This was a few weeks ago and I'm already heading towards 101,000! Anyways, my car is doing great but I believe it can do even better. Rush Limbaugh was talking on the radio (yes I know he is a jerk) about BG products and 44K. So I looked it up and it was basically a Fuel System Cleaner that you have to pay a dealership to do because of some stupid reason. Anyways, I have heard this works to improve mpg but it costs like $200 including labor. Give me some advices! Thanks!



P.S. Sorry the picture was blurry. I was driving at night around some twisty roads and it was hard to use my camera phone and drive at the same time. Unfortunately I got a speeding ticket later on.

 

cool I am at 102K miles now myself.

Do You have any weird sounding engine noises when at idle?

 

No doubt my car isn't as good as it was in 2005. On the outside to the untrained eye, it looks marvelous. On the inside (interior) it looks brand new). Under the hood it looks great too. However, some things that are an issue:

-Idle is decent but louder than when it was new for sure
-I replaced the spark plugs myself about 8000 miles ago and that helped
-I hate how the back hatch rattles a little at stops but no biggy with the music on
-My mpg hits 30 mpg only on long trips when I am in cruise control
-City/winter driving mpg have been as low as 20 mpg

I don't plan on getting rid of it since it is the first year of a new model from a new company (05 tc). I'd like to get the engine back in top shape but not at the cost of lots of $$$. Not sure if those fuel system cleaners work on cars. But I will say that on my Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle, it definitely works big time. But that is a smaller engine and the gas tank is between my legs lol.

 

hatch rattle - get the shim/seal for the oil drain plug and put 4 (2 on each screw) for the rubber stop on the body rails in the hatch and problem pretty much solved. I figured that out a while back.

 

hey necro.. congrats on the milestone! about the 44k, you don't have to pay the dealer, that's the entire package where they clean the throttle body, disconnect the fuel lines and run the engine on 44k only, to clean the valves, fuel injectors, and combustion chamber. the easier way is to get a can of 44k for about $20 (can find it at bgprod.com, they have a locator), have your gas tank at 1/4 tank, pour in the 44k, then fill up the tank. The only difference is you'll have to manually clean your throttle body throat and plate yourself. which isn't difficult, just spray some crc (yeah i like that brand) throttle body cleaner on a shop rag then clean the throat and plate (both sides), the reason we don't spray the throttle body cleaner down the throat, is we have a plastic intake manifold that can be melted by the throttle cleaner.. so it's safer to put it on a rag and manually clean..

poof! i just saved you like $200+ !

i've used 44k and it is IMO the best out there. oh and you should get an oil change about 2 tanks after the 44k is out of the system, it sometimes leaves a residue on the cylinder walls that mixes with the oil. always good to get it out of there after it's done cleaning. my last time i used this cleaner i jumped up about 4-5mpg and usually need it about every 20-25k miles.

hope that helps ya!

 

Man, your first paragraph was good and then you started talking about throttle body throat and plate and I have no idea where those are even at haha! Are they accessible somewhere? I know how to change spark plugs, fluids, air filter, battery, and wipers. But other than that, I don't mess with under the hood haha.

Is a regular fuel system cleaner I can buy and just pour in the gas tank worth it?

 

I have no idea what you just said LOL!

 

This video shows how this guy cleaned a throttle body on a Toyota car. I might try this if it gets warmer. I think he used CRC spray like you described.

 

lol.. and here i was trying .. you take off the engine cover, the same one you took off for access to the spark plugs, you get a big pair of pliers to open up the clamp that's holding the air intake tube to the throttle body, it's fun putting it back on, having to get the pliers just right to open that up while you push the rubber air intake hose onto the throat of the throttle body. but it's worth it. last time i was cussing at it.. lol.. but the throttle response is good now!

the throttle body/plate on our car is electronic, it's driven by an electric motor. clean everything you can on the plate, throat, then have someone turn the car to the "on" position but don't start it. have them push the gas pedal down, you'll see the throttle plate open, then while they hold the gas down, clean the other side. then when you're done, have them release the gas pedal, turn the car off. and wait about 30 min, to be safe, don't want an intake backfire if the fumes of the throttle body cleaner ignite, so let them air out for a bit..

does that make more sense?

oh and the fuel cleaner, I personally think it's worth it. maybe i'm getting some bad gas in this state where I am, but it seems every 20k miles my mileage drops, idle gets a little rough, and in the 44k fuel cleaner goes.. then no more problems.. I tried everything before, chevron w/techron cleaner, stp, 3m.. nothing works as well as this 44k.. you might have to search around some dealers/shops won't sell you a can of it, they want you to come in to get the $200+ "fuel induction system cleaning" instead.. really dumping it in the tank is about the same effect. and $20 is a better price, i think

 

yeah his engine is different, our throttle body is towards the firewall, back of the engine bay. his was really easy to get to! wow..

but.. you don't spray the throttle body cleaner into the throat at all on ours. his was an aluminum intake, ours is plastic. plastic + cleaner = melted intake manifold.. not good. so on ours you spray onto a shop rag, then clean it that way (plus my above post on how to clean with an electronic throttle plate). but you're getting an idea, just have to translate it to our car, because it's just a little different, same procedure, just different precautions.

oh he was using MAF sensor cleaner, um.. it's not as strong as throttle body cleaner, to get out the carbon and gunk build up. for some reason our engine likes to build up carbon gunk onto the throttle plate. I've never seen it like this on any other car i've had. Might be because we don't have an EGR valve, so the crankcase vapors don't get completely eliminated and they settle on the throttle plate.. maybe..

 

Ha! After I wrote that I had a feeling it might not visually make sense. I'll take a picture. It did wonders for my stupid '04/5.

 

I bought 2 bottles of Techron Chevron FSC today at Advance Auto Parts for $18. I put one bottle in today and hopefully I see an improvement. I will try to do the throttle clean when it stops snowing outside haha. I wish I still had a garage or I would do it now. I also think it is the tires too. I remember one time I got like 19 mpg but found out my front tires were at 15 psi. I saw they are supposed to be at 32 psi but my dad taught me how to put air in my tires now. I never knew because I tried when I was younger and wound up losing air in the tire from not putting the cap on correctly.

 

hey guys I want to learn how to change the spark plugs of my 05 Tc somebody teach me please!

 

1. Get spark plugs. I got the Denso's top of the line at store.
2. Open hood and then take off plastic cover off engine block.
3. Disconnect battery.
4. Unplug the connectors to the top of each spark plug.
5. Carefully and with a tool you can get at store unscrew the spark plugs. They are usually very tight but they come lose. DO NOT strip the threads while taking them out or putting them in.
6. Pull out spark plug carefully and do not scratch inside of cylinder chamber.
7. Put new spark plugs in. No need to change the gap in them. They come with the correct gap.
8. Put everything back together.
9. Plug back battery and start engine.
10. Engine will be idling crazy low at least for me. I nearly had it stall and thought it was the battery. I wound up getting a new battery because I was scared but I realized later it was the computer chip working for the first 30 miles or so to use the new spark plugs correctly.

Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong lol. I am a DIY in training.

For me when I did it last year, it was my first time on my own car. I did it before on old beat up cars when I was a teenager. For the scion it took me about 40 minutes because I was really slow and careful about it all haha.

 

congrats on 100k!

 

this all looks correct, just added some extras for anyone else reading this.