The shock tower is where your strut/spring for the left front wheel attaches to the body. Will post a depiction for clarity. If you do end up needing a new air flow sensor I can definitely get one for way less then $233. Shipping to Trinidad will definitely not be more than the $100 difference that you are paying for the part. I think I may even have a new one at work that I was using to test for faults in other cars. Let me know.
Also posted a pic of the ground that you would be looking for this morning.
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I got 0.68v @ 1500rpm and 1.74v @ 2500rpm. Engine cant idle too low because it will stall. Looks like i may need a maf sensor. Do you think this cone filter might have done the damage?
Someone checked out one at a foriegn use dealer for $800=$128US with guarantee. What you think?

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The .68 volts sounds way too low. I got the same reading with key on engine off and no airflow at all. No wonder it won't idle. Yes that style of filter is not good with the heated wire type mass air flow sensor that you have. They tend to not only allow more tiny foreign material past the filter element then a good quality paper or woven filter but they also draw in some of the oil that the filter is sprayed with. Not sure I understood what the "Someone checked out one at a foreign use dealer for $800=$128US with guarantee" meant? You found a good used mass air flow sensor for that price?

 

A friend called the used car dealer and ask about the sensor. They told him $800, but i havent seen the sensor yet. Iwill only have time to check it myself on thursday for the earliest.

 

Well...I got a good maf sensor to try but no big difference. The only change is that it started on its own after about 12sec of cranking and it did not run rough at idle. When you pull the throttle cable however, the engine bogs down and backfires.
One thing I noticed tonight was that if I remove the plug wire from #1 plug there is a lot of current jumping from #4coil pack to the valve cover and if I remove #3plug wire there is current jumping from #2 coil pack to the valve cover. With every thing connected I can see no current leaks. Is this normal? Those Plug wires and coil packs are new(less than one month)
When the engine is running the check engine light is on but the last two mechanics I went by to have it scanned got no response from the vehicle.

Any more help would be nice!

 

Darn it limpy, I thought we were on a good track there.[:@] At least some improvement has been made in that it will idle now. The spark jumping from the coil when respective plug is removed is definitely not normal. I do this often when checking for a bad wire and they never arc to the valve cover. When you try to rev the engine and it bogs and backfires is the same arcing present? May have to try in the evening so you can see the spark though. A lite misting of water on the coils should agravate the arcing if there. A good coil should not arc even when damp like this. When you say "no response when scanned" does that mean that their scanner was unable to communicate with your PCM or that it did communicate but no codes were set?

 

I thought so too babyhuey. I was really hoping the maf sensor would have worked.
Where the scan is concerned their scanner was unable to communicate. The display was "no response from vehicle please try again". But they prefer to use the data link behind the left shock tower although one mech tried the link under the dash but with no results. When I told the other mech why not use the port under the dash he said "that is for something else"...?
Checking to see if there is arcing when I rev sounds like a very good idea. Well see how that goes. One thing though the engine backfire comes from the air intake. Is there any difference between that & when it is heard from the exhaust?

 

Babyhuey, can you think of a reason why i have to block air from going through the intake for the engine to start? What goes on in there when that vaccum is created(i feel my palm being sucked in) that causes it to start?

 

Well Babyhuey,
The problem was in the fuel pump housing. I took it off the tank and had a good look at it; there was an o ring that was not fitted properly. So I fixed it and carefully put it back up. Then pressurized the fuel system by grounding one of those pins in the diagnostic connector (don’t know how to call that pin) and then turn the key. Car started in no time, and its working good now...no backfire and no bog down. But the cel is still on. Hope I get no more problems though.

I want to thank you Babyhuey for all your help and all the best to you. I've learnt allot

 

I am glad you were able to resolve the problem limpy. Funny, I was thinking on the problem you were having this weekend while I was up chopping wood and thought maybe should go back to when the problem started after pulling the fuel pump to clean the filter. Kind of ruled that out as I fiqured that if there was no fuel pump operation it would not even run. I too learned something from this problem. The CEL may be on from having key on with MAF disconnected. That will set several MAF and IAT codes. Try pulling the negative battery cable and touching removed cable end to positive post for 10 seconds. This will not only clear the codes but will reset Keep Alive Memory in the PCM and get fuel trims back to neutral.