IS250 Just cleaned my MAF Sensor

[chr15gb]

I've been looking for small job to do whilst the weather is not the best.
I've got some Throttle Body cleaner for when I have a little time, along with some spark plugs for the summer.

I bought some MAF cleaner, looks a bit cheap and nasty but I took a punt anyway
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281839565740

My MAF looked perfectly clean, all shiny and new but I spayed the thing liberally with the cleaner anyway.

I'm bamboozled by the difference, I wasn't expecting anything after looking at the elements beforehand.
The engine revs much more freely, the whole car feels much more responsive.

My Top Tip for the day, get some MAF cleaner and give it a spray every 6 Months or so.
Takes 2 minutes to remove, 10 minutes drying time and 2 mins to refit.
 

 

[Farqui]

That's interesting, we found a similar result on my pals old Celica.  It wasn't pulling well but still drove okay and wasn't a major problem but after a quick spray of the MAF it drove much better.  As you say, the sensor itself didn't look dirty and only a bit of residue was washed out.

Don't touch the sensor and ensure it's completely dry before reconnecting and driving off. 

I wonder if your MPG will improve now too?

[is200 Newbie]

1 hour ago, chr15gb said:

I've been looking for small job to do whilst the weather is not the best.
I've got some Throttle Body cleaner for when I have a little time, along with some spark plugs for the summer.

I bought some MAF cleaner, looks a bit cheap and nasty but I took a punt anyway
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281839565740

My MAF looked perfectly clean, all shiny and new but I spayed the thing liberally with the cleaner anyway.

I'm bamboozled by the difference, I wasn't expecting anything after looking at the elements beforehand.
The engine revs much more freely, the whole car feels much more responsive.

My Top Tip for the day, get some MAF cleaner and give it a spray every 6 Months or so.
Takes 2 minutes to remove, 10 minutes drying time and 2 mins to refit.
 

 

Any pictures of where this is located and any instruction on how to remove etc ...

[ahmedali44]

Probably same as is220d located on air cleaner with 2 screws. 

Really easy to remove and clean but avoid touching wire. Just spray, cleaned my is220d few times. If weather good next week will clean mine too got spray and will put pictures on forum 

[Shahpor]

It looks very straightforward to get to:

 

The only thing to note is what has been mentioned here already, namely, don't touch the wire.

[normski2]

I do mine every year

Here is a post with a video about cleaning the MAF

 

[Verbout]

I used to do my diesel Alfa MAP regularly, it made such a difference. The difference was that was plastered in sooty gunk.The MAP or TMAP as its most often known looks like this:

 

[peachy]

I was told the maf on modern cars is self cleaning.  When engine is turned on high volts are sent to the wire to burn off any crap.

[chr15gb]

To be fair there wasn't any crap on it that I could see. The wires/elements looked in perfect condition but it has made a definite difference since cleaning.

I gave it a couple of days before posting just in case it was that placebo effect.

[Verbout]

8 hours ago, peachy said:

I was told the maf on modern cars is self cleaning.  When engine is turned on high volts are sent to the wire to burn off any crap.

We are talking about the MAP, not the MAF......

[Shahpor]

10 minutes ago, Verbout said:

We are talking about the MAP, not the MAF......

We are?  Cause the thread was started by talking about the MAF.

Although, you seem to be speaking about the MAP.

[peachy]

16 minutes ago, Verbout said:

We are talking about the MAP, not the MAF......

It actually kicked off talking about the maf. Your the only one talking about the map. 

[Verbout]

54 minutes ago, peachy said:

It actually kicked off talking about the maf. Your the only one talking about the map. 

My humble apologies Peachy, my £1 poundland readers and being a bit thick is my excuse. Sorry. 

Back to my six piece jigsaw.

[is200 Newbie]

So I cleaned the MAF sensor tonight. This is the first time I have ever done it from owning the car at 60k miles - its now about to turn over to the big 100k. So that's 40k miles without a definite clean and I doubt it would have been done before unless its part of any service schedule so I am presuming its gone from new to 100k without a clean...

 

Picture below is of the location of the sensor - 2 screws to undo and the electrical connection to release (as well as the drivers side engine cover to remove to get to it.

Picture below with the electrical connection removed

Picture below of the actual sensor before cleaning

The cleaning agent I used is below

So .... any difference ... I cleaned the sensor - noticed the liquid change colour slightly when I was doing this (went a bit cloudy) but not too bad. Gave the sensor a good clean inside and out - let it dry for 10 minutes then placed it back into the air intake.

I left if tor a further 20 mins or so (went in for tea !!)

Took it for a 5 minute drive and there is a definite difference - I would not say wow what a change but its definitely smoother and it seems to accelerate better. Definitely not a placebo effect. I will make this a part of the annual service I do on the car.

 

[WetMyBeak]

How does that K&N filter sound? I know you weren't keen on your stainless exhaust so I'm curious. 

 

Another good guide as well. I'll give that a go, looks an easy job

[is200 Newbie]

I have altered the exhaust – have a bigger bore pipe from the centre resonator to the boxes and have twin boxes fitted (4 exit tailpipes) so I have improved the flow of gasses exiting the engine, albeit from the centre box. Before I done all this I fitted an oiled K&N panel filter (have done this to all the cars I have had as it does give some benefit in performance) so I have increased slightly the air into the engine also. I have not gone down the full route of converting the intake, just changed the filter to a lifetime one. If I was looking for a bigger power output (which I am not) my next step would be to have it tuned but it can’t be done on these engines anyway but I am not worried about that. The filter is expensive at first compared to replacing a normal one every year but it has been in the car that long now that its paid for itself. No noticeable difference in noise between the K&N| one to stock one.

I clean it every year – it states its good for 100k before cleaning – can’t see how they can claim that as they don’t know the environment the car is being driven in. Once a year is no hassle as while the filter is drying  out I put the original one back in if I know I am going to be driving it in the meantime. In doing this I can compare the differences between both filters and can say that there is a noticeable difference between them both – the K&N one makes the car more responsive and initial acceleration is better but after a while with the K&N one in you can’t tell the difference until the next time its cleaned and you can do the comparrison. Always wondered if the ECU compensates for the change immediately?

I would recommend the filter – but I guess its personal preference really.

 

As for the exhaust – I didn’t set out to make it a twin pipe but I found a set of boxes that fitted perfectly so went with them – what’s been about 6 months with it on – I have only had one issue with it in I noticed a weeping weld which I sorted. Still to put the diffuser on but have started to mod it so it can fit over the twin pipes (It was only for a single pipe exit both sides so have altered it to twin box exit on both sides) Will get it painted and placed on the car next along with a front splitter which will be painted at the same time.

I must say how easy it was to do the exhaust and it worked out peanuts cost wise to an OEM or even a stainless one. Still got the stainless one which I need to clean up and may sell. I wont go down the route of stainless again as it seemed to drain a lot of the power from the can and make it uncomfortable to drive due to the drone. I can easily replace this with another mild steel one as I have the pattern for it so it wont take long and the hassle is gone from guessing what the angles are etc ...

[RNUK]

Might have a go at this. I've heard varying results but always positive. Can you use isopropyl for this? 

Also want to reset the ECU while I'm at it. Read the guide here about it. Got under the bonnet and can't see the ETCS or EFI fuse anywhere!

Got the manual out and found the ETCS is  a 60a fuse (E/G-B) responsible for FR CTRL-B, ETCS, steering lock system and exhaust system (seems like a good one considering I'm cleaning the MAF). But still can't see the EFI, although I do see P/I-B, also a 60a and responsible for multiport fuel injection system/sequential multiport fuel injection system. I'm guessing that EFI = Electronic Fuel Injection? In which case I guess this is the fuse I want. 

Can anyone confirm both isopropyl and P/I-B fuse? 

Thanks

[J Henderson]

Won't disconnecting the Battery for a while just have the same effect as pulling the fuse?

Isopropyl could probably be used. A dedicated product might be better though since you also have the high-pressure blasting force of the aerosol. You can get a can in Halfords for only £3.99 - LINK

[RNUK]

Didn't realise you could get it from Halfords. 

Yes it will have the same effect, but with the added problem is resetting all settings and trip etc. I also hear that if you do that the one-touch windows need resetting somehow. 

[Jesus nolasco]

i have a lexus is250 but about a week ago it does not accelerate more than 40 miles per hour and it does not exceed 2000 rpm so one can help me pls 

 

[bobmc]

that sounds as if it's in limp-home mode - are there no warning lights on the dashboard?

How long have you owned the car?

Have you got a diagnostics code reader - if not I'd recommend you get one, the Bluetooth types that link to your moblile phone are less than a tenner, that will give you an indication of what's wrong

 

 

[is200 Newbie]

Check your exhaust is not blowing

[ColinBarber]

On 7/10/2017 at 7:25 PM, RNUK said:

Might have a go at this. I've heard varying results but always positive. Can you use isopropyl for this? 

Yes.

Guide for doing this has been on LOC for about 16 years 🙂

 

[mhforever99]

any one have a idea which wires go to the maf sensor pins? 

[Texas]

Strange Question, the wires go into the plug which then In turn plugs into the maf sensor body!

Am I right in thinking that ( somehow!) you have now got the plug with (at least 2 ) wires not connected into it!

I do not have access to the wiring diagrams but someone will pipe up with it some time soon. If you cannot ‘re-pin’ the plug you may have to get a used one and splice it into you loom further back.

Well, 15 minutes of google surfing gets me this! Any good for you? It shows the colours of pins 1-5 on the MAF sensor. So if these colours correspond to yours then home and dry!