the spark plugs looked fine, they were a tan color, just how they are supposed to be

That explains alot. I had to bite my tongue real hard in my last post to keep from suggesting that was the advice of an outright idiot.

As for the relays, find which ones they are (on firewall, driver's side), take them off, and take them into the parts store. they should unhook real easy.

get some electrical contact cleaner, and clean the connections at the relays, and at the MAF. If you look around, maybe do a search, I'm sure you will find instructions for how to test a relay, and if not, a lot of parts stores will test them for you if you bring them in.

I believe you will have 2 relays, one for the main running power, and one for the MAF burnoff function.
If yours was an 88 or 89, I could tell you which ones you need, and I could show you exactly where they are, but I believe the 87's were just a little different.

for an 87, your MAF burnoff relay is GM PN 100994701 and your MAF power relay is GM PN 10067925

see if your parts store can cross reference those numbers for you

great thanks i'll do a search and hopefully be able to figure out the relays

hi guys i havent actually replaced anything yet, but this morning i got a code 34.
i did a search on codes and from this thread:

http://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/show...ht=engine+code

it seems like i just need to replace the main relay and the burnoff relay, not the whole maf. could a code 34 still mean i need a whole new maf though?

could go either way...sometimes a bad relay will fry a maf...in which case they may both be bad. I'd do new relays first, because if that doesn't fix it, and it ends up being the maf, you will want new relays with the new maf anyway (wouldn't want a bad relay to fry a new maf)

try the relays, and cross your fingers.

Wow, can't believe I missed this. This was the problem that had me find my way here. Get one relay and switch one out, then swap 'em. While it is possible for both to go out at the same time it is highly unlikely.

ok i looked on the firewall today and it looked like there were two burnoff relays, one to the left of the maf power relay and one to the right of it because they both had the same part number on it (sorry didnt write it down)
do i really have two of them, or is this not even the burnoff relay?
also i think i might have discovered something important: the wires going up to the maf power relay are exposed a little at the end, and where the wires go into the clip that goes into the relay is covered in this gooey stuff, like melted plastic or something. obviously something is wrong here.
wouldnt this mean that the maf itself is bad, because it fried the wires before the relay? or could this also be because of a bad relay?
also where can i get one of those wells MAFs? i looked on the autozone website but they dont have them in stock.

one more thing, right after starting the car i opened up the hood and opened the throttle a little with my hand, and there was a popping noise definitely coming right out of the maf. i have a feeling my whole maf is bad and i should just replace it and all the relays.

There is only one MAF burnoff relay. The part numbers are the same because that relay is used for many different purposes.

For example, on my car, MAF power, MAF burn off, Coolant Fan 1, and Coolant Fan 2 all use the same relay. Not the same as in all in one relay, but the same as in the same part number relay. I"m fairly certain that relay is used for even more functions, but these are all that come to me off the top of my head.

I have already tested relays before by switching them with the coolant fan relays. I didn't suggest it before, because if you don't pay attention to what you're doing, and you put a bad one on your coolant fan, and should fail to notice your fan not come on, you could overheat. It kinda depends on how attentive you are.

The gooey stuff is pretty common. I think it's some kind of electrical sealant. Those relay plugs aren't the only place you'll find that stuff in these cars.

What kind of popping noise? It may have been normal. These TPI engines make a lot of intake noise when you open the throttle. I think the noise you're talking about is normal intake howl. Try disconnecting the intake hose at the throttle body, so you can see the bare throttle blades, and rev the motor once by hand. I think you'll find that the intake howl you here there is the same as the popping sound you describe (i.e. normal intake noise).

i dunno this popping noise doesnt seem too normal, and it doesnt happen once the car is warmed up. its definitely coming right from the MAF i can almost like feel it. i'll try opening the throttle by hand tomorrow with the blades showing to see if it makes the same noise, but i doubt it will. thanks for the explanation of the relays i was really kinda confused.