1996 nissan pickup

[Lostintime123]

I recently bought a 1996 nissan pickup. The MAF sensor was unhooked when I bought it. The truck would not go above 2500 rpm without spitting and sputtering. The PO said it needed a new sensor. Well I hooked it up and the truck ran just fine until I went to drive it to work the other day and I got about 5 mins from the house and the truck started cutting out, when I would push the gas it would act like it was out of gas and sputter down until it died. I just unhooked the MAF sensor and then it ran just from except it wouldn't go above 2500 rpm... Do I need to replace the MAF sensor or is there something else going on?

[Slumpert]

I would say you need to have "Trust" in the PO in that it was bad and the truck ran better off without it then with it..

Before buying anything I would make 100% sure the airbox is completly clear from the inlet through the filter and that you don't have any vacuum leaks. If all that checks out then a new MAF sounds reasonable but I would think you should be seeing a check engine light at this point.

[Lostintime123]

That's what I thought was weird is that there is no check engine light. I'll hook it up again and check it all out... The only hose I have found that it unhooked comes from the top back of the motor to the airbox, this hose is unhook because where it connects to the air box it broken, would this cause this?.... Anyone recommend where to get a MAF sensor from?

[Lostintime123]

Okay I bought a MAF sensor and installed it this evening, the truck starts and runs. I drove it up and down the road a few times. Now it is having trouble idling, I start the truck and it idles fine for a little bit and then it start sputtering and idles really rough and then eventually dies. Also if I just push the gas and hold the peddle in one spot at let's say 2,000 rpms it will stutter every now and then and drop down to 1700 rpms Then back up. Any suggestions? I was thinking bad gas so I dumped some seafoam in the tank and that seemed to help a little but didn't fix the problem.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

try wiggling your wiring harness/wires around the MAF and injectors. Also look for vacuum leaks.

[Lostintime123]

I think it was just dirty, I bought a can of throttle body cleaner and sprayed the crap out of it and now so far its running great...

[cardude123]

The maf sensor cleaner will work great for a little while- however I can almost guarantee it will be back to how it was in a thousand miles or less. You do not need to buy the entire throttle body like the dealerships tell you. Also, have you checked your oxygen sensors? When those go bad, they can cause your maf sensor to be off as well.
I have a D21 as well and got an afh55m-12 maf sensor on sale from http://automammoth.com for $79 and it works great now.

[Lostintime123]

I went ahead and replace the sensor with the one you said. Runs like a champ now