Doing the 60K service! Myself.....
 

Ok, finally got enough courage to the 60K myself thanks to all the threads posted. The only thing I will have done by AAMCO is the AT flush/service, the t/case oil and the diffs.

I am new to doing this level of car maintenance myself so this is a learning experience!

I bought:
3 bottles of SEA FOAM (after everybody convonced me this is the thing to do.)
6 quarts of Castrol GTX 10-30
1 K&N 3001 oil filter
1 can of Valvoline Heavy Duty Carb and throttle Body Cleaner

This is what I am planning on doing and PLEASE correct me if I am doing this wrong:

I just drained the oil (and learned that you can never have a big enoiugh oil pan to catch it all as it does not come down straight!). I then removed the oil filter (same story, though I got smarter and laid some old shirts and towels down). I went inside (cleaned my oily hands) and started typing...

Since I want to do an engine flush I am planning on adding 5 1/2 quarts of the Castrol GTX and 1 bottle of SEA FOAM into the crank case. A new K&N oil filter is going on as well once it is fully drained. I then want to do the induction cleaning (what hose do I use? I see posts, but am not familiar with the lingo) and while the SEA FOAM is doing its work, I will do the throttle body cleaning. Then I will let the engine idle for 5 minutes followed by a little drive around the neighbourhood. I will then add a bottle of SEA FOAM to a full tank of 91 Shell V-Power and drive the car about 100 miles. After the 100 miles I will drain the oil again and replace with fully synthetic (any specific recommendations? I did not buy yet....). Also I will install a new K&N filter. At that time I will also replace the plugs with Iridium. The wires look good, so I will wait on replacing those.

The brakes, drive shafts, PS flush are being postponed to do in a few weeks.

Oh, the car is a 2000 (112K miles), but the engine was replaced about a year ago with a 2004 (38K miles). I am not sure what maintenace was done previously.

Thanks!!

Most of this is very easy if you take your time. Don't think you have to do it all in just one weekend. I spread it out over several weekends. If your motor only has 38k on it, IMHO the Seafoam Induction cleaning is a waste of money. My motor is an 03 and had 6x,000 on it and the Seafoam was not necessary. I think until 100k or so it is just a waste of money and time.

If you are comfortable enough to try an induction cleaning, then a trans, transfer case and diff fluid change should be VERY simple. Do them yourself and save the money. The diff fluid changes take less than 5 minutes each and the transfer case maybe 10 minutes. They are as easy if not easier than an oil change.

Go to the hardware store and buy a drill powered pump. They cost about $10 - $15. Then buy some 3/8 clear hose (three feet or so) and the fitting to adapt the pump to the hose. The hardware store clerk can help you. Fittings should be $1 each and the hose maybe $2 or $3. Also, buy some plain old chepo vegetable oil. You will use this pump to add fluid to the transmission, transfer case and differentials. After each use, run the vegetable oil through it to clean out the automotive fluids. When you switch from one fluid to another, run the new fluid through the pump until it pushes out all the previous type, that way you get clean proper fluid in whatever you want to fill.

Driveshaft is something you might want to have someone else do. It is a bit more of a project. You should consider getting a Tom Woods for $369. You will pay at least $200 and probably more to have someone rebuild your shaft. Get a brand new and much better quality Tom Woods and you can install it in your driveway. No need to even jack up the car. 8 nuts and bolts and it comes right out. Did it in less than an hour and I had never done one before. Then you can rebuild yours at your leisure and not be worried about screwing it up. Keep it as a spare or sell it for $200 to $300 on EBay.

Power steering flush is SUPER easy, but I don't like the way most people here tell you to do it. It takes a lot longer and uses four times as much fluid and is more expensive. Remove your air filter cover. Look straight down from where the MAF is. You will see a square box about 12" down. It is the power steering pump. On top is a nipple that looks a lot like a brake bleeder. Using the same size tube you use to bleed brakes, attach it to that nipple and hang it below the car in a bottle. Open the nut on the nipple, remove the reservoir cap and start the car. Keep pouring fluid in until new fluid comes out. If you can not tell for sure when it is new, stop at four pints. It only uses about 3 1/4 pints, so if you hit 4, you know it is all done. This is a MUCH more effective flush and takes less time. Took about 10 minutes to do it.

Now take that seafoam you bought and just pour it in your gas tank at each of your next three fillup's. It will be more than you need for cleaning the fuel system.

Couple of tips.

Always buy one more bottle of fluid than you think you need or that someone tells you is needed. You will have it if you need it and can use it to top up later.

Buy two oil filters at a time. Nothing worse than doing an oil change and finding out you have a bad new filter. Then you will have a fresh filter for your next change.

Buy a $2 spark plug wire (boot) remover. It will keep you from accidentally destroying a wire when you remove them and save your nuckles. Put dielectric or spark plug grease on the plug (in the boot).

Use a cheap crappy filter for your first filter if you plan on just changing it again in 100 miles. A K&N for that purpose is a total waste of $$$.

Don't ask people what synthetic oil you should use. It is like asking what kind of underwear to buy. Everyone will have a preference backed up by no hard science, so do some reading and get what is easily available at your local store. Try and get a brand that comes in gallon bottles and you can save a few more $$$ that way. Or if you plan to do multiple cars, special order the 5 gallon bucket and save a lot of $$$ over the course of the year.

I use Mobil 1 because I can get it everywhere and can get it in the weights that I use.
Save the good oil filter for when you do a real oil change.
Dont use the SeaFoam in the motor oil, just change the oil and switch to full synthetic. Full syn cleans as you drive.
If you engine only has 40k on it it is still brand new. Just switch to full syn motor oil and change it every 5,000 miles, a bottle of injector cleaner in the gas tank after every oil change and premium gas ALL the time and you will be good.
Make sure that you use name brand fluids and filters.

Thanks AVKING!
That is a very detailed write up on the next few projects. It makes me comfortable doing it myself.

As for the induction cleaning, I will still do it. I am not sure how the previous owner treated the car and even if there is little build up, at leasst it will get cleaned. I just did the throttle body while my wife is preparing Valentine's dinner. It appeared relatively clean at first sight, but there was a noticeable difference after I got done spraying it. The yellow-ish layer disappeared from the wall. If that is any indication for what the rest of the engine looks like, I think it is not a bad idea to get it done.

After reading your post, I will do the diffs myself and probably the transfer case as well. However, the transmission will be done by AAMCO. They can inspect it and are experienced (supposedly) in diagnosing any potential problems.

Do you (or anybody else) know if adding SEA FOAM to the oil is ok for 100 - 150 miles? I remember somebody writing not to add it to the oil. The bottle however says you can add it to the crankcase...

Last but not least, I still need to know what exact hose to use to suck the sea foam into the engine...

Thanks!!

Spike,
You must have posted as I was writing the above... I already added the Castrol GTX 10-30. And was going to switch over to synt after driving around for 100-150 with some sea foam in it as well... Should I add some other additive to the oil? Lucas? and still change again after 150. Then fill up again with synt and new filter? Why not add sea foam to the oil?

Many questions.... sorry!
Thanks!!

I can quote spike here..
and as far as the sea foam in the oil..
synthetic will clean your engine as you drive,
and yours has low miles..

I dont use any additives in my oil.. just Royal Purple Synthetic
I use Royal Purple in my Diffs and Transfer Case as well.

I had wrote a reply but it didnt post...the SeaFoam in the oil wont clean any better than the full syn will.
www.pennzoil.com
www.castrol.com and watch their torture test, its a sweet vid.
You can put the SeaFoam in the oil, drive it for a week and then swithch to full syn and dont look back.

E-Mail me your tele number, we should talk.
Mike

OK, so I am done for the weekend. I did the oil change, the throttle body cleaning and the Sea Foam. Smoked out the neighborhood (which my wife refused to film...)! The "Service Engine Soon" light came on, but hopefully that will reset itself after a few start cycles. At least that is what I learned from LRF. Special thanks to Mike, who spent some time on the phone with me today and gave some additional great advice and walked me through the induction cleaning!

I averaged out my fuel consumption over the past 3200 miles and got 14.8 mpg. That includes a trip from LA to Denver through the Rockies, a trip from LA to Phoenix, a 30 mile trail through Joshua tree and some local city driving. I must admit I generally do about 80mph, so I am not unhappy with that result. I will keep monitoring to see if the work done this weekend will have any effect.

Can't wait till next weekend!

Cheers!

after my seafoaming the light came on and went out after about 50 miles