Adam699,

I have purchased from Rockauto several times over the years, definitely a good source for parts. They carry a "Spectra" brand and apparently no other options.

Car-part.com is a new one to me, thanks! That is a very cool resource. I found a used Denso one just 15 or 20 miles from me with an asking price of $50. I will probably drive up there tomorrow and make them an offer. Thanks for the tip.

 

Call them first and have them do a physical check that it's there.

 

So, I went to the salvage yard.

He came down to $40 for the MAF, which was the newer part number LNE1620CB rather than the LNE1620CA that was on my car. Perhaps because the car it came off of was one year newer? Or the previous owner had replaced the MAF at some point? I also got him to throw in a driver side valve cover that was in good shape and a handful of relays for another $10, so I spent $50 total.

I put the MAF sensor on the car before I left the scrapyard. I did not do a hard reset though. On the drive home the MAF lb/mn seemed to go up higher sooner, but that could be placebo effect. The wide O2 sensor did read differently though. Instead of staying relatively steady at 1.0 volt, they both stayed relatively steady at 0.8 volts. Also during the drive home the catalyst code reset (showed ready). That's the one that would not clear all week. Either that's a big coincidence or the newer MAF somehow corrected something allowing the Catalyst readiness to clear.

By the way: I contacted Ultra-Gauge about my issues and they were extremely apologetic and eager to help. I will be emailing them data from the gauge and they said they will look into reasons and possible fixes.

 

Good deal! It sounds promising that it'll be fixed once you do a hard reset to zero out the fuel trims.The catalyst wouldn't pass because the ECM saw that both the down stream 02's were still too rich and thought they weren't doing there job of burning up the raw fuel. There's a possibility that the cats are already damaged though. You'll just have to drive it hard in upper rpm's to try and see if the fuel will burn out of the cats some more.

 

I just did another hard reset. I really didn't want to when I JUST got everything "readied", haha. Oh well, I still have 6 months until it has to be inspected.

Now I want to investigate the 33 psi fuel pressure. I'm going this evening to have it checked with another gauge, to insure my equipment is correct (may become a habit after this experience). Regarding the fuel pressure though; 33 at the rail could either be a slightly failing regulator or a dramatically failing pump, right?

New Wix fuel filter about 3 months ago...

 

or a very clogged fuel filter

 

harvest, my friend.
Take a deep breathe. You are obsessing. Why in hell do you think you have a bad fuel filter or low fuel pressure? Your original trims showed high fuel, low air, not low fuel. What are your trims doing now? Do you have a laptop computer? If so, why not get at least a trial 30 day OBD scanner that will properly chart trims and satisfy yourself that either they are or are not OK.

 

Haha, actually the fuel pressure issue should have been a new thread. During all of this I did a fuel pressure test with my trusty O'Reillys gauge. I got 33 psi and upon research discovered it should be at least 38psi.

I don't think this has anything to do with the other stuff, just an ancillary disovery.

I am pretty much discounting my fuel trim readings. Now with the replacement MAF and the engine reaching readiness again, the trims are showing even worse! They are obviously meaningless until UG upgrades the software.

 

I wonder what the error budget is on that cheap fuel pressure gauge? Although changing the fuel filter is always a good thing to do, I doubt you need to do it.

Paranoia run in your family? sound like the car needs to be driven.

 

Easy guys, lol.

I have been driving it all day, quite fast at times. The kids had dentist appointments and I had a lot of errands. I am still not home. The car drives wonderful and those engine noises are gone. After I did a hard reset earlier today it only took about 30 miles to show P1111. With the other MAF I was going on 5 days.

I was simply speculating about fuel pressure. But, I will take your ribbing as a sign that I need to "step away" from car repair for a while. I truly enjoy the troubleshooting though. I have really learned a lot since I started this thread.

 

The UG customer service has been amazing. They emailed me an update last night for my iPhone. Driving to work this morning my fuel trim readings were between 0 and +4, mostly right on +2 for long term. The short terms were between -4 and +4 but generally at or within 1 of zero.

This update also corrected my spark advance readings.

They are still working on the closed loop indicator issue because it is still unresponsive.