1991 Ford Taurus Ping/Rattle

Gig opined in news:sCa6b.1184$ snipped-for-privacy@fe2.columbus.rr.com:

Start by cleaning the MAF sensor.

Use procedure found in tech articles at

One of those two resistive wires in my MAF is visibly dirty. I am guessing that is the reason why I had to go from 87 octane to 89 octane awhile ago.

At $250 a pop (OEM), I'm not quite daring enough just yet to try cleaning the thing.

I hate it when I'm reduced to the following retrospections:

1. "Did it work before you started screwing with it?"
2. "Does it work now?"
3. "Why did you screw with it?"

Backyard Mechanic wrote:

Farley @nonymous opined in news: snipped-for-privacy@em.net:

1. They are not as fragile as they look. Think about service dept ham- handed mechs.
2. Look on the enthusiast forums for "Oh %^^&, I broke it!"

Bet you dont find any that resulted from cleaning.

1. So ... try the spray/blow-off (no-contact) methods first

BTW, I dont recommend Q-Tips... the cheap ones, at least, can shed. Go to Radio Shack and get the foam-tip swabs.

Rubbing Alcohol works just fine

Here's a thought... if you want to be really proactive and you have some degree of curiosity, go to a salvage yard that has a LOT of your car and get a spare - make sure the calibration matches. Practice on it.. and just for grins put it in and see what happens.