MAF/VAM?

[KurtPB]

i see these thrown around and i'm going to be putting an '88 TC 2.3 into an '88 lx stang and i was curious about these. i have no idea which is which. if i understand right, the VAM is in the intake(so where's the MAF?) and i need this to run? i planned on making a "cold-air" intake and this had me stumped. any help?

 

[RustBucket]

The VAM (vane air meter) is actually the forerunner of the MAF(mass air flow). The 2.3Ts came from the factory with a VAM located between the filter box and the turbo inlet. It uses a spring loaded door to translate incoming air quantity to the ECU. Simple, functional, but restrictive and not always accurate.

Yes you need it to run.

You can have a VAM or a MAF, but not at the same time. Pre-91 N/A cars used a speed density EFI setup and therefore had neither VAM nor MAF. Instead air intake was calculated based on manifold vacuum(using a MAP - Manifold Absolute Pressure) and RPM.

Did this help or only confuse you more?

 

[Shinlee]

yes it did both for me...

can you rig a maf on a 2.3t or do you have to use a vam, cuz i hear vams are hard to come by

 

[RustBucket]

VAMs aren't hard too hard to come by.

To run a MAF, you'll need to do a little EEC programming(or find someone to do it for you). There are some changes that need to be made in the ECU so the computer properly interprets the signal coming from the MAF.

 

[KurtPB]

The VAM (vane air meter) is actually the forerunner of the MAF(mass air flow). The 2.3Ts came from the factory with a VAM located between the filter box and the turbo inlet. It uses a spring loaded door to translate incoming air quantity to the ECU. Simple, functional, but restrictive and not always accurate.

Yes you need it to run.

You can have a VAM or a MAF, but not at the same time. Pre-91 N/A cars used a speed density EFI setup and therefore had neither VAM nor MAF. Instead air intake was calculated based on manifold vacuum(using a MAP - Manifold Absolute Pressure) and RPM.

Did this help or only confuse you more?

so you're saying my '88 2.3t has a map? my the turbo dodges use maps but they measure barometric preasure. i dont know if that's the same, though. it also sounds like i have a VAM, though, because when i took air cleaner box out, there was a lil' spinning-door style thingy underneath it that was plugged into something.

 

[RustBucket]

You're 88 N/A Stang does indeed have a MAP. The door in your airbox is just a diverter to run warm air into the engine when it's cold. There's a flexible hose that runs from the exhaust manifold to the airbox (you may or may not still have this as they tend to disappear quickly) You don't have a VAM. The only 2.3's to receive a VAM were factory turbocharged.

The TC your donor motor came out of has/had a VAM.

When Ford went to MAFs in '91 they did the same thing Dodge did and used what was the MAP sensor to measure barometric pressure (referred to as a BAP sensor). It only checks it on startup and uses that measurement until it's stopped and started again.


Clear as mud?

 

[KurtPB]

alright, i understand the whole deal now. so where would i find this... VAM?

 

[RustBucket]

Physical location on the car or local parts house availability?

 

[KurtPB]

physical location on the car.

 

[RustBucket]

between the air box and the turbo inlet.

 

[KurtPB]

ah, i thought you said that was the diverter(the thing that spins).

 

[RustBucket]

Okay a picture is worth a thousand words right?

Here's a thousand for ya. This is a VAM

 

[KurtPB]

thanks. now i know how someone would mount it into a custom intake.

 

[RustBucket]

Cool! Glad I could help, then confuse the crap out of you, and finally help again.