Last night I tried removing the security torx screws that hold the MAF sensor to the plastic housing on my 01 F-150 w/ 5.4L. Both screws turned easily from the start and shortly became apparent they were stripped or broken. The truck has 42,000 miles and as the original owner I know those screws have never been touched before(the original orange spot of paint was intact).

With the screws loose the MAF was still locked in place and once I realized the screws were stripped I didn't try breaking the sensor free.

From past experience with removing other MAFs I know they are well seated in the plastic housing and probably won't work themselves free but I don't want to take any chances. I have a 1,200 mile trip to Las Vegas starting this Friday. I'll probably just throw some electrical tape around the MAF for now to make sure it doesn't work loose. That will be an unappealing short term solution. How I dislike using tape for repairing things- although often times it is the best if not only solution.

Any suggestions on what to do?

I was trying to take the MAF off to see if it needed cleaning. I run a K&N and cleaned it awhile ago so I wanted to check to make sure I didn't over oil the filter and coat the MAF. By pulling off the filter I was able to verify the MAF doesn't have a build-up on it. Should've done that first.

Thanks
Tim

 

just tap some larger threads and go to the next size bolt.

 

That thought had come to me. Although last night there was no way I was going to continue the disassembly because I needed to get to work today.

My concern with doing that is the screws run through the MAF so I'm not sure if I have room to increase the screw size. I suppose I could just ream the holes enough to get the next size through.

I'm leery about removing the sensor w/o having a firm solution in mind. Although I suppose I shouldn't be too concerned because the stripped screws aren't really holding the unit in anyway.

Thanks for the input
Tim

 

pilot10, my 97f150 4.6 has 144,000 miles. once the truck hit 100k, I clean maf about every 10k miles. have never removed it tho. just isolate the tube where the maf sits, spray plenty of brake kleen (or non corrosive electronic parts cleaner) on it, let it air dry and slap it togehter . Never touch the maf with qtips,etc. Works for me. p.s. best not to use carbcleaner,etc.

 

I was going to just try spraying directly into the housing but I wasn't sure if there are any "pockets" that would collect residue. Based upon you're experience I'll just do that for now.

I'm still concerned the MAF will work loose sometime in the future but I suppose that concern will lessen with time.

Thanks
Tim