Took it in to have the throttle body, intake and combustion chamber/valves cleaned. He has a pressurized atomizer made specifically for it (as opposed to pouring Seafoam into the brake vacuum line while someone revs the engine) so it can all be done with the car idling. Plus it does a better job. Anyway, he tosses me the keys and tells me to take it on the freeway to blast the rest of the stuff out. I told him he could do that and drive around 4-5 miles with a cloud of smoke behind him.

Anyway, he comes back and says "wow, your car is a lot quicker than I expected it to be, it pulls really good". Said he hit the gas getting on the freeway at 60 and looked down and was over 85. Considering he actually does performance work on cars and has build Olds, Pontiac and Chevy engines for street/strip use, it isn't like he's never been in a quick car before so I was kind of surprised when he said that.

My car definitely idles smoother, plus it is up to around 700 vs 650. Throttle tip-in feels sharper too, more responsive.

It is amazing what an engine decarb will do.

How much did it set you back? I haven't been to a mechanic in.......6-7 years. I don't know anyone with such a machine...hmmmm

Scott...it is so true though....matter of fact...for as long as I have had my car...the power that the 5.5's have always seems to surprise me when I decide to mash on the pedal a bit here in there.....it's like you are going 40 one sec and you look down and you are creeping on 90......funny....one of the first things I did when I got the car was buy a good radar detector!

x2. I couldn't even go WOT for a while after I got my Max. Coming from a 7th gen Celica with 125 ft/lbs of torque, it took me a while to adjust.
Kind of OT, but what's the best vacuum line to seafoam the engine from? I need to do that.

It was about $100 for decarbonation and fuel injector cleaning. I had him run a full scan on the engine too (goes far beyond what a code reader can do). Everything checks out good and in spec. Not bad for 174,750 miles on her.

Aww....that's nothing....relatively speaking...she's still practically brand new...

kinda off the top...
but can anyone clarify.
from what i know, each time seafoam doesn't the mfg recommend changing the spark plugs to prevent them from not staying fouled up.

Use the master brake line hose, just disconnect and very slowly suck up 1/3 of the can idle will need to be keep up or you will stall out (sometimes best to have two people) ... turn off the car for 5 mins. and then restart keep the engine revs between 2000-2500 to blow off most of the smoke and then take the car for a little drive to blow off the balance of the smoke ... I would also suggest go for an oil change after using seafoam.

love that feeling. My car's had a bad ECU for a couple years now that just finally bit the dust. New ECU idles and drives so much smoother than that silly ECU that was always trying to run at 11:1-13:1

On a side note: idle is supposed to be 625 +/- 50 or something like that, so it sounds like yours is getting further out of spec

You only need an oil change if you drop 1/3 of the can into the oil. If you're just sucking it into the brake booster, you'll be fine not changing the oil.

Are you talking about SeaFoam possibly fouling up plugs, and that being the reason you should replace them?

If so, I've used SeaFoam on three cars without changing the spark plugs. No issues whatsoever.

And honestly, SeaFoam in the brake booster shouldn't be done more than every 60-75k miles. There's a slick coating on our engine from the factory to keep things lubricated that SeaFoam will eat through if it's over-used. Using SeaFoam too often can actually shorten the life of our engines.

Thats for a manual, 4AT is 675 +/- 50. Idle is smoother at 700 than at 650 in my car.

I had what reads like the identical service at my dealership last Fall. It was a BG Products, upper-engine service, for the same price. Something similar, I think, with a high pressure delivery of chemicals directly into the fuel rail. Unfortunately, the IM cleaning process whacked my throttle body. But BG Products totally manned up and payed for the TB replacement.

I'm still planning on Seafoam this summer.

Good that your mechanic knows what to say to make you happy. That's important to feel good about the guy who works on your car.

If you already had an engine decarb, then using seafoam would seem like overkill IMO.

Actually, he didn't tap into the fuel line, but ran it right into the intake. The nozzle for the atomizer is bent to allow it to fit in between the throttle body and the intake hose.

I guess my car is the first Maxima he has driven with the VQ35, I know he's worked on some 4th gens. Good mechanic too, best trouble shooter I've run across. He isn't dealership expensive but he isn't exactly cheap either. However, he knows as a detailer, I pretty much only have rain days to get my car worked on and he's really good about accommodating me with a day or two of notice.

I trust my mechanic, too. Been going to him for 3 years now. It's a good thing to find a mechanic you believe in.

You're the detail guy, Scott... what do you think of Maguiar's NXT? I just used it on the Maxima, and am extremely pleased.

My brother found this guy back in the early 90s so our family has been going to him nearly 20 years now. Usually gives us a break in price (he actually asked me yesterday if what he was charging me was okay!) because we've been using his shop for so long. He even helped me with a transmission issue in my old Accord over the phone (just needed to take slack out of the cable between the throttle and transmission, told me exactly how even though I offered to bring it in). True car guy too and doesn't mind me picking his brain while I am there.

Meguiars NXT is a really good consumer level product, Meguiars has some killer professional products too. Mostly I use Optimum Opti-Seal on customer's cars. All you have to do is spritz a bit on a foam pad, spread on the paint and that's it. Clears itself out without having to buff off. Looks really, really good.

Detailing is your career, so it's good to have an expert's opinion confirm that assessment. Thanks.

So where does the seafoam go?

and bty zaino for the win on polishing the car

Exhaust?

Hey Scott, what do you usually do from the start to detail the outside of a car? What products to you use throughout, before the Opti-seal?

In the gas tank, into the crankcase just prior to changing the oil and into the combustion chamber. Take your pick or all three.

If you like paying mark-up and shipping for repackaged Duragloss products, I guess. I've tried Zaino and I don't get the hype at all. Plus, while it may last a long time, it doesn't seem to protect very well.

You are much better off putting your money into a good DA polisher (Porter Cable 7424 XP or a Meguiars G110 v2) pads and polishes than spending a lot of money on a wax or sealant. The real shine comes from removing swirls and other defects than it does with what you use to protect the paint.

Trust me, no wax is going to fix this:



Meguiars #105 compound and #205 polish. No wax, no sealant.



jowo9-I go inside to out. That way no vinyl or carpet cleaners get on freshly polished and waxed paint.

Here is a detailing thread I made and is stickied in our detailing forum:

http://forums.maxima.org/detailing/5...hour-less.html

what I meant was, there was a post that said seafoam does not make it into the oil when it gets sucked up by the brake booster. So if it doesn't end up in the oil... where does it go?

It goes through the intake manifold and into the combustion chambers and helps burn carbon off the back sides of the valves, top of the piston and the combustion chamber, then out the exhaust. You get a lot of carbon build up on the valves and it can hurt airflow and make them not seat properly if it gets really bad.

Hi Scott,

Please take a look at this contraption sold by 3M. Do you think your mechanic used something similar? One component goes in the intake and has the curved tube to hook up at the entrance of the throttle body. The video explains it much better. I would love to hear your comments.

3M Do-It-Yourself Fuel System
http://www.shop3m.com/60455031587.html

Thanks,
- Vikas

No, it was a metal cylinder than you pour the cleaner into, screw on a top and then hook up to an air compressor but the idea of the 3M product seems similar. The one my mechanic used probably atomizes the cleaner better but the 3M one still probably does a good job.

Its funny how everybody is suprised the first time they experience the power of the 3.5... most people think Im an idiot when I say that the car has good pull, until they actually experience it they have no idea

After I romped on it at a 20 roll during the test drive, I knew I was getting a 5.5 gen Maxima instead of a 6th gen V6 Accord.

I've just picked up my Maxima a couple of weeks ago, it does pull well but I think I've got some plugged pre-cats, Power really seems to taper off above 5K...Hopefully the Cattman/NWP/JWT Parts will address the issue.

+1 on that. My car impressed a STi owner as well. Its not just a grocery getter anymore to him