Air filter meyham

[trickett90]

This morning my CAI air filter came off. Went to accelerate from a stop light and had quite a bit of power loss, then I heard a loud clunking noise from the engine compartment . I heart sank and I pulled over and killed the engine immediately. Popped the hood and saw the filter freely sitting behind the headlight. I determined the sound I heard was it falling off into the engine compartment (Relief!) Well put it back on, got my hands on a flat head and tightened it up.

Here is where I need input: CEL came on and got it read about an hour ago and left bank is lean and right bank rich. I'm guessing this is from the computer adding extra fuel from the unrestricted air flow, then compensating again after the filter was put back on. Anyways, will the light go off once the computer realizes everything is good to go?

Not sure if its just me but it still seems slightly sluggish in low rpm first gear. It's probably just because I had the wife's car yesterday which has a real throttle cable.

Any and all input welcomed, especially joegr's.

P.S. Don't worry about over tightening the filter clamp, it is much cheaper than internal engine repair (easier on the nerves too): That is my lesson learned today.

 

[2002_lincolnLS]

I have never personally seen the cel light go off, usually you have to delete any DTC's then the light will go out and if it stays out you know it was caused by the filter coming loose, if they return you will have some other issue to deal with.

As for being sluggish, I notice mine being that way everyonce in a while, I have a GEN 1 so it has the throttle cable, I also have some other issues right now ith my fuel system.

 

[trickett90]

I have seen it go off for CELs caused by misfires. Whenever i replace my coils it goes off on its own. Just wondering if this car turns the CEL off for all problems once its fixed or if its just for certain minor things. Other than that all of my other prior experience tells me it needs to be deleted with a scanner as you said.

 

[joegr]

If the problem has been resolved, the CEL will go off after a few driving cycles.

It's not an error from going between restricted and unrestricted airflow. If anything it would be an error caused by inaccurate air flow measurement due to the placement of the MAF sensor, or the MAF getting dirty. It's possible that your placement makes the MAF not work well if the filter isn't present.

If you have the V6, you may also want to check for an air leak from the PCV plumbing. (It could be that the filter was already off, and a new problem caused you to open the hood and find the loose filter.)

 

[trickett90]

I've got the v8. After posting this during lunch I got back in it to go to work and it was still clearly slugging at low rpm in first. However by the time I arrived at work I had all my power back. Just waiting for the CEL to go away. Who know maybe it will be when I go out there in a few minutes. Thanks joe.

 

[01continental]

I had a similar incident with my short ram intake. I got the same codes. I drove several times and the CEL would not go out so I went to my indy mech. and he reset the codes, no problem since. I have since bought a cheap digital code reader on ebay. I have used it many times for various reasons and it is still working great. Ebay has some pretty cheap code readers that are good for basic code reaing and reseting codes. Make sure it is a digital OBD II reader/resetter.

 

[01continental]

I forgot, don't get the cheaper orange colored reader. I had one a while back and it stopped working after a few reads. The one I have now is shown below. You will just have to print a code list and keep it in your car with the reader. Heck, even if you only get a few codes read it is cheaper than most shop's minimum diagnostic charge.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CAN-...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item25679f4bd8

 

[01continental]

Generic trouble code list.
http://www.autotap.com/generic_trouble_codes.asp

 

[trickett90]

Not a bad idea. Thanks. Xcal 2 also reads codes right?

 

[2002_lincolnLS]

this is the kind of scanner I got, mine is only an obd II scanner, much cheaper. got it at sears, on sale

 

[oddball]

Second on the MAF idea. Take it out and clean it. They do need to be cleaned regularly, and if your filter was loose, it could've gotten dirty quickly.
Also, if your filter is a reusable (oiled) type, then the MAF should be cleaned at every service or two. A little oil will pull through the filter. Won't hurt the engine, but will mess up the MAF.