2nd day of maintenance work - DIY

in #cars6 years ago (edited)

Continuing from my previous post, after yesterday's oil change service, today I rolled up my sleeves to perform two minor maintenance service by myself.

Cleaning the intake air filter

I am using a Works Engineering (rebranded from Simota Taiwan) aftermarket high flow filter on my car, which requires regular cleaning and re-oiling. I always clean and re-oil it after every engine oil change.

I use a Simota cleaning and re-oil kit, which includes the cleaner fluid (which is essentially soap water) and a bottle of oil supposedly formulated for their filters. The oil is used to increase the surface area of the filtration weave, allowing the filter to capture more dust whilst letting air pass through them.

The process was pretty straightforward - spray the filter with the cleaner fluid and let it soak for a short while, then rinse it off with running water and let it dry under the sun. After making sure that the filter is thoroughly dried, I deposit a thin layer of oil on the edges of every fold and let the oil wick for an hour or two before re-installing it back onto the car.

Clean the MAF sensor

Because of the oil applied to the filter, over time, some of the oil will be blown with the intake air towards the throttlebody and leave a thin coat of oil and dust on the MAF sensor.

The MAF sensor, or Mass Air Flow sensor is positioned just after the filter box before the throttlebody. It's function is to measure the mass of air entering the throttlebody so the car's computer know how much fuel to inject to maintain the ideal air-fuel ratio (AFR) at any given time.

Not all car have MAF sensors though, some use a MAP sensor (Manifold Air Pressure) which is located in the intake manifold that is after the throttlebody. Some cars have both. Although they measure the intake air using different methods, they serve similiar purposes.

The cartridge-like item above is the MAF sensor housing. The actual sensor filaments can be seen inside the housing through an opening facing the filter box, as you can see below. These are the filaments that I needed to clean. 

The sensor being a sensitive electronic component, I used a purpose-made MAF sensor cleaner.

This is even simpler than cleaning the intake filter - just point the nozzle at the opening and make about 10 short blasts directly onto the filaments. wait for a few seconds for it to dry and wipe off any residue, then re-install the sensor.

That's all the maintenance that needs done in the engine bay for this round. Before closing the bonnet, I realized that the the engine bay was really, really dirty - it has been months since I last wipe it, so I grab a piece of rag and gave it a quick clean. See before and after photos below:

If you are not a car person and have read all the way til here from my previous post, Let me give you a clap and hope that you learned something useful about car maintenance. If you are a car guy, do feel free to share any other car maintenance tips in the comments.

Thanks for reading!


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Hmmmm I wonder my sensor can be clean like that or not? 🤔

You car use MAF? if yes then can clean just the same way.

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