$h!+ in my MAF screen?

[rhodeymark]

Installing the Whisper Lid I noticed a feather and dead grass and crap stuck to my MAF screen. I gingerly scraped it out but I would like to vacuum or spray it clean. Does it pop in/out easily and how do you think that garbage got in there? I have a K&N gasket on the Whisper now so it shouldn't be through the lid (if crap was getting in with the stock lid & filter). Thanks

[Question]

Saw a little junk like this on mine as well when I did the install a few days ago. I just brushed it off.

[Little G]

theres a ring holding it in, just squeeze it with some needle nose pliars and pull it out. Hold your hand over the throttle body though because the ring might rocket free never to be found again. After the rings out, take a paperclip and straighten it out but bend it ever so slightly, then stick it in the middle of the screen and pull it out.

g

[rhodeymark]

Thanks g - after seeing that stuff (an intact feather?) [img]graemlins/omg.gif[/img] I could never sleep nights with a descreened MAF. What the heck is the stock airfilter for if the MAF is catching the big pieces?

[99v6cam]

The question is how the hell did a feather and grass get passed the filter? Doesn't seem physically possible...

[rhodeymark]

You got me. Question saw crud on his screen too so apparently the stock box ain't making the grade here. There was nothing out of the ordinary or broken with my lid, and only 32k mi.

[Red]

i waited until my air filter was horribly dirty until changing it, andwhen i put my lid on i had a half of a leaf all dried out. I popped it out with a tiny phillips screwdriver and blew it out (also put some tb cleaner through the body while i was at it).

[Loochy88]

only thing i can think of is that maybe you put the filter back in with something stuck on the engine side of it. that or something somewhere isnt air tight.

[Little G]

don't worry about stuff like that in the combustion chamber, both of those would have been vaporized. rocks, on the other hand, could have consequences.

g

[Fbody3400]

^^ Good point.

[zlexiss]

Umm, if he's getting leaves and stuff through there, think of how much dirt and sand has gone through already. I'd worry.

Simply put, nothing larger than real fine dust should make it past the filter. If anything bigger is getting through, something's really wrong. Either:
- There's a hole in the intake past the filter like a cracked airbox
- There's a hole in the filter itself
- The filter isn't sealing properly and things are getting around the edges. This could either be a dud filter (malformed gasket edges) or improper installation (maybe one of the tabs in back is on top of the slot it seats in)

[mwh27]

[Threadjack]

Isn't a cutout MAF pretty bad becuase the MAF measures resistance across the wire by using heat, so the more air through the screen, the less heat.
But if you cut it, then it would always read the same value, either alot of air all the time, or very little.

[/Threadjack]

That sucks about the feather and leaves, but seems that every car with the circle style filters has feathers in it.....

[DarkDragon00]

no, it lets air go through easier and inturn makes more horsepower to add on with intake/exhuast upgrades.

yea make sure u get the right sized airfilter and make sure it fits right and stuff... dont want things getting into the engine.

[mwh27]

Originally posted by DarkDragon00:
no, it lets air go through easier and inturn makes more horsepower to add on with intake/exhuast upgrades.

yea make sure u get the right sized airfilter and make sure it fits right and stuff... dont want things getting into the engine.

http://www.gmtips.com/3rd-degree/dox...maf-screen.htm

IDK what to believe, just looking for some real results.

Dyno?

[rhodeymark]

Just to recap - it was while pulling the stock lid that I found it. The CAI, K&N & Whisper are recent so I have to assume that (since I was anal enough with the installs) my leak was from the stock setup. The stock airfilter wasn't too dirty for 30k - either it was changed and the lid wasn't reinstalled properly (looked OK) or it was bypassing the box from day one (shudder). Runs great but I will get my oil analysed next change.