MASS sensor

[Pubtym]

Anyone had a need to replace a MASS Sensor on an 8.1 Vortec? Trouble Symptoms? Upgraded MASS Sensor?

[Pubtym]

Anyone had a need to replace a MASS Sensor on an 8.1 Vortec? Trouble Symptoms? Upgraded MASS Sensor?

[FrontRangeRVer]

Interesting...this might be a good question for Mike at Brazel's.

I haven't on our motorhome, but have on two cars/trucks that I have owned....

The K&N air filter were the cause on both, and they both went in the trash after the MAS replacements....

[oemtech]

Yea its me again...

The MAF on the WCC 8.1 is different than what they use on the truck 8.1 according to Steve Brazel (tuner guy). To make sure crawl under your rig and get the GM part number off the MAF and check it out at GM Parts Direct.

Other than a occasional cleaning (brake cleaner and a soft bristle brush) the MAF doesn't need a thing.

[Pubtym]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by oemtech:
Yea its me again...

The MAF on the WCC 8.1 is different than what they use on the truck 8.1 according to Steve Brazel (tuner guy). To make sure crawl under your rig and get the GM part number off the MAF and check it out at GM Parts Direct.

Other than a occasional cleaning (brake cleaner and a soft bristle brush) the MAF doesn't need a thing. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dale,
Glad your back!!! Thought I had lost you in anger management!

Cleaning it...remove it from intake? Clean what parts? Acetone Vs Brake Cleaner?

[Pubtym]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by FrontRangeRVer:
Interesting...this might be a good question for Mike at Brazel's.

I haven't on our motorhome, but have on two cars/trucks that I have owned....

The K&N air filter were the cause on both, and they both went in the trash after the MAS replacements.... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I've had K & N Filter on my 8.1 for 15000 miles.
What were your symptoms on MAS due to your evaluation of K & N?

[oemtech]

There is a screen in front of the sensor wire. This will get dirty and "potentially" give a false reading. I just dust them off and only use brake cleaner if I have to. Most brake cleaner have acetone in them... check the back of the can.

Most MAF failures that I have seen that were behind K&N filters were usually had to much oiled sprayed on them after they were cleaned.

[DriVer]

I use a specifically labeled MAF sensor cleaner. It comes in an aerosol can and I believe it's a CRC product. I'll check in the morning. Funny that we're bringing this topic up because it's just what the doctor ordered!

[FrontRangeRVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Pubtym:

I've had K & N Filter on my 8.1 for 15000 miles.
What were your symptoms on MAS due to your evaluation of K & N? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Red K&N oil from the filter. I won't use them again.

GO ROCKIES!!

[Pubtym]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by oemtech:
There is a screen in front of the sensor wire. This will get dirty and "potentially" give a false reading. I just dust them off and only use brake cleaner if I have to. Most brake cleaner have acetone in them... check the back of the can.

Most MAF failures that I have seen that were behind K&N filters were usually had to much oiled sprayed on them after they were cleaned. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

My K&N is the original/factory oiled. I'm familiar with over oil problem on cleaning....and I have the cleaning kit....and I've serviced other K&Nfilters on my truck as per K&N careful reoil instructions. When I pull the filter for routine check, I thought I'd look at MAF...and cleanup if needed..as general maintenance. So...it's the screen condition/cleanliness I'm checking?

[Pubtym]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DriVer:
I use a specifically labeled MAF sensor cleaner. It comes in an aerosol can and I believe it's a CRC product. I'll check in the morning. Funny that we're bringing this topic up because it's just what the doctor ordered! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks...would appreciate product name and potential parts store source..

[ron55]

I took the MAFS off my chevy truck and installed it on my workhorse to see if I could use as a spare, and drove it on a trip west to Colorado and return to WV, no problem. Then I swaped them back.
Now the best one: I installed a universal K&N filter by routing my intake hose to the throttle body, up out past the ECM to front.
I forgot to plug in the MAFS wire and I drove to 1150 miles to Fl with no check engine light or problem. After arriving while checking the oil (the filter set right over the dip stick) I noticed the unplugged MAFS an I then plugged it in. Six months later 5 miles after starting I got a check engine light, but no problems on the way back home.
I got 1 mpg increase with the universal filter, but couldn't stand the noise. So I am back to a K&N in the Air box.

[Pubtym]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by oemtech:
There is a screen in front of the sensor wire. This will get dirty and "potentially" give a false reading. I just dust them off and only use brake cleaner if I have to. Most brake cleaner have acetone in them... check the back of the can.

Most MAF failures that I have seen that were behind K&N filters were usually had to much oiled sprayed on them after they were cleaned. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Found this discussion on another site:

"Conclusion of all this is simple enough. The MAF contains two wires, one is very hot and any muck entering the unit will basically burn onto the wire and reduce its function. Basically, more heat must be pumped into the wire to keep it at the set temperature because it also has to heat up the dirt, this translates to the sensor imagining that more air is passing by the wire to make it that much cooler.

And, since this unit is not cleaned by an automatic process or during routine servicing, it is inevitable that over the years the MAF will become gradually dirtier and this will cause it to read more air passing into the engine than is really happening, and the fancy automatic computer control metering the fuel and everything will be misled and will obviously pump more fuel into the engine than is actually needed. Conclusion, clean your MAF regularly because it will become inaccurate and it won't be cleaned by anyone else, and the effects of a major engine sensor giving readings that are up to 30% or more higher than they should can obviously be quite extreme, e.g. strange autobox selection profiles are just the tip of the iceberg, and heavy fuel consumption can be expected."

"There is mounting evidence that a dirty MAF sensor can cause gearbox malfunctions, such as reported incorrect ratio errors, loss of 4th gear or torque converter clutch (TCC) operation, even on gearboxes recently overhauled at great expense. At first I suggested that the MAF should be replaced - but Martin S suggested cleaning the sensor wires instead, a simple operation taking ten minutes. After this, normal service was miraculously restored.

But how can it get dirty? Surely there is an air filter to keep it clean?

Well, yes there is, but air has to be allowed through, and with it microscopic pollen and other organic material which burns when it comes into contact with the sensor wire, which is maintained at 200 degrees C. The MAF electronics measures the amount of current required to keep the wire at this temperature, against the cooling effect of the inlet air flowing past it. Hence the current required is a measure of the actual airflow."

"As the MAF inevitably becomes coated in soot the readings for the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) become less and less accurate, but the PCM has no way of knowing this. It must accept the reading, and since the PCM uses the MAF to determine airflow for fueling, idle (with the IACV), the torque converter clutch and gear scheduling (see EECV) it is not surprising that the gearbox begins to produce errors. The PCM is selecting gears which are not actually suitable for the work which the engine is doing."

"The MAF is a short tube with a cross member, one end of which has a small tube containing the two wires which are the sensors giving the reading. When I get this off, the wires are a dull grey or brown, being quite hidden away the colour isn't obvious.

Ok, so out with the "carb and injector cleaner" spray can, I fasten a little tube on the end of the nozzle, test it, and then spritz away liberally. Cleaner drips out of the other end of the sensor cross member, but the wires are miraculously undamaged.

But not quite clean, now that the wires and chamber are mostly shiny silver, a few dregs of dark matter remain, so some more fizzing with the spray can until they are completely clean. Then a couple of squirts down the tube into the engine, clean up the MAF fittings and a drop of light oil to ensure a tight seal around the rubber ring and the whole thing goes back together the way it was to begin with."

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Pubtym:
Thanks...would appreciate product name and potential parts store source.. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Here you go ..... Click on the can!



I purchased this product at CarQuest.