VQ engines are considered to be very high on the motor totem pole and rightfully so. Great quality allowes these engines to run for well over the 100K threshhold. I own a 2003 I35 with 142K on it and it runs great save for the dreaded rattling/ticking noise which seems to be a common curse on this community. Also my steering wheel communicates TOO MUCH of the roads bumps and imperfections and i dont know what to do to fix this. I bought the car at an auction with 138K on it. From the way it looked to my untrained eye it has been abused in a lease by a negligent owner (i still have nightmares from the way the oil looked on the dipstick before i changed it). My question is this, im planning to keep the car for better or worse so is it worth it to spend the money on tune up and a transmission fluid change. If yes then what specifically should i do ( spark plugs , O2 sensor , MAF sensor,)? Also i'd apreciate reccomend. on which fuel additives (cleaners, etc.) actually do as they promise. I thank everyone for their time and all help is greatly apreciated.
Sincerely,
Rod E.
With Over 100K on the ODO Is the Tune Up Worth The Dough?
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allensteiner
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Re: With Over 100K on the ODO Is the Tune Up Worth The Dough? (rodburg)
alright...fuel additives are mostly worthless unless you want to run some fuel system cleaner, best thing is sea foam deep creep to get old deposits out or go to jiffy lube to get a chemical engine clean.
steering wheel - might be a worn out rack and pinion setup but first check your shocks - might be blown. or it might be that it just has aftermarket shocks that are stiffer.
spark plugs, air filter, oil and filter, transmission fluid and filter, coolant - your basic tune up and you'll know if there might be other problems looking at the plugs, oil and especially your transmission pan and fluid. don't worry about sensors if you don't get any codes - means they're working.
might not want to do a transmission flush before you check the bottom of the pan and filter for signs of problems - gunk, metal shavings etc.
Modified by allensteiner at 11:06 PM 6/4/2008
steering wheel - might be a worn out rack and pinion setup but first check your shocks - might be blown. or it might be that it just has aftermarket shocks that are stiffer.
spark plugs, air filter, oil and filter, transmission fluid and filter, coolant - your basic tune up and you'll know if there might be other problems looking at the plugs, oil and especially your transmission pan and fluid. don't worry about sensors if you don't get any codes - means they're working.
might not want to do a transmission flush before you check the bottom of the pan and filter for signs of problems - gunk, metal shavings etc.
Modified by allensteiner at 11:06 PM 6/4/2008
Re: With Over 100K on the ODO Is the Tune Up Worth The Dough? (allensteiner)
how much are you willing to spend on repairs???...the #1 QUESTION!!
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MinisterofDOOM
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Re: With Over 100K on the ODO Is the Tune Up Worth The Dough? (rodburg)
Best fuel treatment you can run in my opinion is BG 44k. It's essentially the same chemicals that are in Techron but in higher concentration. You run an entire 11oz can (about $15) with a single tank of fuel. Go to http://www.bgfindashop.com to find a nearby vendor who carries it, because sometimes it's hard to find.
If you can't find that, just pour a bottle of Techron or Lucas fuel injector cleaner through...any auto parts store should carry those.
Transmission FLUSH may or may not be beneficial, depending on transmission condition. If there's a lot of debris in the fluid, a flush may only serve to worsen issues or clog fluid lines. A drain and fill (with a real pan drop) can't hurt, though, especially if you've never done one before. You can do a sort of regimen of drain-and-fills (2 or 3 in a row with short drives and ~15 minutes rest between) to get the most fluid exchanged, since a lot of fluid remains in transmission components even when it appears to have drained completely.
Allensteiner's input on plugs/filters to change are great, and he's right about sensors, too. No reason to change MAF or O2 sensors unless they're bad, and if they were bad you'd know it (you'd be seeing a check engine light and/or the car would be running poorly).
If you can't find that, just pour a bottle of Techron or Lucas fuel injector cleaner through...any auto parts store should carry those.
Transmission FLUSH may or may not be beneficial, depending on transmission condition. If there's a lot of debris in the fluid, a flush may only serve to worsen issues or clog fluid lines. A drain and fill (with a real pan drop) can't hurt, though, especially if you've never done one before. You can do a sort of regimen of drain-and-fills (2 or 3 in a row with short drives and ~15 minutes rest between) to get the most fluid exchanged, since a lot of fluid remains in transmission components even when it appears to have drained completely.
Allensteiner's input on plugs/filters to change are great, and he's right about sensors, too. No reason to change MAF or O2 sensors unless they're bad, and if they were bad you'd know it (you'd be seeing a check engine light and/or the car would be running poorly).
Re: With Over 100K on the ODO Is the Tune Up Worth The Dough? (MinisterofDOOM)
The big question is - how much longer are you planning to keep this car?
If you think you'll have it for another few years, Id suggest sticking to allensteiner list of tune-up/repair ideas. If you think you'll keep it for less than a year, I'd still put a little money into it, but don't do big expensive things like transmission flushes or shock replacement unless its really necessary.
If you think you'll have it for another few years, Id suggest sticking to allensteiner list of tune-up/repair ideas. If you think you'll keep it for less than a year, I'd still put a little money into it, but don't do big expensive things like transmission flushes or shock replacement unless its really necessary.
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NutriaforBreakfast
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Re: With Over 100K on the ODO Is the Tune Up Worth The Dough? (rodburg)
You might have the motor mounts checked if its too sensitiveto the road bumps-and the struts too
Re: With Over 100K on the ODO Is ... (NutriaforBreakfast)
Thanks you guys for ur advice. I'm gonna keep her till the very end i think. No one wants to buy a car with that many miles on it and im not willing to give it away either. Actually, the first thing i did was change the engine mounts and it improved my ride tremendously (cost me a pretty penny though around 550 ) I just bought a can of sea foam cuz i heard that stuff's a liquid miracle . the only problem is that im not too sure where my break booster hose is. If anyone can help me out with that id apreciate it. After i sea foam her i'll post back to let everyone know if i see improvements and if the ticking/rattling noise is eliminated.Thanks again,
Rod E
Rod E
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allensteiner
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Re: With Over 100K on the ODO Is ... (rodburg)
make sure you have deep creep sea foam not the regular sea foam. can't tell you where your hose is because i haven't seen a 3.5l eng myself but check the fsm.
right here: http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/i35/2003/
right here: http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/i35/2003/
Re: With Over 100K on the ODO Is ... (rodburg)
If you do not drive a lot and she still looks good then it will even itself out in about a year or two. With the price of gas, you may be suprised what will happen.--Mikerodburg wrote:... No one wants to buy a car with that many miles on it and im not willing to give it away either.