Please give credit where credit is due! This DIY was completed ENTIRELY by the hardest working VW Vortex moderator on the site!! Gary Thompson, Ph.D. - vortex ID VGRT6, email address vgrt6@yahoo.com. Please make sure to say thanks to Gary, and if you ever see him at a bar, buy em a beer. These DIY's are more complete than anything Bentley has ever written!!
I've been following the debate about whether the VR6 and 2.0 MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensors are the same and thus interchangeable for a while now. Before I begin, let me say that I realize that VW and Bosch part #s for the sensors are different and that the MAF housings are different sizes. This thread is about whether or not the actual sensors inside the housings are the same. I had two threads about this going a while back, but no one responded with the info I needed.
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=740006
and
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=735944
You can check these out for some background info.
While reading through some of the earlier threads on the VR6/2.0 MAF debate, I
came across a post by someone (SSheikh, I believe) that claimed that the actual
sensors inside the housing had the same Bosch part numbers. Unfortunately, the
part number was not given, so we had to take his word for it. Not that I didn't
trust a fellow Vortexer, but I wanted to see for myself that the two numbers
were the same. So here's what I did.
I removed the MAF sensor from the housing in my 1999.5 Jetta VR6 to get the part numbers. This yielded:
On the
ouside of the MAF housing tube:
VW #: 071 906 461B
Bosch #: 0 280 218 017
On the MAF
sensor itself:
Bosch #: 00C 2G2 032
Serial #: 868 303 A
I then removed the MAF sensor from the housing in my friends 2000 Golf GL 2.0.
This yielded:
On the
ouside of the MAF housing tube:
VW #: 06A 906 461A
Bosch #: 0 280 218 002
On the MAF
sensor itself:
Bosch #: 00C 2G2 032
Serial #: 971 151 A
Note that the Bosch part #'s of the actual sensors for the VR6 and 2.0 are exactly the same! Therefore, it appears that identical sensors are used and that differences in air flow due to differences in housing diameter must be accounted for by the ECU after the fact.
To double check the MAF sensor part # (and to replace the VR6 MAF sensor that just went on my car), I ordered a 2.0 MAF from a dealership. It just showed up, so the first thing I did was take it apart to look at the numbers. I found:
On the
ouside of the MAF housing tube:
VW #: 06A 906 461A
Bosch #: 0 280 218 002
On the MAF
sensor itself:
Bosch #: 00C 2G2 032
Serial #: 292 18 2 5
It appears that VW is charging two drastically different prices for the same MAF sensor packaged in different diameter housings. Why they're doing it, I have no idea (maybe something to do with the 2.0 emission recall?).
So, if your VR6 MAF goes bad, don't spend the $200-$300 that VW wants for a VR6 MAF. Buy a 2.0 MAF for less than $50, remove the sensor from the housing and put it in the VR6 housing. FYI, you'll need a VALID VIN# from a car with a 2.0L engine to purchase a 2.0 MAF from a dealer.
EDIT: Since this original post, it has been discovered that the VIN needed
to purchase the cheap 2.0 MAF needs to be from either a 1999 or 2000 2.0 vehicle
with an AEG engine. These are the only 2.0 vehicles that use the cheap MAF.
These vehicles can be identified by the 10th digit of the VIN - it should be
either an "X" (1999) or "Y" (2000).
EDIT: On 8/4/03, I realized that the 24v VR6 MAF has the same housing VW
part# - 071-906-461B - and the same sensor Bosch part# - F 00C 2G2 032 - as the
12v VR6 MAF. This means that 24v owners can also purchase a cheap 2.0 MAF for
use in their cars.
Golf/Jetta 2.0 1999-2003 (AEG/ALL)
List $ 95.00
VW #: 06A 906 461A
Bosch #: 00C 2G2 032
Golf/Jetta VR6 2000-2003 (ALL)
List $ 346.00
VW #: 071 906 461B
Bosch #: 00C 2G2 032
Golf/Jetta 1.8t 2000-2001 (AWD)
List $ 215.00
VW #: 06A 906 461D
Bosch #: 00C 2G2 040
Golf/Jetta 1.8t 2002 (AWP)
List $ 363.00
VW #: 06A 906 461L
Bosch #: 00C 2G2 049