Hey guys. I'm in the midst of doing some work on my car maintenance wise, and one thing I want to have done is get my throttle body/ intake manifold cleaned. I will be doing the 60,000 service thru an independent mechanic since the dealer rapes you for a tuneup and oil change.
Aside from this major service to be done, my car sometimes trembles while idling. It's not very noticeable, but is a sign of something afoot. Through reading I was coming across several posts about walnut shell blasting which is very commonly done on BMW's. Has anyone done this on a 3rd gen GS, and are there any good quality reputable shops available within the Brooklyn, NY area? Any help is appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

Met a lot of nuts in the Garfield, Jersey area but found this per your query:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/new-york-...land-area.html

 

Your car has only 60k miles I wouldn't suggest doing the walnut cleaning. That procedure is imo only beneficial for cars that are prone to carbon buildup, like the 06 GS300.

If you have a GS350 you can do your own induction cleaning by using seafoam. Very simple and it cleans the internals very well. The throttle body you can simple unscrew the rubber boot attached to the TB and with a rag and wd40 you can clean the outside and if you gently push the butter flap open that will allow you to clean the inside aswell. You can also unbolt the 4 bolts and the TB comes right off.

If your not the diy type you can always take it to toyota dealership and have them do a top engine cleaning, I believe they use the BG system. Many shops use this type of chemical cleaner.

If your on the stock spark plugs, I would suggest replacing them after you do your induction cleaning. That I feel is the main reason your getting slight misfire.

 

I will be doing a tune-up on the car. I'm rapidly approaching 70k miles so I am behind on the maintenance. My next mechanic meet within about 2 weeks I'll be performing the 60k interval schedule along with a possible wheel bearing and control arm issue. I may try the TB cleaning method you've mentioned and I believe someone did a pictorial write-up How-to on it here which I'll scour to find.

Thanks to both of you guys for the insightful information. It is very much appreciated!

 

what are your bearing and control arm problems sound like? Mine keeps coming and going away when I turn the wheel.

 

For control arm symptoms, it may feel like your steering wheel while going over uneven road surfaces (I see you're in NYC so there's plenty here lol) is wobbly -- almost as if it's loose allowing you feel everything in the road...even if it were a pencil. I don't know how else to diagnose the sensation, but coming from a '01 Maxima where I redid the suspension a few times over I'm familiar with what a bad control arm feels like during driving. Keep in mind there are a top and bottom control arm so either both are bad or one. I would change both since the mechanic will already be in there rather than wait on another failing part to only have to pay more in the end.

A wheel bearing will sound like a constant whirring sound. While you drive it basically never goes away (may lessen on smooth surfaces and become more prominent on rough roads). Almost like a helicopter off in the distance type of noise. If it's bad (like mine) it will screech very noticeably. The other night while driving on the belt pkwy it sounded like someone was sharpening a sword -- and I heard it over passing cars and other road noise. Again, if you need to change the bearing, change the wheel hub along with it. Chances are that too is shot and will only be a matter of time before failing.

What are you experiencing?

 

Hmmm for wobbling part I do have to fix my steering wheel once in a while going left and right but I had my alignment done like in the summer so you got me thinking... Then again i went to a Mavis Discount tire shop to do it. Which after my brother did his alignment for the Juke it wasn't even fixed so kind of questions my alignment too. THough the worker did drive my car around the block while i watched him, he didn't even tell me anything about that so I'm not sure if that's the procedure. I highly doubt the street even straight on here are even straight so i do have to push/pull left sometimes.

When i brake with no hands on the wheel my wheel pulls to the right, but then again NY streets aren't the straights and sometimes it doesn't happen

I dont think I have wheel bearing problem, but i think sometimes my brake dust shield hits my rotors or something. What I was concerned about was going through a corner quickly and started hearing a ticking sound or knocking sound... could be my TCS/ABS kicking in tho. It was that one turn for Cross island parkway going East after the exit the whitestone bridge. (fun corner, but my brother did lose the IS300 at that corner )

 

There is no need to do walnut blasting unless you like paying a shop and seeing how effective placebo treatments are.

 

Sorry to hear. I know what you're referring to about the Cross Island. An M3 or M5 would have a field day on those corners. As far as your issue I doubt it's suspension related. The dust shield seems to be something possible as I too had my dust shield grinding against my rotors. WHen I bought the car, the brakes on it were not the correct parts causing that and even after it still happened. What I did was GENTLY push the dust plate back around the entire circumference of it since there was not way to pinpoint exactly where it was rubbing. If on turns you continuously hear a clicking noise -- that may actually be an axle giving up. Unfortunately with NY roads there's no clear way to use a road test here to decipher suspension problems unless the parts are so far gone. Where did you happen to go for your alignment?



I know this is a more common issue for BMW's, but they've been using direct injection on their cars way before the GS had it introduced and people on bimmer forums with mileage not too far off from mine currently reported better results after the process. FIrst I'll pay mind to the spark plugs because they need to be changed. But the build up in the throttle body/intake valve over time can't be ignored. Sea foam "helps," but I don't think it gets into the intricate parts of the TB and valves like the walnut blasting will because as the shells are blasting in, they're also being syphoned out via vacuum allowing for a more detailed cleaning IMO. I've never owned a BMW nor did this process so if anyone here has and can chime in on a yay or nay that would be helpful. I can't imagine it being a placebo effect given pictures showing before and after really getting rid of the gunk that builds up in these applications. Restricted air flow will cause poor gas mileage and breathing for the engine, hence reducing power output. Unless you have something more specific or comparable that makes walnut blasting seems useless.

Members have mentioned seafoam, but I wouldn't trust myself to feed fluids/sprays into internal parts of my car as I don't have troubleshooting skills if I F it up lol

 

Would I be better off with Iridium or Platinum plugs? I notice the Iridium's have a higher melting point and manufactured by Denso (if this is truly OEM then I'd prefer this). The Platinum plugs only attract me due to less misfiring and "protecting the catlytic converter" according to the Rockauto description. Any suggestions?

 

I got my alignment at Mavis discount Tire on northern Blvd in great neck. after driving for a long time yesterday I do think my car is working fine, over bumps it seems nice but i do notice some ticking sound from the dash not sure if its the wipers. The only time i hear the clicking noise is when I pushed it gassing through a corner (I know a big no no ) So I hope everything is fine if anything I might go fix replace my control arms maybe even go for some aftermarket suspension.

 

Clicking can be a number of things with sometimes it just being parts rubbing (dash, wipers, seats panels and door, etc.). Control arms will give you a "loose feel" in your steering response as if there is a little play when turning the wheel before it feels like it's actually turning the wheels. I know for a fact my driver's side either needs controls arms or axles without doubt (and possibly a strut).

I bought my car last April, and I swear it's like NYC was waiting until that day to begin ripping up streets and performing road work which I'm sure contributed to the aggressive wear on my parts. I also put 20k+ miles on the car since getting it so that wasn't helpful either lol. BEFORE you tell a mechanic what to change, have them road test the vehicle first. You'd be surprised at how little some mechanics know and will "trouble shoot" on your dollar in order to fix a car. My mechanic lubes up parts during every oil change since they dry out over time. The increased friction will cause parts to malfunction prematurely (mainly on suspension components). A lot of places fail to take this extra step as an inclusion of any oil change service since they want quick turnover and cut corners. Just an FYI that even the small (often overlooked) maintenance helps keep a car in optimal shape.

 

Yo Steve, which ones exactly does your mechanic do?

 

I guess new york does really kill your car... I haven't gone to a mechanic for a while and the person my dad brings lexus too just passes us on inspection all the time without really inspecting it.... My GS has been going around places but mostly in the NYC, It has some rust on it and I'm not proud of that since my dad isn't a car guy and expects the car to be able to live just by feeding it fuel (maybe maintenance too) but he doesn't know that much about cars. I would like to know where the good shops are around NY so i can get it checked out. I always have a skeptical feeling that every shop wants to scheme me for everything. When I brought to mavis tire they told my tpms was broken or the tubing, I really am skeptical about it but I knew my tire had a hole or something since it kept leaking. I think about everything came out to like 150-200$ which I think sounds about right since its mounting tires, alignment and replacing the tpms stuff.
what should I look at to lube and take care of? I think next time I change my pads or fix something on my car I'll take some pictures of rusted or dry looking parts to see what should be done to it!

 

NY has a ton of shops which unfortunately are a dime a dozen, and with that said -- presents dificulty in just finding one that's "convenient." Either they charge through the nose for everything, or use bottom barrel parts and cut corners in the labor to churn cars out. Currently, I've been using a shop of an acquaintance of mine located on Utica Avenue in Brooklyn. It's called Alpha 1 Auto repair. Typically with a simple oil change, the mechanics should inspect components that require lubrication and relube as needed so parts don' wear away prematurely. A lot of shops fail to do this, or even consider extending the service and would rather unplug, drain, fill up and plug it all up and send you on your merry way. At Alpha auto they actually take the time to inspect the components and even go into the smaller nooks of the car to extend a better level of service. I took my car there just to do a once over after I bought it (was an as-is purchase) to see if any parts needed changing. At the time everything was working fine and during the visit they vacuumed by my wiper blades to remove the debris, leaves, dust and little particles for the reason of not damaging the wiper blade motor due to gunk and build up in it causing that to potentially happen. Again, it's a small attention to detail, but one BARELY any shops choose to recognize. They also didn't try to nickel and dime me for "something" just for taking their time.

If you live near the area I suggest calling them when you need advice on your car and the owners (Dean & Mike) will be more than happy to provide honest service. 718-629-9467 is the shop's number. While I would prefer to take my car to a Lexus dealer, I just can't justify the prices for services rendered -- $1,200 for a 60K interval service which is essentially a tune up and spark plug change -- total cost of $400-500 with labor at an independent shop.