My check engine light is on, I put a K&N intake on it a couple years ago and it runs fine. Need to get a smog soon and i'm pretty sure the last guy passed me by looking the other way. Anyways, there's a slight air crack between the plastic tubing that holds the MAF and the actual K&N filter (the screws), is this a problem? I also cleaned the MAF w/ CRC cleaner and now the lights back on. The diagnostic from a year ago was Lean bank 1 and 2 I think. Any suggestions that would prevent uneeded repairs?

 

Are you running an edge programmer with it? if so it say in the manual that some cai's can cause a lean condition.

 

Any and most vacuum leaks would throw P071 and P074 codes, and give you a lean mix. If it's not that, then it COULD be air entering/leaving near the crack in the tubing (try some silicone sealant there). Weak spark (worn plugs) and less than optimal fuel filter would contribute. How's the idle? And is there any sluggishness at startup (that would mean check your IAC valve and tubing). A lot of ghost to chase.

 

Yes the crack can cause this symptom. I'd replace it. If the engine is getting unmetered air it likely is lean because the PCM relies on MAF signal to determine how much fuel is needed. A relearn will also be necessary once you've taken care of the crack.

 

The idle is fine, the start up is fine, no pulses. I will try and seal the air leak, and am also thinking about the fuel filter, I have 118k on it and to my knowledge it hasn't been replaced...also smog wise would clearing the fault code with an obd scanner work?

btw is a 98 4.2 v6

 

If the problem has been corrected, the light will go off by itself after a while. If you disconnect the battery gnd terminal the system will reset itself and light will go out. If it comes back on - the problem isn't fixed.