I pulled the truck out of the garage the other morning and it had trouble getting going. I had to lightly pump the throttle to get it started. Hmmm, somethings amiss! Feels like it's hesitating a bit a highway speeds, then, at every stop, I needed to lightly pump the throttle to pull out. Then the check engine light comes up. Without a way to pull the CEL code (I've now ordered the BR3) I took a guess at the MAF. Pepboys and Advanced Auto have no sensor safe cleaner "just use throttle body cleaner!" No thanks...I'll keep looking.

I pulled the MAF out expecting to see it covered with gunk. But no, it looked pretty clean. Assuming anything under the hood is designed to take a little moisture, I mixed up some regular Dawn dishwashing soap and water. Put it in a spray bottle and LIGHTLY misted the MAF. I then cut the head of a Qtip down the middle length wise and GENTLY cleaned the bulb and the area all around it. It was not real dirty, there was very little residue on the Qtip. I put it all back together and that was it. CEL is out, runs like a champ. In fact, it seems to run smoother...go figure! BTW, I have the standard toyota air filter installed. Moral to the story, that MAF does not need to be real dirty to cause problems.

YMMV

 

I bet the CE light is a misfire code. How long have you had the SC on? Did you switch to the colder plugs? How many miles do you have?

I believe we have a write-up on cleaning the MAF.

Good Luck

:bounce2:

 

I just pulled mine out a week or two ago, not having any problems, blasted it with some electronics cleaner, let it dry, popped it back in clean as a whistle. Nothing to it!

 

I clean mine about once a year, just pull it out, hit it with contact cleaner, qtip it, then stick it back in.

 

AgRunner06, 55k on the truck, about 22k with the S/C. Have all the TRD bandaids and 5PSI pulley, but no fuel mods yet. This clearly felt like an air or fuel issue while pulling out. I was a bit nervous on using anything too strong on those plastic parts, figured the Dawn would cut the grease and be gentle on the components.

 

where's the write-up on cleaning the MAF? i checked and could not find one.

thanks!

 

Here ya go.

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/mainte...tenancep5.html

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/4Runner/tech/BR-3/

B