that depends mrmojo, what kind of car is it? and what problems are you having? if the car is running fine you shouldn't have to clean it.

mass air flow meters work by heating a wire to specific temperature and bases the airflow rate on how much amperage it takes to keep that wire heated. so cleaning could end up damaging it if you use chemicals. So if you really want to clean it, i suggest blowing air through the back of it.

if you have a vane style air flow meter, (potentiometer attatched to a vane that gets pushed by the incoming air) then you are better off replacing it.

Some white spirit will do the trick. I cleaned my sensor when the idle revs were 'lumpy'. It used to sit at 850rpm, then drop and nearly stall. After a good clean...all is well.

If its a mass flow air sensor its a thin metal wire that crosses the middle. If the sensor has a wire mesh filter around the outside you could certainly clean that, or even carefully remove it. The actuall wire is just the one in the middle.

However, if its actually a speed density system, your on your own cause I don't know shit about them.. :fadein:

That all being said I have to wonder how the hell you got it dirty since it's down system from the air filters. I removed one from a car that had been in there for 15 years. and there was very little (read practically no) dirt on the mesh outer protectant for the wire.

Mainly they dirty if someone has been using a high flow cotton filter with impregnated oil, especially if it has cleaned. The majority of people who re-oil them overdue it on the oil. Then the loose oil goes downstream and dirties up the MAF sensor element, throttle bodies; etc. Generally, the Ford MAF electronics housings are very reliable, but they are electronic devices and anything can fail. Try getting some electrical contact cleaner and spray a little on the little wire, usually you can tell if it's dirty by just looking at it. Do not touch it, let the contact cleaner dry itself off, it evaporates almost instantly anyways.

I would recommend using a cleaner. Almost any standard non-residue cleaner should do a good job. Just make sure that you dont damage the unit while cleaning it. :mrgreen: