AEM CAI - loose MAF sensor

[snow05gtRI]

I installed my AEM CAI last weekend and had a friend helping me. he stripped one of the screws holding down the MAF sensor when he was tightening it....basically stripped completely. now the MAF sensor has a LITTLE bit of up-and-down play to it, only when i would make it move, though. should this be of any concern to me (i'm guessing yes...)? and if so, anyone have tips on removing stripped screws? theres basically nothing left at all as far as threads on top go. it is flush into the MAF sensor housing so pliers cant really do it.

 

 

besides the stripped screw the CAI went in very easily. the heat shield is definitely not designed right, real tight fit and the CAI tube sits very close, will probably rub against it on rough roads. I like the sound, as my previous intake was a SPT and it sounded like a vacuum in my engine. the sound of the AEM is much more tame, though still audible. I can actually hear my Borla CBE when I get on it now! I have a stage 1 tune for it from TA, but even before putting the tune on (had to drive down the street...) it felt a little better responding than the SPT. could just be placebo.

 

yes, i'm aware of the gains (or lack there-of) of the AEM. oh well...

[qikslvr]

So did you "strip" the bolt as in removing threads and the bolt turning freely? Or did you snap a bolt off in the AEM?

[snow05gtRI]

phillips head screw, the head of it is now basically a circle.

[qikslvr]

Ahh, okay. You may need to get a set of "easy outs" or broken bolt removers/extractors. It's a little drill bit type thing that has ridges that will dig into whatever metal is left in the head of the screw and back it out. They are available at Sears and most auto parts stores.

Here is a link to the one's at sears. Look at about the middle of the page for pics of individual bits:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/search_10153_12605?keyword=extractor

[caramall2]

The screws are so tiny and the fit so tight, it would be hard to get them out. I had the same concern...I tried to be super careful when installing them. I could easily see why someone could strip them.

[snow05gtRI]

I didn't use the tiny screws that came with the AEM, I used the phillips head ones (fairly large head) that were on my SPT. I didn't have any allen wrenches for those tiny screws

 

I'll check out one of those kits, thanks

[bugblatterbeast]

I didn't use the tiny screws that came with the AEM, I used the phillips head ones (fairly large head) that were on my SPT. I didn't have any allen wrenches for those tiny screws

 

I'll check out one of those kits, thanks

 

you might want to try a pozidrive bit instead. many Japanese cars have screws that look like philips head but they actually have a slightly different bevel angle which causes stripping when you use a philips screwdriver. most of the time you can use the two interchangeably but for the tight screws it is better to use the correct bit.