thanks for the post.

Why would the MAF sensor cause the surging when the TCC is engaged?

I thought for sure my problem was the transmission too!!!!!!!!!!!! I dont know but I took my bonne to Cottman transmission in wilkes-barre pa and told him about the surging problem, he hooked up the latest obd-2 computer tool from snap-on. He said he just got it and he drove around with me holding it in the passenger seat so he could read the computer screen. When it was surging he told me the transmission was doing what the computer was telling it to do. To an untrained eye he said it looked like the TCC but he told me it was something telling the TCC to surge. Like it was hunting for something, he said check out the engine. I started looking at my engine then. Dismissing that the tranny was the problem. First I did the plugs- NGK TR55'* ( no better), #2 new Autolite plug wires (still surges), #3 new EGR valve ( still surging), #4 figured I'd clean the throttle body and to clean that you have to take out the MAF so I cleaned that first and after I saw the black stuff running off the MAF wires I put it back on and test drove it and EUREKA the surging was gone. I never did take off and clean the throttle body.

But I swear to you I thought it was a transmission problem and was almost gonna take it to another tranny place for a second opinion. I guess the guy at Cottman saved me alot of money as he could of sold me a torque convertor or a flush or something. By the way he spent about an hour with my car and didn't charge me a cent.

HI Mark,

Thanks a bunch for that information. I am going to do what you did and see if it works. I now have 2 Bonnies doing the same thing..... How do I take out the MAF sensor? Does anyone have any simple instructions?

Cheers,

Andrew

There are two screws hodling the MAF sensor(its a black square shaped box about 2x2 with three wires going in the side of it) in the top of the throttle body, you need a T-20 size star bit. Just pull it out of the throttle body and you will see the two wires inside the opening that air passes through. Like I said dont get anything on the sensor except ELECTRONICS CLEANER any petroleum based cleaners will ruin it. I got the cleaner at Advance auto parts, it was CRC QD ELECTRONIC CLEANER , GOOD LUCK. P.*. make sure the MAF is not energized when you spray it.

Thanks, I will do this with the cleaner you recommend. How do I make sure the MAF is not energized when I spray it???

disconnect the battery will do it.

thanks

I had the same surging a few weeks after i bought my car a year ago. It had just over 85k on it at the time and it was under warranty by the dealer. They replaced the torque convertor and the TCC and no surging for about 15k. Now it does it again all the time at 130k. It does it going up inclines and even with the cruise set. My friend said he has test drove bonnevilles that did the same thing. His moms car, a 98 olds 88, same engine/tranny, and about the same miles as my car, has never had this problem.

But now along with the surging, i am getting a code for transmission component slippage. Also a few times when it has tried to downshift into first, it misses completely and just revs.

Thanks for the info. I think you actually have 2 different problems there. I was going to clean the MAF sensor on the weekend but ran out of time. Guess its a job for this coming weekend. I did dump a can of Tranny fix in it, and it shifts better now, but still surges in TCC lockup.

I really hope its the MAF sensor.

Cheers,

I've had that happen as well, sometimes it feels like I was able to trick the computer by stabbing the throttle for a downshift just as it wanted to upshift to 3rd, got it lost somewhere between 2nd and 3rd and didn't know where to go.

I will do the MAF cleaning as well so that we can see how many cars we can get fixed with this solution. I think my car also may need a tranny fluid change, if I do that too we can see if the fluid will stay clean longer if there is no surging.