Miscellaneous car care questions...

[DarkThinker]

So today I had some free time, I opened the hood to do some inspection, I was checking fluid levels, loose screws and what not. I was low on wind shield solution, power steering fluid was a bit below the lower level (never added any since I got the car 4 years ago), coolant hasn't been topped off in a long time and I was nearing my oil change period. Naturally I grabbed all the stuff I needed at my local auto store.

My Idle is not as good as it used to be, my car idles best at 1K RPM, now it does 700-800 RPM, I looked into this and I remembered I never gave my car any fuel treatment and it looked like BG44K was the best to go with. I found a deal for a can online ($14) so I am going to be adding that can as soon as I get it and I am going to be looking into how to remove my IAC valve to clean it up with some carb choke cleaner spray. But I'll be looking into how to remove the IAC valve properly, if someone here has some advice that would be nice.

My car has 154K miles on it, I am considering using some high mileage oil treatment when I change my oil, any recommendations for Oil brand and type (Regular, Synthetic, Synthetic-Blend) Oil-filter and such?

Also, I am looking into getting a couple of ramps to use for Oil changes, the guy at the auto store, advised me to opt for a jack and jack stands as it would come in more handy.

I thought about it, it would come more handy, what brand Jack / jack stands would you recommend (2 tons+ )?

 

[brblx]

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_1...ft+Equipment+%26+Jacks

should be fine unless you need a low profile jack. don't bother with any of those little skinny $30 parts store jacks. stands are stands, pretty much, sometimes sears even has a combo with a decent jack and stands.

i wouldn't advise any fuel or oil additives. they're worthless at best.

what kind of car is this? cleaning the throttle at that mileage would be a good idea, but make sure you remove the TPS so as to not damage it. depending on the type of IAC, i'd probably leave it alone, too. if you must clean it, at least use a cleaner that says it's 'electronics safe' (not regular carb cleaner).

and i'd stick with dino oil (any) and any filter that isn't fram (or pennzoil, which is fram).

 

[DarkThinker]

Originally posted by: brblx
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_1...ft+Equipment+%26+Jacks

should be fine unless you need a low profile jack. don't bother with any of those little skinny $30 parts store jacks. stands are stands, pretty much, sometimes sears even has a combo with a decent jack and stands.

I see, but a bit on the pricey side no?

i wouldn't advise any fuel or oil additives. they're worthless at best.

As I said, I never used any such things, but so many people keep telling me about how their cars were running better with them it got me thinking about trying something just to see, at least maybe this will take care of residue that is causing bad idle?

what kind of car is this?

96 Accord

cleaning the throttle at that mileage would be a good idea, but make sure you remove the TPS so as to not damage it. depending on the type of IAC, i'd probably leave it alone, too. if you must clean it, at least use a cleaner that says it's 'electronics safe' (not regular carb cleaner).

Obviously, one wouldn't want to spray stuff on circuits, sensors and what not, but from videos I have been seeing online (Example, it seemed very safe to do, even with non-electronic safe cleaners.
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[ChaosDivine]

Some possibilities :

Coolant flush
Transmission flush
Change spark plugs (maybe plug wires as well)
Change oil and filters (air, cabin air, oil, fuel)
(If you want) SeaFoam in the gas tank and/or crank case
Italian tune-up (just kidding )

 

[DarkThinker]

Damn it, got my car lifted, put it on jack stands, I even found one hell of a deal on Full Synthetic Valvoline ($3.99 / QT), I got my Oil Filter ready, New Washer,Oil Pan and all. Then Once I got my socket to loosen the Oil Pan bolt it won't freaking budge. It seems I need a really long ratchet. I was putting all the force I could put into the bolt, it just was very stiff.

I am thinking of taking the car to my regular place, have them put in my oil and tell them to NOT tighten up the bolt so much again so that I can do things on my own in the future. This sucks

 

[dirtboy]

Why are you putting full synthetic in such a high mileage car?

 

[DarkThinker]

Originally posted by: dirtboy
Why are you putting full synthetic in such a high mileage car?

Damn, you are right, I did some research online and It seems many people who switch to Synthetic end up having leaks from the seals in their high mileage cars.

I don't feel like risking it, I will have to use the GTX Synthetic-Blend I have gotten earlier.
Though I don't see hard evidence that this can cause issues, I better not risk it.

Thanks for the tip

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: dirtboy
Why are you putting full synthetic in such a high mileage car?

Why not?

Anyway, synthetic oil is a winner "fuel treatment" or "injector cleaner" is pretty much snake oil.


Light taps on the ratchet with a hammer will help you to break the oil pan bolt. LIGHT TAPS - not gorilla blows. Just get it broken loose to where you can remove it with your finger. You don't want oil all over your tools.

 

[DarkThinker]

Originally posted by: ja1484

Originally posted by: dirtboy
Why are you putting full synthetic in such a high mileage car?

Why not?

Anyway, synthetic oil is a winner "fuel treatment" or "injector cleaner" is pretty much snake oil.


Light taps on the ratchet with a hammer will help you to break the oil pan bolt. LIGHT TAPS - not gorilla blows. Just get it broken loose to where you can remove it with your finger. You don't want oil all over your tools.

I was thinking about doing that with a hammer, but I was afraid I would break it anyways.

Does the oil pan bolt usually get stuck this much usually or is it a result of the shop I last had my car in using an airtool to tighten it?

I am considering taking it to the shop and telling them to loosen it and re-tighten it lightly by hand.

 

[brblx]

people at places like jiffy lube always overtighten the piss out of drain plugs and oil filters. they also don't change the gasket/crush ring on the plug, so it eventually strips. no one should ever use an air tool on a drain plug, though, if you see that you should smack the dumbass that's doing it.

you're not going to hurt it. put the proper size 6pt socket on it and use a breaker bar or hammer if you have to...just make sure you're turning it the right way. if it's got an aluminum washer, you should replace it periodically.

and that craftsman jack is not very expensive. $70 for a decent floor jack is a good deal.

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: DarkThinker
I was thinking about doing that with a hammer, but I was afraid I would break it anyways.

Does the oil pan bolt usually get stuck this much usually or is it a result of the shop I last had my car in using an airtool to tighten it?

I am considering taking it to the shop and telling them to loosen it and re-tighten it lightly by hand.

Most oil pan plugs are supposed to be torqued to a certain spec...my truck for example is supposed to be torqued to 30 lb. ft.

99.9% of the time you can use the german torque wrench (gudenteight) and be just fine.