Thread: Weirdness in bogging, shifting.

Originally Posted by Rico

Since the thing is running good in speed density I would guess wiring since it was running well in mass with the current tune.
Remove the wire shielding for all of the 5 volt referened sensors and make sure conductors aren't shorted or corroded.
It could be something as simple as the return signal wire from the MAF back to the PCM.

Ok Rico, I might love you now. I read this and I thought Ok, good idea since I havnt actually looked at the plugs, and I know sometimes remanufactured things from a factory can be dusty and the wires on the MAF and the connector pins might be contaminated. I bought a can of MAF cleaner and a can of eletronic contact cleaner, went out on my lunch break yesterday and sprayed the living piss out of the MAF wires, all around the inside of it, and the connector pins. Then I did the same with the connector on the vehicle side, soaked it point blank with cleaner, I even figured I'd disconnect the TB connector and spray that down too while Im in there.

So, Im waiting around for all this to dry so I can slap it back together. I was lookin really closely at the connector on the vehicle side for the MAF, looking for moisture left over and I noticed the green seal for he plug was out of place, so I pushed it back in as good as I could, a few minutes later it was time to put it back together, so I clamped the MAF down and tried plug it back in... since that seal was on my mind I watched it extra closely and the clip on the plug engaged, it clicked in.. but it looked like the rest of the plug was being pushed back. I kept trying with all my strength but I couldnt get the plug all the way on, so I unhooked it quick and used a screw driver to rip that little seal out, plugged it back in and the plug went all the way on with no problem.

It's running great now, and that explains why it was cool for a day or 2 and then went to crap again.. the plug just wiggled loose over time since it wasnt properly seated and it was getting a crappy connection. I couldnt believe this, and my first thought was that I didnt need to buy a new sensor. Luckily the core I turned in was still in the building, it didnt go out yet, so I ran and got it out and plugged it in... but yeah that MAF actually was done for. That's why it got so much better with the new sensor, but then still had the minor problems after the new sensor.

Hoping this is the end of this since it all seems to fit together.

Rico, I've seen you give a lot of advice and good feedback in other threads, and they're not just "yes" "no" answers, you provide reasoning with your answers. Believe it or not, that helps a lot. So thanks, I really appreciate it.

See how it does for the next week or so. I'm still not convinced. Although it would be nice if it were something that simple.
Thanks for the encouragement.

Im gunna say yes... there were really 2 stages to the problem, one that it was very eager to upshift the very second I stopped accelerating and cruising began and very resistant to down shifting again when I needed acceleration again. Then the second part of the problem came about a week later where it started severely surging and bucking if I tried to accelerate with light throttle after the upshift. In either case I'd get no power until like 50% throttle where it would then dump into low gear and take off, supercharger screamin.

Replaced the MAF and it got better for about 3 days, and went right back. Replaced it with a second one and the same 3 days of happy and then right back. This is where I got frustrated and decided to clean the hell out of the electrical connections and MAF wires. While I was doing this I discovered that the MAF plug wasnt connecting right because the seal on the plug was swollen up or just wrong (I only got the car a few months ago.) The clip on the plug was clicking in, but there was so much space there's no way all the pins were making connection. So I figured this is why it would be good for a few days and then go back to crap, the plug was getting wiggled loose and making a bad connection. I drove it with that seal removed and it was happy, threw my original MAF back in and it was instantly crap, so that one definitely was bad. So, with the new MAF and a proper connection, everything was good.

I still had some hesitation after this that bothered me and I was looking at vacuum lines. I bought a booster cap off ZZP for 15 bucks since I had cracked off the capped nozzle doing spark plugs.. I just caked some rtv on it to seal it, lol.. and a new hose for the brake booster, it came with a new hose for the bbv which made me happy. So yeah I replaced that and I must've had a vac leak because I feel confident saying the car is great now.

Just a tip, if you replace the booster cap, it's just 2 bolts but getting the hoses off is a pain, all of the nozzles snapped right off the booster cap with very little pressure. I tried to do it in the parking lot at the auto parts store and had to drive home with a huge vac leak onthe brake booster, lol. I used a screw driver to pry it off the booster side. Put a little tranny fluid I had laying around on the inside of the hose to ease getting it on cause it's very tight and didnt wanna break the new one.

So there's my summary of the issue for future problem-havers, sorry for the book lol

Well before you order a new one, just drive around for a day or 2 with it unplugged to see if the problem goes away or not. I dont know why whenever I tell this to people they tend to brush it off and go right to replacing parts when it's such an easy test to rule out a semi-expensive part. (Not saying you, just in general) Unless the wires are broken physically, you cant tell by just looking at it.

Unplug it, drive it around for a day or 2 putting it through different conditions. See if the problem persists. If it gets better with the MAF unplugged then you have your issue. If the problem continues then you have something else.

Originally Posted by Linebacker

I was pretty sure at this point that it was MAF related so i just went and ordered one. Good idea for others tho who are not as sure, so its been a week or so since i replaced the MAF and the problem has only happened once in all that time. So i would say its 95% fixed, If it happens a second time ill have to start looking into it again. Hows your car doing? did it ever come back?

Nope, hasnt come back... I know this is all said and done already and it doesnt matter but just for my own curiosity did you unplug the sensor to test it? Or did you just order another one out of the blue?

That's exactly why the Rage was asking about unplugging it.