aftermarket MAF: what do you get?

[jiho2]

I posted this on the General Turbo Buick Tech forum and got nowhere. I thought about trying to link to the photos in that posting rather than duplicate them here, but like GM, decided to keep it complicated at the expense of waste.

I did change the thread title here. Over there it was "MAF mayhem: what do you get?" People may have thought I was referring to signal readings.
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My own case involves an '84 Hot Air motor, but I think the issues here are general enough.

So I have all the air tubing and cleaner box parts, but no MAF. I study the market online, because local stores don't stock. I notice RockAuto has a "wholesaler closeout" on a reman by Standard "in house label packaging". Only 30-odd bucks. My fingers itch, my palms sweat.

It just arrived, and the house label is CarQuest. It's shaped exactly like the Wells/Airtex aftermarket units (see 1st photo). But note the logo (see 2nd photo). The screen on this type looks much smaller than any other I've seen, and I doubt I could transfer it to any other type (see 3rd photo).

Now for a little game. What's missing (see 4th photo)?

I'm in California and I have to get this thing past a referee, let alone past smog, so I can't fool around a whole lot even if I wanted to.

So .... what experiences have people had buying these things in the aftermarket? Do the other remans come with screens?

Does anybody know if AC Delco ever sold one that looks anything like this for any of these cars?


--Jim Howard

 

[RegalT-type85]

If it's posted to work for a 84/85 TR and 30ish$ get it. If it's not for a TR (which it looks like it's not) Hold out and get the LT1 MAF and translator. Didn't get this combo right away got a deal on the MAF&translator, Runs great !

Looks like that MAF is very narrow in the middle, tho i might see how it was made that way to read air flow bettter (guessing) Again double check it it's for Turbo regals (i doubt it) If you want to stay stock tho, I'm sure some HA memebers have one laying around.


BTW the mounting holes are missing.

 

[RegalT-type85]

by the way, If you need help passing the Emissons testing, might want to look into Emissons TT chip. TurboTweak - Turbo Buick Custom Chips and Parts.

 

[jiho2]

This is a part that I ordered and received from RockAuto. The pix were taken on my table here. It was supposedly the correct application, but because of the missing mounting holes I had no intention of keeping it, and in fact I returned it this past Friday.

In addition to curiosity about how this part came to be in all its misbegotten glory, I'm also looking for information I can use in shopping for another. In particular, do the various remanufactured MAFs come with a screen, even though neither AC Delco nor Cardone shows a screen in the pix of their parts?

I'm NOT looking for mods here, I'm looking for a STOCK replacement part.


--Jim Howard

 

[RegalT-type85]

This is a part that I ordered and received from RockAuto. The pix were taken on my table here. It was supposedly the correct application, but because of the missing mounting holes I had no intention of keeping it, and in fact I returned it this past Friday.

In addition to curiosity about how this part came to be in all its misbegotten glory, I'm also looking for information I can use in shopping for another. In particular, do the various remanufactured MAFs come with a screen, even though neither AC Delco nor Cardone shows a screen in the pix of their parts?

I'm NOT looking for mods here, I'm looking for a STOCK replacement part.


--Jim Howard

The missing mounting holes doesn't mean it's not the right MAF, I looked at the site(rockauto) i would have gone with the top unit IMO. I believe they are screened even if not in the picture. I know that the screen is there to get better readings(straighten the airflow) 1986 1987 Buick Regal Grand National Turbo T T-Type GNX REBUILT ORIGINAL AC DELCO MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR #7045 has them but Not sure how different the 84/85 MAFs are from 86/87s. Might work, dont see why not.

1985 BUICK REGAL Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF) This place has the same part # as rockauto minus the top MAF # MF7699 which if i was you, i would go with the top MAF. Post in the wanted section, MAF unless your looking for REMAN unit.

 

[RegalT-type85]

wait, when you had the MAF , did you see if it worked?

 

[jiho2]

I'm not sure why, but the part numbers are different between 84 (7653) and 85 (7699). They have to be the same outside because the air tubes and cleaner box are the same, therefore the electronics must be different. How and why I don't know. If the 85 was an improvement, why didn't GM apply it to 84?

Yet another part serves both 86-87 (7866), but the whole intercooled setup is physically different and of course it wants more air flow.

The problem is, aftermarket parts often come without some piece that the instructions tell you to take from the old part. So it's perfectly legitimate for a MAF to come without a screen. If the picture shows a screen you should be able to count on it having one, otherwise you can't count on it and you should assume it doesn't unless explicitly told otherwise.

No, I did not test this MAF before I returned it.


--Jim Howard

 

[RegalT-type85]

I would just reorder the MAF from rockauto, top MAF that looks stocker then the 4. Get it for 30$ slap it on and see if it works.

And the E-TT chip from turbotweak.com is just for E-Testing then you take it out and put your stock chip back in. This is just to give you that little extra help to pass the test.

 

[Turbo85]

Maf

If you need a stock 85 MAF I believe I have one. I also out here in Calif. If I can help let me know.

 

[jiho2]

Thanks. I'm shopping for the 84 MAF because I'm not sure why it's different from the 85.

I got the last $30 closeout RockAuto had for the 84, they still have a bunch for the 85. I assume they became closeouts because CarQuest dumped them due to this issue of lacking the mounting holes to attach to the air cleaner. On top of maybe being too restrictive due to not having the original diameter straight cylinder.

If people ditch the air cleaner and use an open element filter, the lack of mounting holes might work fine for them. California smog law requires the stock (closed) air cleaner. I don't know how finicky they are about that in practice, and I don't plan to find out. Besides, a lot of problems with bad MAFs trace to K&N style filters and oil fouling the MAF. Trying to clean the MAF doesn't work very well. All that on top of dubious air flow.


--Jim Howard

 

[jiho2]

I would just reorder the MAF from rockauto, top MAF that looks stocker then the 4. Get it for 30$ slap it on and see if it works.

Actually this 84, like the 85, was listed with the stock-looking photo, which I believe is meant to represent the Standard reman they normally sell. But you can see what I got for $30-odd.

And the E-TT chip from turbotweak.com is just for E-Testing then you take it out and put your stock chip back in. This is just to give you that little extra help to pass the test.

If I'm not mistaken, that chip is meant for TurboTweak users who want to cheat on their smog test, and need help because the "real" TurboTweak disables EGR, and can't use the stock chip because they have other mods. Otherwise it won't give you any "extra help" over the stock chip.


--Jim Howard

 

[MGTech30]

I have a stock 1985 GN MAF sensor 100% working for only $65 with free shipping if you still need one.