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1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks 1987 - 1996 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350 and larger pickups - including the 1997 heavy-duty F250/F350+ trucks

mass air sensor?

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Old Nov 3, 2004 | 04:19 PM
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mass air sensor?

Does my 95 f-150 have a mass air sensor? I heard upgrading the intake doesn't help unless you have a mass air sensor. Supposedly the computer doesn't care about the amount of air or not if you dont have one.
 
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Old Nov 3, 2004 | 04:45 PM
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What do you mean upgrading the intake? New manifold? New filter/hoses? One quick way to tell if you have mass air or not is to look at the air filter housing - if there is one outlet going to the engine and a metal meter bolted to the housing with 4 wires going to the plug then you have mass air. Most upgrades will work fine with both mass air and MAP EFI systems, it's just when you get into radical cams and ported heads do you start to get outside the operating range of the MAP system.
 
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Old Nov 3, 2004 | 04:51 PM
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I wanted to open up the intake a little bit with a KnN, but others said if you dont have a mass air sensor then it would make no difference.
 
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Old Nov 3, 2004 | 04:53 PM
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Just a K&N filter won't make much of a difference mass air or not. Are you wanting an open filter or the drop in panel filter that replaces the stock filter?
 
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Old Nov 3, 2004 | 05:13 PM
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I believe that if your fuel system is computer controlled then you have a mass air sensor. Without it the computer cannot determine how much fuel to pump in. The sensor is an electronic box between the air filter and engine. It detects how much air is flowing into the engine and then directs fuel acordingly. It will have wires coming out of it. That's how you identify it.
 
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Old Nov 3, 2004 | 05:34 PM
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95 was a transitional year for the F150s. Most made after May of that year have mass air. The easiest way to tell is to look at your air filter housing.If there is 1 big hose coming out that has a " button like" thing on top with 4 wires going in, and then as it enters the throttle body it Y's off into 2 hoses, you have mass air. If you have 2 hoses from the T-body all the way to the filter box it's speed density.Both are computer controlled. I have a 95 flare side & it's mass air. As for the K&N, well they're all hype. The only measurable gain is at wide open throttle. How often will you be winding out the truck and keeping it floored to near red line? If you're thinkin' of gettin' just the replacement filter you'd be further ahead to put that$ into some tune up parts. If you're talkin' the $200+ complete set up then TRUST ME, just spend that on a set of long tube headers! they cost the same & at least tripple the performance gain!!
 
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Old Nov 3, 2004 | 11:13 PM
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I believe that if your fuel system is computer controlled then you have a mass air sensor
not true. Most F-series trucks from these years are MAP EFI, where the MAP sensor is the main sensor the computer uses to determine timing and fuel requirements. Very few were MAF from the factory.
 
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Old Nov 4, 2004 | 02:54 AM
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Some 95's were mass air. The 300 and 302 were mass air in '96. Not sure about the 351. The 460 was never mass air. Every other EFI motor is speed density, unless someone installed a mass air flow kit.
 
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