Hi, (NOTE THIS IS VERY LONG, sorry)

I have a 95 auto with about 130k miles on it. Since I am down south at the moment, the weather starts up nice early allowing me to start doing some car stuff now. What I want to do is take a few days (or longer if needed) and basically fix up my car. It has served me well, but it could do with some massive maitience and repairs. I am listing what I attempting to do and if any of you have any advice for stuff I should or shouldn't do it, it would be very appreciated. Yes I have read many posts about this stuff, and searched the best I can (the search function is still impossible to use since I can search one word max).

I have been keeping up on reg maintience the best I can (oil, filters, tran flush, etc) but I still am probably lacking in care. I want to clean and get rid of as much carbon, gunk, etc as I can.

My Goals (they are pretty obvious but not very specific):

1. Have the car generally run better: less hard shifting, better idling(no herky jerky stuff), etc
2. Fix the starting issues as it starts one of of two times on a cold start and idles rough (have cleaned TB but didn't help much)
3.Extend the life of my car.
4. Make the appearance look better.

Mechanical

1. Replace EGR and clean hoses (have gotten code before)
2. Replace Knock Sensor (check surrounding wires?)
3. While doing next oil change, use engine flush (does that actually help drain old buildup?) fluid then change oil
4. Change fuel filter
5. Change starter as my car starts crappy now(sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't on first turn).
6. Put some automatic transmission additive to make it shift smoother?
7. Top off and check remaining fluids
8. Check Tire pressure and general wear(i have 2k 17's what is the best PSI for best ride)
9. Replace antenna mast (take apart motor from inside trunk it looks like)
10. Clean TB
11. Fuel Injector cleaner ( I did this 5k ago, is there a better way to clean them out).
12. Replace Lightbulbs
13. Get rid of squeaks and rattles, doublecheck using roadtest to find areas that rattle and see if screws are tight, etc.
14.Wiper Blade replace

Appearance

1.Clean and detail car (duh)
2. Remove front seats to clean and vacuum carpets (use carpet shampoo vacuum. Soak headrests and mats.
3. Front windshield scratched, either buff or replace
4. Small rust spot from past winter, in front of door, but behind front wheel. Use rust repair
5. Use 3M tape to repair door jams from windnoise and leaking (similiar to 5th gen TSB)
6. Use touchpaint and clearcoat to repair damaged areas
7. Replace interior plastic parts near shifter as scratched (just the surround by the radio and the shifter).
8. Replace damaged ebrake boot

Later On

Mods: SE Gauges, chrome rings,Ebrake and Auto **** (levoc?), foglights, 97 grille, intake, y-pipe


Yes it was long, but any comments or advice is appreciated. Thanks.

 

sounds good, as for fuel injector cleaner, see if you can find a local station that carries 100+ octane gas. My local sunoco does, and about 3-4 gallons of that, mixed with 93/94 octane fill up did the trick on my 90 300ZX, might be worth a shot.

Also check/clean your air filter, spark plugs, spark plug wires (check for corrosion, can easily cause idle issues). check idle air adjustor connector/vacuum hoses.

Check for fuel leaks, look at all clamps for moisture, if some is found, use baby powder to isolate it if possible.

Finally, you might want to give your in-cabin air filter a look, especially if you haven't changed it, or haven't changed it in awhile, could be really nasty.

Hope this helps.

 

just to correct 2 things you said that are incorrect chickan:

1) spark plug wires - max's dont have any

2) cabin in filter - 4 Gen max dont have cabin in filters

Other then that everything sounds good...

Tune up (replace all filters, spark plugs etc...)
balance tires, rotate
oil change
transmission service
check for codes on the ECU - fix what needs to get fixed, no need to go around replaceing random parts that you think might needs to be replaced because that can get verrrry expensive without having the need to.

 

Thanks for the replies. So I shouldn't replace the EGR or knock sensor (have gotten codes but not in a few months). I thought they were both cheap anad fairly straight forward to replace?

 

KS aint cheap, unless your rich... $90 on ebay is the cheapest you'll find it... Also I dont think replacing the starter has anything to do with your car not starting on the first time you crank it... Could be other stuff?.... All the starter does is turn the motor and if its doing that I think its fine....

Also take out your IACV and clean it... Fixes any erratic idle you may have.....

Here's a before and after of my IACV...


Remember if you do that to take off the brown connection holded on by 3 screws and clean inside there too...

 

what did you use to clean your iacv ?
and how long did it take you to clean the iacv

 

TB cleaner

 

To clean the injectors... there's a product called "44K" made by BG Industries, you can get it at plenty of dealerships... call the parts departments. Also "SEAFOAM" its a great product to clean carbon off the EGR valve, IDLE Control Valve, ant TB. Good Luck

 

Oh and it will probably take you like 15minutes to clean the IACV, All you need is a 12mm and 10mm socket, theres one 10mm screw holding a bracket than you need to take off thats in the way of a 12mm screw... you'll get what im saying when you look at it.

 

If you are still on the stock battery, you will need a new one in the next 10-30,000 miles.

 

Thanks for the replies! Any more ideas on the rough start?