Hey everyone, I bought my 2004 6mt G coupe a couple months ago and put 3k miles on it already (just broke 88k). It had a rough idle from the get go, so I've been meaning to get around to this maintenance for a bit and I'm gathering all the stuff I need to do it slowly. I just moved and actually have a garage to do this in so I'm excited to not have to rent a bay on base to change my oil anymore (in the military). So my question is, is the order that I posted as the topic smart? SeaFoam the car to get all the garbage out of it, change the oil/filter, clean the throttle body, change the spark plugs and then lastly I was thinking about adding an oil catch can. Do you all agree or no, and for what reason. Also what are your thoughts on the oil catch can. Thanks in advance!!

 

We are not fans of the seafoam treatment here, but your order sounds correct. Do you have any trouble codes up?

 

I've searched it on here and there's a few guys that swear by the seafoam and a few who could care less for it. If it works, cool, if not, cool...and no I'm not throwing any codes but the more in depth I get into my car, it makes me doubt maintenance being done properly (or at all) so I kind of want to just do this all at once and see if I can breath some life back into this thing...

 

Im still up in the air about seafoam, im kinda leaning towards not.. I would put full synthetic in your car and dont let it go over 5k miles between changes and use a good oil filter.. Change all your fluids , clean your maf and throttle body..

 

I did an oil change the day I got the car with full synthetic and that was just over 3k miles ago. It got a new transmission right before I bought it so that got new fluids as well. The only things that I'm really on the fence about is the seafoam and the oil catch can...

 

Oil catch can is not needed.. Its more for looks if u ask me.. If its running smooth id stay away from the sea foam..

 

I just don't know how the previous owner treated the car and what fluids they put in it...I feel like the car is choking up a bit and has a rough idle so I'm leaning pretty hard towards the seafoam, at least in the brake booster and gas tank. And for $50, it seems worth it to stop all the extra oil from being recirculated back into the intake...idk...maybe I'm just being OCD about it, I feel like it was an abused puppy I got from the pound and don't trust anything the previous owner did to it so I might just be going overboard...

 

I know what you are saying, id prolly be the same way.. No codes are on??

 

Nope no codes. Other than being a little sluggish and having a rough idle the car is mechanically sound. The car was owned by someone who was a smoker and it was filthy inside and out. I got a KILLER deal on it and knew that I could clean her up, which I did, but now I'm about to get into the nitty gritty ****. I'm probably going to do a cabin filter along with all this but that's irrelevent lol

 

Cabin filter will be black... Just to let you know haha

 

That sucks, that would be a deal breaker for me.. My car was never smoked in..

 

I bought a house two years ago and having a garage to do things is awesome. But, man I miss the days when I was in the Military and had access to the auto hobby shop!

I have done SeaFoam twice on my vehicle (Last night actually), however, I don't do it for the reasons everyone else does. I have used it only to find exhaust leaks in my car, which it is great for!

It hasn't impacted my car in anyway either good nor bad. But, it has made my troubleshooting a lot easier.

Is your idle in the 650+-50 range? I'd be leery of the touching the throttle body, since these cars are prone to the idle messing up afterwards (happened to me). It took about 50 tries doing that pedal dance to get it working. I've read of some people even having to replace their throttle bodies after cleaning them.

I'd clean the MAF sensor before touching the throttle body personally. Pick up some CRC Mass Air Flow Cleaner and don't use anything else. You can unscrew the MAF from the housing with a T20 (tamper proof torx) security bit. I picked up a whole security set at Harbor Freight for 15 bucks.

I'd also hook your car up to an OBD scanner and check your air-to-fuel ratios if it's idling hard. I'm battling that problem now with a rough idle and pretty sure it's one of my O2 sensors making it run lean.

I'd also check for vacuum leak you can do that with the car running at idle and spraying carb cleaner around. I used propane unlit and went around the manifold, intake, PCV, and brake booster area to verify no leaks existed.

Also I would check your PCV line that connects to your intake tube. Mine was ripped and I couldn't tell unless I pressed it.

I read on some other sites about this product called Dakota Odor Bomb or something that is awesome at removing odors. I haven't tried it, but might want to look into it and let me know? LOL JK.

I would also highly recommend if you plan on doing all your own DIY work. You might want to invest in one of those Chinese Nissan Consult devices. I bought one for almost 300 bucks and it has been invaluable so far. Also, no more do I have to do pedal dances to reset idle, air volume, and all that other stuff.

I'd reset your ECU after doing all your cleaning as well. The ECU keeps an air-to-fuel ratio stored in memory. You'd want to reset back down to 100% if it's not currently. Mine for example was at 110%.

Definitely get rid of that cabin filter as well!

So I would change your order to Cabin Filter/MAF Sensor/SeaFoam/Drive <50 miles/Oil Change/TB Clean (If want to risk with the aftermath)/Spark Plugs/Catch Can

 

Oh yea here is something I found extremely useful! Goto www.mycarfax.com and signup, enter your VIN, and it will pull any records that are available for your car! It's completely free and I used it to track my G and the Volvo my mother gave me that I had no clue about! It had records for the Volvo going back 10 years!

 

Oil catch cans are not just for looks, they serve a purpose by keeping oil out of your plenum and valves! I installed my first one (home depot) will less than 5K miles on SLICK. SeaFoam isn't a good idea which comes from a couple Nissan GT-R mechanics I know! Changing plugs is a good idea with your mileage and I'd also carefully clean your intake sensor. That being dirty will effect idle and gas mileage. Enjoy the ride!
Gary

 

Thanks guys. I took out the seats and steam cleaned the entire car, used a couple bottles of non-scented fabreez and then got a fabreez car air freshener and let it all just air out and I honestly got 90% of the odor out and it gets better every day that I drive with the windows down (being in San Diego has its perks). Luckily I've got a good friend who's an ASE certified nissan master tech who works for beer and ***** (I know a lot of skanks) who can help me not mess up the TB. Again, I've read on here that as long as you don't disconnect the TB sensor, it is a relatively easy process. I've heard mixed reviews about the seafoam but never actually heard anyone have any legitimate reasons not to do it so for <$10, I'm just going to try it. I've never replaced the cabin filter so I don't know what to expect but I'm hopeful lol. I just need to pick up a can of MAF sensor cleaner and I should be good to go.