Mass Air Flow, O2 Sensors, Thermostat, Antifreeze Tank cracked, air tube cracked

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MattEnderle

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my car has been misfiring and overheating - i took it to the ford dealership for diag.

I get a quote back for $1150+tax.


Mass air flow sensor $265
Air tube $48
2 upstream o2 sensors $110 each
dogas bottle $151
thermostat $34
antifreeze green $26

add labor - 5hrs = $1150 + tax (includes the $60 diag).


I asked if the mass air flow sensor could cause the o2 sensor to report bad - their answer was no - what do you guys think?

how hard is it to change the mass air flow sensor myself - a few screws on the air intake tube?

instead of buying a new intake tube should i just get a cold air intake? will this make the system throw codes?

how hard would it be to change the dogas bottle myself?

I've changed the thermostat before wasnt too bad a few clamps on the hoses and it came right out.

let me know your guys thoughts - this forum is great.

thanks in advance
 
I asked if the mass air flow sensor could cause the o2 sensor to report bad - their answer was no - what do you guys think?
It might and it might not. It depends on the exact failure codes for the sensors. You could try just the MAF and see if that resolves it or not.

how hard is it to change the mass air flow sensor myself - a few screws on the air intake tube?
Yes, very easy to change. You might try cleaning it first.

how hard would it be to change the dogas bottle myself?
It's a pain, but it can be done. Search the forum, there are recent posts on this. If you do, you might as well change the thermostat too. Also check the forum for instructions on bleeding the air from the cooling system. You must do this, and do it correctly.

BTW, O2 sensors are easy to change yourself too, as long as you have the right socket and a large pull-handle.
 
How the eff do you crack an air intake tube? Maybe it was just loose or something, and letting unmetered air in. Did you check all connections?
 
I have a spare MAF sensor laying around I can sell you if you need one. $60 shipped.
 
I'll offer this tidbit. I just went thru the mass airflow sensor thing with my wif's LS. Your dealer is ripping you off just like mine tried too. Ford's list price on the MAS is $215.53. I asked for a meeting with the service manager at the dealer that replaced ours and charged us $268 for the part. I got the guy to take me in his office. I told him in no uncertain terms that I was not going to pay more that list price for parts at his place. I told him I wasn't asking for a discount but I wasn't going to pay more than list. He refunded me the $53 difference. I would tell the scumbag that you know the part lists for $215 and you won't pay a dime over that. I'm pretty much done with dealer service departments.
 
What tool is used to take out the screws holding the MAF?

How could I clean it? This might be a resolution because the air filter was really dirty. I removed the inner fender wall when I had 20" rims on my car because of the rub not realizing the consequences and now my air filter gets dirty and probably wet from the snow here in Ohio (yet another reason to move West or South).

It is a K&N filter so I'll use the solution to clean the filter out today.

There is a plastic snap broken on one of the hoses on the air intake (the second one after the MAF) - it did seem to be a little loose when I took out the intake just now.

I can't seem to get the wiper off - I removed the bolt - seems on there pretty good still is there a latch or something I need to remove first?

As far as the thermostat - I'm almost wondering if this doesn't even need changed maybe the crack in the dogas bottle caused air in the system and I read that will cause air to sit right behind the thermostat and prevent it from opening? I'll have a buddy help with the bleeding on this after I replace the bottle. I'll probably end up getting the tank, cap, thermostat and o-ring from parts.com to make sure its all there. Was their a default in the tank causing it to crack for everyone seems to be a lot of threads on here about it.

Thanks in advance.
 
clean the MAF with rubbing alcohol. Be very gentle with it though.

I would apply it to a Q-tip and gently twist the tip.
 
MattEnderle said:
What tool is used to take out the screws holding the MAF?

How could I clean it? ...
I can't seem to get the wiper off - I removed the bolt - seems on there pretty good still is there a latch or something I need to remove first?

As far as the thermostat - I'm almost wondering if this doesn't even need changed ...
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

To clean do as already suggested, or buy a can of MAF cleaner spray.

To get the wiper off, the service manual says to remove the nut on top of the wiper arm and pull the arm off of the shaft. You may have to tap it with a hammer to break it loose.

I think the thermostat was just a preventive suggestion. As long as the coolant is being changed, might as well change the thermostat as the added cost is minor.
 
OK I went up to advanced auto and bought the MAF.

I got the wiper arm off just a little more force than I was expecting and some twist.

I picked up a thermostat.

The air tube was cracked/ripped where the front peice hangs off right in the seem so a child prob stepped on it when it was sitting on the garage floor - I'll be ordering one of these as well.

I'm heading over to the junk to see if they have a descent tank and maybe the air tube only because im low on time and use my car to get to clients. If they don't have the parts I'll order them online.

If I still get a misfire after all of that I'll get the o2 sensors.

this is a 00' with 158k miles I'm trying not to put too much into it because I don't expect it to last much longer but overal the car has been descent.
 
<<What tool is used to take out the screws holding the MAF? >>>>

The factory used tamper proof torx screws to mount the MAF. Only God knows why. I went to Advance Auto to find out about these screws since I had never seen them before. They sell a set of bits with a 1/4" socket adaptor to hold them. I guess this is another attempt to insure people bring the car back to the dealership to get work done. BTW skip the Q-Tip idea and buy a can of CRC Mass airflow sensor spray cleaner. Much safer.
 
^ He already bought a new one...

Which I don't really understand why... You said your trying not to put much into this car, did you even try cleaning the MAF instead of buying a new one?
 
This is not easy...lol

I did buy a new MAF. My buddy cut me a very good deal at advanced auto and it was here in less than 6 hrs - otherwise I would have bought the one in this thread for $60 (thanks for the offer btw).

I did try to clean it with the cleaner (my buddy at adv. auto had some opened already and we used it - still misfire.

I picked up a res. tank from a junk yard this morning and I'm trying to get that put in - the hose clamp was a pain - I picked up a hose clamp tool at sears for $40 which helped big time - the hole in the fender doesnt help me because someone left the clamps opposite from the hole.

I can't get the hose off the pipe though - ive tried pliers to twist it and nothing and theres absolutely NO room to get your hand in there to do anything - was this car made in china? The starter is right in the way!

Any recommendations here to get the hose off? I'm sure I will have the same problem getting the hose back on.

By the way the tank and the air intake tube was $10 at the junk yard - small town around here works well to have friends everywhere (friend owns the place).

Thanks for all your guys help!
 
MattEnderle said:
This is not easy...lol

I did buy a new MAF. My buddy cut me a very good deal at advanced auto and it was here in less than 6 hrs - otherwise I would have bought the one in this thread for $60 (thanks for the offer btw).

I did try to clean it with the cleaner (my buddy at adv. auto had some opened already and we used it - still misfire.

I picked up a res. tank from a junk yard this morning and I'm trying to get that put in - the hose clamp was a pain - I picked up a hose clamp tool at sears for $40 which helped big time - the hole in the fender doesnt help me because someone left the clamps opposite from the hole.

I can't get the hose off the pipe though - ive tried pliers to twist it and nothing and theres absolutely NO room to get your hand in there to do anything - was this car made in china? The starter is right in the way!

Any recommendations here to get the hose off? I'm sure I will have the same problem getting the hose back on.

By the way the tank and the air intake tube was $10 at the junk yard - small town around here works well to have friends everywhere (friend owns the place).

Thanks for all your guys help!
Click to expand...

Some things are good buys from junk yards, and some things aren't. I don't think the tank was. I suspect that all of them crack with age, and you may be repeating all that work you put into changing it, very soon.
 
I put the thermostat in, the air tube, mass air flow, cleaned the k&n filter, put the inner fender back in that i took out when i had the 20s on to help keep the road dirt from the air box. I took your advance on the tank I'm ordering that online today, prob the bottom hose to because i dont want to replace that anytime soon - prob even the clamp and tank cap.

Looks like the tank on parts.com is 102. I'm hoping they will do overnight shipping.
 
Update:

I got the tank in from parts.com - put that in - kind of a pain but feasible.

So far - thermostat, coolant tank, MAF, air tube, cleaned up the air filter

Still misfire - the only other parts the dealer said needed replaced were the o2 sensors.

I'll have advanced auto clear the codes and see what codes come up if its o2 then ill replace those.

It still misfires though - runs smoother though. Could o2 sensors cause a misfire or should I be looking into more coil packs? I might pull them and see if oil is in there but if they said it was o2 and if that could cause the misfire ill probably look at getting those.

I guess these are minor things to do and with this car being a 2000 with 159k miles I'm doing pretty good apparently most of this stuff is considered maintenance.

Also - what do you guys think of the K&N air filters - could that oil on the filter have caused the MAF to get dirty? Should I look at just putting a regular filter in there?

thanks for your all your help - so far I've got $260 in parts on this and the dealer said it would be $1150.
 
Personally I don't like the oiled filters. IMHO there's always a risk of oil getting on the MAF. If you keep the K&N you should clean your MAF every time you oil it.
 
It's possible for the O2 sensors to cause misfires, but it is more likely to be bad COPs (they are Coil-On-Plug, not coil packs). I think it would be possible for bad enough misfires to cause O2 codes. I would be tempted to unplug the front 2 O2 sensors and see if the misfire goes away or stays. If it goes away, then if probably was the O2 sensors, if not keep looking. (My theory is that the engine computer would go to safe default values for fuel mixture if the O2s are unplugged.)
It could be bad injectors too. A lot of times, people replace O2 sensors that are okay but trying to tell you that you have some other problem with the engine. Of course, your mileage is high enough that they might really be worn out.
 
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