2001 V70 2.4T Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor Cleaning...

[hethaerto]

The last time I cleaned my MAF, my MPG went from 19 to 21.5 instantly. I was like

[E170_Driver]

You are right CRESPO,
I was unable to take picture of the actual cleaning since I was holding the MAF and the cleaner, but the instructions on the back of my cleaner bottle were pretty precise. I will write them down when I get back home...

Jan

[mrichard009]

so you have the MAF module sitting out to the side. Do you spray up by that filter and stuff or do you take the electronic socket out the side with the torx and spray in that?

[whaleplane]

This is an awesome description of how to get this done. However.... I have run into a little snag. I got the MAF housing off of the air filter easy enough but could not get it off the down flow side. I undid the bracket holding it on and the sensor clip but I tell you what the other two parts were not going to come apart. If I didn't know better I'd say they were epoxied together. As with everything I took it to the point of trying any harder would probably break something. Is there a trick to getting the two pieces apart? I tried wiggling, twisting, pulling all with no luck.

I noticed the sensor is held in place with two torx security bolts. Can you take the sensor out that way and clean it? Is that wise or is that a bad idea?

[jruberto]

whaleplane, i just did this maintenance and had the same problem getting the MAF housing off the hose after loosening the clamp. in my case, i could rotate it, it was just very snug & just wouldn't come off. however, leaving the MAF attached to the airbox lid gave me enough leverage to separate it.

BIG THUMBS UP on this easy maintenance. i was hoping it would solve my rough idle (it didn't) but my acceleration is MUCH smoother and i feel a (subjective) 10% to 15% increase in power, easy.

i also considered removing just the sensor from the housing via the 2 security torx screws but i had visions of the whole thing falling apart, so i didn't. i bet if you persist you will be able to get the MAF off the hose, it is a tight fit, but gentle but firm repetition did the trick. i also squeezed the hose a little bit to make it "unround" at the end & that seemed to help separate the two. but if you can't spin yours, maybe someone did use some sort of adhesive -- and that would be a bummer.

best o luck, j

[jruberto]

hmm. this was meant to be a reply. "quick reply" actin funny..

edit: ok, i'm just not observant. didn't notice this is just the top post on page 2, looked like it made a new thread. cheers.

definitely clean your MAF! quick, easy, cheap & very effective.

~j

[carboncow]

WHALEPLANE:

I know I'm a bit late for you but others may find this useful. Yes you should take the sensor out of the housing from the side, as there is no way in hell I was getting the one side of the MAF enclosure off that same pipe w/o destroying it.

I didn't have the specialty torx heads that work with the little nub so I put some micro visegrips on the screws and slowly turned them...off in 2 minutes each.

[T5AUS]

Great write up E170 and I just ran through the whole procedure in a few minutes. Like others, there was no way the flow pipe on the left side was coming off so I just undid the filter cover and rotating it a little I was able to remove the sensor by undoing the two torx screws and wiggling it out. Everything was very clean and since I had no spray I just replaced it as was, but now I know how to do it next time What actually does the spray do, it seemed like a very sensitive item and I would hesitate to start blowing or spraying stuff into it

[T5AUS]

Well, I purchased a can of the spray ($62.00 !) and gave it a good sqirt but nothing changed. I have been getting a constant engine fault message in my dash saying my emission control needs servicing. I have cleared it several times at the service centre and also at home by removing the battery but it re appears quite quickly. Recently I had the engine read for codes and the only one I got was 261A which according to a knowledgeable guy over on the UK Volvo forums means (and I quote) ["If you do a search on code ECM-261A Long-term fuel trim or OBDII code P1171 (the OBDII equivalent) you will find that almost always the cause is a failing MAF sensor"] Since I have been getting a sluggish response when overtaking and also in general when accelerating I figure a new Maf is on the cards. Volvo parts quoted me $700 for this part which included buying the whole air filter housing, pipes etc !! Dam Volvo are such hypocrits, they show their image as being clean & green and yet they push so much crap out that is not needed when supplying a part. I have finally found a supplier (http://www.fcpgroton.com) that will do the correct Bosch MAF for $125 so I think this will be my next move.

[carboncow]

T5AUS, I know you didn't just wirte $62.00 for a can of MAF cleaner?

This stuff can be bought at any auto supply house for $6-10!!! It will work with all type of MAF that use the thin wire technology. These cleaners break down the build up w/o destroying the coating on the wire and then dry quickly to prevent any build up of the cleaner. They work. I've been doing this to Porsche, BMW, Saabs and now Volvo since day one of Bosch MAF systems.

Usually you can get away with a cleaning once and maybe twice if you goes "years" between cleaning before having to replace the MAFs. In the days when some MAFs were big $$$ I always grabbed a used one from my local Saab or BMW nerd's junk yard and they ALWAYS worked after a cleaning.