midiwall

Yeup, I know the difference and don't recommend it 'cause there's lesser solvents available that will do a similar job. I'm just passing along another view/method/option.

The key is to get the grease & gunk off of the vane. Sometimes you'll find that electrical cleaner won't cut it. It's designed to break down carbon deposits on potentiometers, not road grime.

Tanto

There is stuff actually labeled "MAF Cleaner" that you can pick up at Kragens, probably everywhere else to FYI.

Did mine the other day and didn't notice any difference. Mileage may have gone up, but I haven't driven long enough to tell if it's making a difference.

taikowaza

Hi Midiwall et. al-
I want to clean the MAF in my 2nd gen 3vze but the chilton manual (4-10_
is telling me that there is only a VAF volume air flow on this one...
can I apply the same procedure?
midiwall-
went to randy's it was a great experience with the welding. are you near seattle? any local muffler shops you recommend?
gas is getting expensive to drive to marysville

midiwall

Yeah... it's a bit of a drive up there (about 20 miles for me), but you can always hang at the casino while waiting on your truck!

There's a shop down in Kent that comes with glowing reviews, but that's even farther from me than Randy is:

taikowaza

yeah I hung out at the casino and had a GT and burgers...while my headers were getting torqued and exhaust in there!! yeehaw!!
I'm gonna git me a sweet ol' magnaflow 24" to keep my better half happy...
damn idle still not happy though.
I am going to try and clean the MAF. what's the best cleaning solution again? Krager MAF juice?
thanks
T
PS. randy is the man.

midiwall

Basically any degreaser... throttle body cleaner is good.

What engine are we talking about? There's nothing in your profile or sig...

jrallan26

To reset the ECU, can I just disconnect the battery for a few minutes?

AH64ID

Unplug the EFI fuse. This will keep you from loosing your radio presets and clock.

I usually leave it out for a while, while I am doing other work. I am not sure how long it takes to clear the memory.... Speaking of which, I need to do this since I just put a hi-flow exhasut on..

midiwall

Yes. Or, pop the hood, open the fuse box that's near the fender on the driver's side, look for the one marked EFI and pull it.

Wait a bit... put it back in. That'll reset the ECU and you won't lose your radio presets and clock like pulling the battery cable will.

JackMhigh

The stuff in stores labeled "MAF cleaner" is the same exact stuff as electrical parts cleaner. It has the same chemicals in it. I work at a parts store and took the time to read the contents and they are identical...kinda funny because the MAF cleaner cost $2 more. and it claims to give you 2-8 hp at the wheels!!! believe what you will I guess...Its a good preventative.

stock87

Just a heads up on this stuff. I was going to pick up a can of it the other day (CRC brand) for $7.99. I decided to pick up a can of Electical Cleaner ($4.29) that was sitting there too and compare ingredients.

Yep.

Exact same stuff.

*Edit*

Well, crap. I guess this is why I should read the whole thread before I post. Heh, whoops.

boogyman

if you really want to save some $, rubbing alcohol will work well too (I think this was mentioned earlier).

edit: took out info about HP

midiwall

I missed that on the first page... I woulda' had something to say about it.

Remember what the gunk is that you're trying to clean out... It's greasy road grime. Rubbing alcohol won't break it down, and if you happen to throw 70% on it, you could make matters worse. 70% usually has oils in it along with water, the oil in there will just LOVE getting to hang out with the oil from the grime. It'll be a big old party!

Peroxide... wow, umm... Try this... The next time you come in from working on the truck and you've got grease on your hands, pour some HP on 'em.

MMA_Alex

100% isoproply alcohol (rubbing alcohol) would work ok, but is hard to find. Most drugstores only carry 70% and i think technically the max that is sold is only 97%

boogyman

lol, i could be wrong about the HP, but i know the rubbing alcohol works fine, as i've used it on my MAF and it cleaned it right up. I used 90%.

I could've swore that HP was used in a lot of detergents and dish soaps to oxidize grease (in diluted form, of course).

midiwall

Well, it's there as an oxidizer in things like OxyClean, I dunno if it'll work on it's own.

I'll tell ya' what though... I have work to do on the truck this week, I'll give it a shot.

I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again!

boogyman

I should clarify, i meant the household hydrogen peroxide.. the stuff that's less than 5% solution. if you use hydrogen peroxide that's greater than like 20% or 25% solution (the industrial stuff), that's *BAD* with grease. It's not the best stuff to use (certainly not better than the other stuff suggested here like the throttle body cleaner and so forth) just a cheap alternative so you don't have to go running out to the store and spend $5.

oh yea, let us know what you find. If it sucks, please tell me :p

midiwall

So... some pics of using 3% hydrogen peroxide (the common household stuff) on a small grease spot.

Original spot, H2O2 sitting there, after rubbing, after regular hand soap:



My favorite hand cleaner for greasy stuff is actually dishwashing liquid. If you think about it, it does a heck of a job breaking down grease on dishes, it works well on skin too.

boogyman

Nice analysis! i bet the hydrogen peroxide needs another chemical in the soap to do it's thing to full potential. good info

midiwall

Yeah, I think I said it above, but H2O2 is used as an "oxidizer" in soaps - something to increase the oxygen present while the soap does its job.

Oxygen does cool things, but doesn't do a lot on it's own (well, there's that whole helps "keeps you alive" thing but... ).