shut it off and went through the wires again and made sure the connection was good on all of them. Started it again and it would not hold and idle and kept dying.

So I also pulled the air intake hose off (dont know why, but this proved to be a great idea). Started and it would idle, but a little rough(not as rough as before though). Put the intake hose back on while the motor was running and it died. So I disconnected the MAF(Mass AirFlow Sensor) sensor wires and the motor runs, not great, but it runs. I plug the MAF connector back in and the motor dies.

So my question is, do you think the MAF is bad?

If so, what MAF do you recommend? The stock OEM? Or a high performance one? Got any links to sites where I can find a nice one for a decent price? Thanks.

 

[KKM]

Try cleaning the sensor wires with Gumout spray cleaner first. If replacing, go back with an OEM as a parts counter remanufactured.

 

[rmccullough]

I ended up ordering the remanufactured OEM part from napa for $107.99. I could not find a high performance model available for the 5.0L '96.

Havent had a chance to try cleaning the wires yet. I got a can of Gunk carb cleaner that I was planning on spraying on it tomorrow morning before I got to pick up the part.

It sounds like a bad MAF though right?

 

[BeauJ]

Cleaning the senson will cure 90% of the problems with the MAF. I would have at least tried it before I bought a new one. If it was dead, then your car wouldn't run. I know mine won't stay cranked more than a few seconds without one.

 

[BuffaloXplorer]

The backfiring issue sounds like you doon't have the firing order correct. Make sure the order is right - buy a Haynes manual if you don't have one yet.

On my first tune-up i did that (switched wires), not realizing that the OHV6 has a firing order like 1-2-3-4-6-5 or something like that...it idled rough (spuddered) and backfired.

 

[rmccullough]

Im pretty sure I got the firing order correct. I also have a haynes, but like a I said, its buried and I cant really get to it without about 45 minutes of moving boxes around.

Put in a new MAF and its running better. Still feels weird when braking and turning. Dont know how to explain it. Its almost like I get alot more vibration when braking while turning that I did not get before. Any ideas?

BTW, the coil packs on the V8 have labels on them. How are the cylinders on a V8 #'d? 1-4 from front to back on the left and 5-8 from front to back on the right?

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

How are the cylinders on a V8 #'d? 1-4 from front to back on the left and 5-8 from front to back on the right?

The 1-4 cylinders (front to back) are on the passenger side, 5-8 (front to back) are on the driver's side.

Except for the export models destined for England.....