dkpath96 Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 My mass airflow sensor was wigging out on me last week, causing my pathy to jerk violently and randomly at any speed. I wasn't sure what the issue was - no warning lights came on - so I went to the nearest garage (big mistake) and they ran a diagnostic ($78???). They replaced the MAF sensor (put in a remanufactured one and charged me $300 - later I found it for $180 reman... :furious: . Anyhow, I am now getting crappy gas mileage (about 4 mpg less). Does the pathy need some time to "adjust" to the new MAF, or did the mechanic :X something else up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 $300 is insanity. I found one for my old 2k2 Sentra SE-R at a junk yard for $100. If I may ask, how did your MAF start acting up? Do you have a CAI? K&N drop-in? Typically MAF's won't bust, unless they're abused (hence, mine went on my SE-R because the CAI's mounting bolt snapped causing it to shake itself to death!) As far as adjusting anything...no, nothing needs to be adjusted. MAF's plug in and your done. The actual sensor in it may be dirty however if it was a ****** rebuild. It's hard to see in here, but in the middle of here there is a thin piece of metal that hangs down in the middle of the tube and resembles a filament from a lightbulb. If that's dirty, it'll act up on you. Then again, you may just be paranoid about it because your pissed about the $300 (this is an extra MAF from my Sentra) hope that adds some light to your situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trainman Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 :contract: Should have read this first: How to Clean Your MAF Sensor May still give you some insight on your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkpath96 Posted March 18, 2006 Author Share Posted March 18, 2006 I do have a K&N drop-in, cleaned it about 6 months ago... As for how it was acting up, I was driving to town one day and wham, the vehicle lurched. Then it was fine for a while, then it would lurch again, like it was seriously just cutting out completely. I feared fuel pump or worse - tranny - and there was no check engine light. Drove it right in to the closest shop (grr...) and they fixed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 (edited) I do have a K&N drop-in, cleaned it about 6 months ago... As for how it was acting up, I was driving to town one day and wham, the vehicle lurched. Then it was fine for a while, then it would lurch again, like it was seriously just cutting out completely. I feared fuel pump or worse - tranny - and there was no check engine light. Drove it right in to the closest shop (grr...) and they fixed it. Ok. Reason I ask is because sometimes when you clean a K&N and don't wait for it to dry, the oil will collect on that little metal filament, causing the symptoms you describe. Did they test your original MAF before replacing it? A multimeter would have told them if it were really fried or not...did they give it back to you after replacing it? Edited March 18, 2006 by navygz19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkpath96 Posted March 19, 2006 Author Share Posted March 19, 2006 No, I didn't get it back... but I will see if they still happen to have it on Monday. Let me guess, I could have just cleaned it with some rubbing alcohol, and "voila"! problem solved?? Thanks for the info, this discussion board is better than an OBDII diagnostic!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trainman Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 Let me guess, I could have just cleaned it with some rubbing alcohol, and "voila"! problem solved?? Not sure but I doubt it would not have hurt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 No, I didn't get it back... but I will see if they still happen to have it on Monday.Let me guess, I could have just cleaned it with some rubbing alcohol, and "voila"! problem solved?? Thanks for the info, this discussion board is better than an OBDII diagnostic!! No, not saying simply cleaning it would have definately been the answer to your problems, but it would have been MY first angle of approach That's ok tho...hopefully they will give you back your old one if they still have it. Get yourself a multimeter and test it, OR clean it, re-install it yourself and start your truck...it won't do anything if it's really bad...might throw a code and cause the SES light to come on but it will clear. Interesting how they didn't offer it back to you...I ALWAYS take back original parts, even if all I do is throw them away. Keep us updated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkpath96 Posted March 20, 2006 Author Share Posted March 20, 2006 Well, the MAF sensor is gone, and I am trying to put it all behind me. I'm hoping I just got a tank of bad gas - when the pathy was jerking so bad I thought maybe I was out of gas (my fuel gauge has been acting up here and there) so I filled up at a POS station... Next tank should tell me more about the mpg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maximusnt Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 The Garage has to give you the replaced part back by law I believe. So, I would take that up with them. As for the busted MAF, it really shouldn't cause that kind of performance, unless it was grounding out. That almost makes more sense if the intake was rattling around. So they may have replaced the MAF, when it was really a wiring issue. The wiring issue still exists, but you now have a new MAF which will do nothing for you. I would go back to that shop, as you really got ripped off on the deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Well, the MAF sensor is gone, and I am trying to put it all behind me. I think that's about all you can do right about now. Live and learn I suppose! BTW...how's the Pathy running? Did you go through that original tank of gas yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkpath96 Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 The Pathy has been running ok but I think I am still about 3 mpg less... I'll know for sure after gassing up here in a day or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkpath96 Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 Ok, I ended up 2.5 mpg under my average of 18, all commuter mileage. It has definitely rebounded on the second tank back to 18 mpg. I'd call it bad gas, but who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 Ok, I ended up 2.5 mpg under my average of 18, all commuter mileage. Ithas definitely rebounded on the second tank back to 18 mpg. Doesn't sound like enough of a difference to worry about... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR99.5Speed Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 I had a bad MAF too...probably when I was cleaning my TB. Anyways, when my MAF went it caused the truck to run pig rich, which mixed fuel with the oil, so it burned a little oil, which turned into a lot of oil, which turned into oil starvation, so now my truck burns oil when it's cold. Also, it still runs a little rich, but I think that's because the O2 sensor may have become fouled. You can see black smoke in the rearview mirror over 4k rpms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 I had a bad MAF too...probably when I was cleaning my TB. Anyways, when my MAF went it caused the truck to run pig rich, which mixed fuel with the oil, so it burned a little oil, which turned into a lot of oil, which turned into oil starvation, so now my truck burns oil when it's cold. Also, it still runs a little rich, but I think that's because the O2 sensor may have become fouled. You can see black smoke in the rearview mirror over 4k rpms. Are you planning on changing the O2 Sensor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR99.5Speed Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 Are you planning on changing the O2 Sensor? Haha, yeah, but when the MAF failed 5k miles ago at about 102k miles the mechanic tested the O2 sensor and said it was okay. Next time I'm home in the summer I'm sure I'll have to replace the cat (with a Magnaflow or Carsound) and at least one O2 sensor. I haven't searched yet so I don't remember how many there are, but I think there are 4... You have no idea, I can hardly change my license plate lights. The whole reason my MAF got fouled up was because of what I did, but that's a long story that was beaten to death in The Garage. Basically, it really screwed up my engine, but it's one tough mother and keeps going. Just waiting for it to crap out, and I don't think it's going to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR99.5Speed Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 Haha, yeah, but when the MAF failed 5k miles ago at about 102k miles the mechanic tested the O2 sensor and said it was okay. Next time I'm home in the summer I'm sure I'll have to replace the cat (with a Magnaflow or Carsound) and at least one O2 sensor. I haven't searched yet so I don't remember how many there are, but I think there are 4... You have no idea, I can hardly change my license plate lights. The whole reason my MAF got fouled up was because of what I did, but that's a long story that was beaten to death in The Garage. Basically, it really screwed up my engine, but it's one tough mother and keeps going. Just waiting for it to crap out, and I don't think it's going to. EDIT: Forgot to add that gas mileage has dropped only a tiny bit (maybe 10 fewer miles on a tank) and no codes have been thrown. If the mileage gets worse or a code is thrown it's replacement time. I have a trusted mechanic in Atlanta, but not in Bloomington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 EDIT: Forgot to add that gas mileage has dropped only a tiny bit (maybe 10 fewer miles on a tank) and no codes have been thrown. If the mileage gets worse or a code is thrown it's replacement time. I have a trusted mechanic in Atlanta, but not in Bloomington. Post-Whore Just kidding buddy...Anyways, I'll do a search to come across this story of you trashing your TB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR99.5Speed Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 (edited) Post-Whore Just kidding buddy...Anyways, I'll do a search to come across this story of you trashing your TB I HATE post whores!!! I beat you to the search- http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=7036&st=0 which lead to: http://npora.ipbhost.com//index.php?showto...=20entry89625 Edited March 27, 2006 by OR99.5Speed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy98 Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 So how do you know when you are running rich. I cleaned my MAF sensor but I am wondering if I should just replace it. Seems like my MPG have droped quite a bit in the last while. What are some of the signs and how much is a new MAF? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorgan4 Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 I believe you can test the voltage on the O2's to see whether you're running rich or lean. I know it says the values in the manual so I can check if you need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entropy98 Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 How would you do that? If you don't mind explaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OR99.5Speed Posted March 28, 2006 Share Posted March 28, 2006 I believe you can test the voltage on the O2's to see whether you're running rich or lean. I know it says the values in the manual so I can check if you need it. Yup, that's what the shop did on mine. That's all an O2 sensor does, it's not very complicated. I don't know how to test it, but I would assume hooking it up to a voltmeter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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