Originally Posted By: user52165
Originally Posted By: TFB1
Sometimes a MAF is so fouled by dirt/gum, only carb cleaner or similar will clean it... In that case the MAF sensor should be removed from it's housing and cleaned by using the cleaner on a swab...
In a pinch I once cleaned one by spitting on it and wiping with a paper towel... Probably half dozen years later, that meter is still in service...
Be very, very careful if you clean by hand on a swab. Those are very fine wires suspending it. Breaking one is easy to do. Then you have a $100 - $1000 (yes some cost that much new) bill.
Best to use dedicated MAF spray. Carb cleaner is for carbs.
Excepting for the paper towel job, I've used a swab on every one I've cleaned and that's at least a couple dozen... As long as one doesn't go at it like the proverbial bull in a china shop, no harm will come to it...
Touch it and it's ruined is mostly a farce...