Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 I did not want a cold air intake, Part Two.

It's easy to get used to ordering stuff from Rock Auto.

I think my K&N filter killed my MAF sensor, or at least shortened it's life. The oiled filter allows some oil to mix with the intake air. Over time this will foul the hot wire in the MAF. I started having problems that lit the little wrench icon on the dash. The car also went into restricted mode which noticeably reduced the power. The first couple of times I just turned off and restarted the motor. That reset the sensor and it ran fine for a while. 

The last time it did that I pulled the intake tube and cleaned the sensor with MAF cleaning spray. The fix didn't last as long as the last time. The code reader provided a code for the sensor. It was time to order a new unit.

This small unit was not too expensive from Rock Auto. Like a halogen light bulb, it's critical to keep your fingers from touching the actual wire. Body oils will also damage the wire. Luckily the wire is well protected, it would take a lot of effort to contaminate the unit. 

The sensor is easily accessible on the back side of the intake tube. The next time I need to clean the sensor I'll just remove it from the duct.

After removing the electrical plug, it's just held on by two allen head screws. It was easy to remove the screws and replace the old unit with the new one.

It was a couple of days before I got a chance to test out the car. Our Christmas decorations are stored on the shelves that run around the perimeter of the garage ceiling. It's usually possible to remove them one at a time, but when replacing them it's easier and safer to pull the car out of the garage. 

Luckily our atmospheric river has decided to take some time off, so it was a nice day when I backed the Mustang into the driveway. I've been keeping both of the Mustangs in the garage, no need to get them dirty. In fact, the '96 has been in there since late September!

I fired up the engine and let it warm up a bit. The red wrench icon didn't light up, so I decided to take it out for a test drive. I wanted to drive it at higher speeds, so I drove it down to Morgan Hill on US101. The round trip totaled over 35 miles. So far so good. I'm guessing that the MAF sensor is fouled over time to being exposed to oil residue from the air filter.

I had ordered the new sensor from Rock Auto, it cost a bit under 40 bucks, not including shipping. That's not too bad for the cost of doing business. I wonder how long the new sensor will last.

I would have preferred to have the stock air box set up. I might find someone who would swap me for my open unit. I will admit that it does look kinda gnarly with the open filter.