I been having a lot of trouble with my 1988 firebird formula with a 305 since shortly after I bought it. My mechanic seems to have narrowed the problem down to a bad Mass Air Flow sensor, but he can't seem to find one that will work without setting the check engine light off. So I am in short looking for a good MAF sensor. The long is a new MAF sensor has mostly fixed the problem the cars doesn't die now when slowing down or stopping but the check engine light is on. If I understand the mechanic right the new MAF sensor is putting out bad voltage readings setting the check engine light off. And after trying a couple of different ones including a Delphi the same issue happens. I don't know if the two different ones were the same brand but I do know that a Delphi was tried. I was told that it looks like the wiring was messed with so some of that got fixed, but that might be the problem. I was told a reliable MAF sensor should fix the problem. Getting a reliable one seems to be the trick from what I gather so I'm looking for recommendations. After looking on the board here it looks like the Delphi's have a known issue with putting out bad voltage. So I'm hoping that a different brand may solve the problem but a search here seems to indicate it is a crap shoot on getting a good MAF although I haven't read the whole board so sorry if this is redundant. I also apologized I'm not a mechanic. Another thought crossed my mind does anyone fix, restore old MAF sensors? Recommendations for a MAF sensor would be appreciated thanks.

 

Is the check engine light on for a MAF code? What are the exact codes? You can determine that yourself with a paper clip inserted into the proper terminals on the OBD1 port below driver side dash but a data scanner showing live data would be ideal to troubleshoot this issue, if your guy has the old snap on mt2500 those work well. I would first verify what he is seeing with the MAF voltage and go from there and really check over the wiring and MAF relay wiring on driver side firewall.

When looking at replacements for these a good used Bosch is ideal but not exactly easy to find, if trying to get "new" I would aim for a refurbished Bosch, they are easy to spot as they have the Bosch logo like stock and look identical on the inside with the hot wire set up. Last I checked Rockauto had a few available but just be aware their customer service is borderline nonexistent if you have issues.

 

The best MAF sensor for a 3rd gen is MAP sensor and Speed Density.

 

Looks like WAI is loved over at rock auto. I have no experience here.

 

Check out this thread:

BSE v Delphi MAF - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards