How do you clean MassAir sensor
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 23,147
Likes: 117
From: San Antonio Texas
How do you clean MassAir sensor
Looking for vacuum leaks, I took off the air cleaner and found it not seated correctly and grass was in the screen of the mass air sensor
! How do you clean it without hurting it? I was going to just brush it off with a soft paint brush, but I'm wondering about the electronic sensor being coated with oily dirt. I've heard not to spray throttle body cleaner on it. Is that true? Also, is there a special tool to take off the small metal bands on those rubber flex pipes attached to it? I took them off once before and spent the rest of the day trying to get them back on.
! How do you clean it without hurting it? I was going to just brush it off with a soft paint brush, but I'm wondering about the electronic sensor being coated with oily dirt. I've heard not to spray throttle body cleaner on it. Is that true? Also, is there a special tool to take off the small metal bands on those rubber flex pipes attached to it? I took them off once before and spent the rest of the day trying to get them back on.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 9,715
Likes: 27
From: Kempner Texas
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 5,141
Likes: 7
From: Metairie Louisiana
You are looking for this below. It is from a company called CRC. Like the others said most Auto parts chains sell it. I've bought it from Pep Boys and Auto Zone. You can also get it online. Not sure if there are any issues with shipping though.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 9,715
Likes: 27
From: Kempner Texas
I always turn my MAF upside-down to prevent any of the spray/fluid from entering the base area where the electronic circuits are located.
Jake
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 769
Likes: 0
From: Cincinnati OH
I take the mass airflow sensor apart on my cars often. The elements inside will look like little chia pets if you do not keep the electric wire clean.
The performance gain can be noticed if they are dirty. The screen on the LT1 is seperate from the actual maf wires. The four torqx screws will get you to the actual elements.
Mike
The performance gain can be noticed if they are dirty. The screen on the LT1 is seperate from the actual maf wires. The four torqx screws will get you to the actual elements.
Mike
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 7,839
Likes: 22
From: San Diego, Ca
I've never seen a performance gain by spraying the sensing wire with anything, at least not on a scan. These things seem to read air flow correctly or they don't. The last one I bought went about 4 years before my BLM's suddenly went lean - 132 to 136. After ruling out other causes, I swapped in my OEM, 18 year old, screenless spare, and got a perfect mix - 128. Hook up a scanner before and after and see what it says. If the burnoff is working, I don't know why you'd see any difference and if you don't, check your air filter - particularly if it's a well oiled K & N - in fact I'd throw that out along with getting a new MAF.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 23,147
Likes: 117
From: San Antonio Texas
Hey, There's a gasket in there !
Cleaned up the Mass Air sensor and went on to clean up the throttle body. This is the first time I've had it off this car.(Had it a year) I decided to take off the plate that says "Grand Sport", because there was something nasty looking stuck under there. Well, I found there was a wrinkled up old rubber gasket in there, and there is a passageway under there too. I thought it was just a "look pretty" plate!
I went to PepBoys again and they didn't have one, so NAPA was my next stop. Got the "deer in the headlights" look there too, so I'm doing the good old Cheerios box gasket thing. Us Ford guys know that the very best gaskets are made from a Cheerios box
!
I went to PepBoys again and they didn't have one, so NAPA was my next stop. Got the "deer in the headlights" look there too, so I'm doing the good old Cheerios box gasket thing. Us Ford guys know that the very best gaskets are made from a Cheerios box
!
- 1986 Original Owner -
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 3,193
Likes: 139
From: North Yorkshire, England
Cruise-In I Veteran
Cruise-In II Veteran
Cruise-In III Veteran
Cruise-In IV Veteran
Cruise-In VII Veteran
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 5,141
Likes: 7
From: Metairie Louisiana
Cleaned up the Mass Air sensor and went on to clean up the throttle body. This is the first time I've had it off this car.(Had it a year) I decided to take off the plate that says "Grand Sport", because there was something nasty looking stuck under there. Well, I found there was a wrinkled up old rubber gasket in there, and there is a passageway under there too. I thought it was just a "look pretty" plate!
I went to PepBoys again and they didn't have one, so NAPA was my next stop. Got the "deer in the headlights" look there too, so I'm doing the good old Cheerios box gasket thing. Us Ford guys know that the very best gaskets are made from a Cheerios box !
I went to PepBoys again and they didn't have one, so NAPA was my next stop. Got the "deer in the headlights" look there too, so I'm doing the good old Cheerios box gasket thing. Us Ford guys know that the very best gaskets are made from a Cheerios box
!
I just left mine off about a year or two ago. 
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 9,715
Likes: 27
From: Kempner Texas
I've posted on this before.
A few years back I installed a K&N filter. Installed it right out of the box with factory applied oil. A few weeks later I noticed my BLM and Intergrtor values had radically changed - I was reading using Diacom.
After checking several things, I removed the MAF and sprayed the wires. Everything went back to normal after that.
Oil from the filter had accumulated on the wires causing the ECM to receive incorrect readings. I now periodically spray the wires on both my 86 and 96.
Engine was in a 86, L98 TPI.
Jake
A few years back I installed a K&N filter. Installed it right out of the box with factory applied oil. A few weeks later I noticed my BLM and Intergrtor values had radically changed - I was reading using Diacom.
After checking several things, I removed the MAF and sprayed the wires. Everything went back to normal after that.
Oil from the filter had accumulated on the wires causing the ECM to receive incorrect readings. I now periodically spray the wires on both my 86 and 96.
Engine was in a 86, L98 TPI.
Jake
