screen around the MAF

[cheapsho]

can i cut this off? when i owned my SC t bird the sccoa told me it would help alot and wouldnt hurt anything...just wondering if i can do it to my sho burn_out

 

[SW SHO]

The screen is there in case you forget to put in your air filter

I've read here that the three screws holding the MAF to the box could come loose, and you would want that screen there to catch them or any larger objects not filtered out prior to the TB.

 

[Denny]

I've heard the same too. Although, just how do those bolts come lose? And GM guys do this all the time and they swear that it works. Does make sense, I'm sure all that screen area combined makes a decent restriction in the 55mm MAF. Maybe a reason that the 80s flow so well is that they are screenless, well most of them

 

[fredhurderjr]

FWIW, ALL of the aftermarket ones don't have the screen.

 

[SW SHO]

They don't really come off, at least looking at mine with wire wrapped around and connecting them all.

I suppose the engineers fiqured the fail safe screen is well worth any warranty work for blown motors due to a design flaw.

I would not remove it, it wont provide any noticable improvement. Besides, you might for get to put your air filter in and a mouse might get into your air box, then you'll go wide open and suck that rodent into ???

Lance

 

[jthomas68]

I can`t see any reason to take it off.Going from a 55mm maf to an 80mm,what`s the highest hp increase anyone`s ever gotten?I know it`s single digits to negative #`s.If that`s the result of an extra 25mm`s,then just the screen is next to nothing.It`s there for a failsafe,let it do it`s job.Obviously,the aftermarket maf`s don`t have it because they aren`t designed with that idea in mind.

 

[pete c]

leave it alone. It provides less resistance to air flow than the air filter does. If you are bound and determined to do something, you might poke bigger holes in it. That way the mice won't get through, but their shit might. Look at it as valve lapping compound.

 

[sdpatt]

The screen is held in by a C-ring. If you remove it, you probably won't be able to measure a horespower increase even with the most accurate dyno, but be very careful that your air filter box lid is completely sealing around the filter.

 

[Xs SHO 1]

my C&L 73 mm MAF did not come with any screens. the bolts on the MAFs, u will need a T-20 torx bit, i believe, someone correct me if i am wrong, it comes with a special tamper proof dot in the middle.

 

[ThePOWERtoRULE]

For whatever reason, there's always some dead bugs or old seeds or something pineed up against my screen...and I wanna know how that all gets in there.

And why is there always a bit of sand at the bottom of my airbox???

That alone is enough for me to not do the "cool" thing and run my car with no air filter.

I think one of the funniest things I ever saw was a friend of a friend's 5.0 Mustang...and we were lookin' under the hood and it looked awfully bare. That was because he not only had NO filter...****, he had no real induction system at all!! All I saw was the throttle body on the side of the manifold (it was an early 5.0 EFI with no MAF). My buddy Joe broke the silence:
"Well, if a rock gets down there and I guess it's just meant to be..."

My advice (For whatever it's worth): Keep the screen. When I get an 80mm (which I plan on doing soon) I am going to look mounting some sort of similar screen to the opening.

 

[AREA 91]

I ditch the screens, but keep a close eye on debris in my air box!

 

[AutoSHO]

I've found a loss in low end response upon removing the screen from the stock MAF. You aren't losing any power to that screen, so you might as well leave it in and enjoy the extra protection.

 

[Denny]

Leave well enough alone

When I went racing last weekend, I opened up my airbox to tap out any debris in my air filter. To my shocking surprise I found a small bolt on top of my filter...if that screen hadn't been there...I wouldn't have been enjoying my new 3.2 right now

 

[HopefulSHO]

I'd keep it. I've found bits and pieces of stuff clinging to it. Nothing that would damage an engine - yet.

 

[SASHO91]

i had taken mine out a while back, you know like a small mod, like the air box mod. now that i have heard some of these stories, i changed my mind. i just put it back in a few minutes ago.

 

[wood_e]

I took my screen out months ago, no adverse affects... I might put it back if I feel like it.

 

[Huntervf]

Don't take that screen out!

If I must I'll post pictures of the piston I destroyed in my 89...I had a screenless 80mm MAF at the time, and I sucked in a bolt that had worked loose from my adapter plate. The result? #4 piston destroyed, rear combustion chamber destroyed and a bent valve. And I was damn lucky I didn't score the cylinder wall. If there had been a screen in the MAF this wouldn't have happened. Would a 1-2hp gain (if anything at all) be worth the destruction of your engine?

 

[Grifter]

I've had my screen out for about a year with no problems. But after reading Hunter's post, he has a point, I think I'm going to put it back in. 1-2 ponies isnt worth it.

 

[Slo-Sho]

Locktite! Just set it..and forget it!
BTW, I have an 80mm MAF just like countless other peeps.

 

[AutoSHO]

Don't take that screen out!

If I must I'll post pictures of the piston I destroyed in my 89...I had a screenless 80mm MAF at the time, and I sucked in a bolt that had worked loose from my adapter plate. The result? #4 piston destroyed, rear combustion chamber destroyed and a bent valve. And I was damn lucky I didn't score the cylinder wall. If there had been a screen in the MAF this wouldn't have happened. Would a 1-2hp gain (if anything at all) be worth the destruction of your engine?

How did a bolt from the adapter get inside the intake tract?