For some time now I've been wanting to get my Throttle Body, Intake Manfiold and have my Injectors Cleaned because I've got so many miles on my CL, 134,000+

I was going to do it myself but I just don't have to the time to do it. I know it's an easy job, and it's not that I'm not mechanically inclined. I know I can do it. I just take it slow because I don't want to screw things up.

And so, since I don't have time I had it done at the dealership. I knew I had to have it done because the last time I was cleaning my comptech CAI, i took a peek into the TB and saw a lot of carbon buildup.

Well after the service, boy did it make a difference! My car idles a hell of a lot smoother now and it accelerates smoother as well.

For anyone with a high mileage CL I'd totally recommend this. But then again it would also depend on the area you live in. I'm sure the smog in so cal is a good indicator that anyone with a high mileage car here should probably get it done.

I can't believe I haven't installed headers yet

 

Lots of cars have carbon build-up, and it's usually a result of low engine RPM's and long periods of inadequate air velocity resulting from this. Also, lower RPM's cause cooler temps, and therefore inadequate burning.

A bit of knowledge I've garnered from the Porsche racing engine world, use the lowest octane gas possible. I use California 87, and I never have any problems with build-up of any kind. I get a complete burn, because lower octane gas burns faster. It's not like I'm gonna have detonation problems either, because our cars have knock-sensitive ignition control. Also, since switching to lower octane gas, I'm getting better mileage and the car definitely seems to be a little more responsive in the throttle...

My $.02

 

your car will run fine on 87 but the computer will adjust the ignition timing to prevent knocking and you'll loose power and get lower millage.

Try a search if you don't believe me.

 

I have a high mileage CL as well,119000. After using seafoam It seamed to run smoother.

 

how much did you pay for this?
I think only throttle plate cleaning is necessary, for fuel injectors you can add some Techron fuel injector cleaner.
I am planing to clean my throttle body next time I do oil change... my gas pedal feels sticky

 

TB and Intake Manifold cleaning at dealership: $120
Fuel Injector Cleaning: $120

wasn't too bad.

Prior to this I did do two treatments of the Techron over a 3 tank period. I always fill up with Chevron 91 octaine anyway so I really don't know how much the treatments helped. But at 5 bucks a bottle it couldn't hurt.

 

so you sprayed that into your intake?

 

I specifically asked the dealership what their process was for this service to ensure they didn't simply use some cleaner through the system.

They did disassemble the parts and clean them thorougly.

 

Sea foam

$7

can't go wrong. do a search

 

i think you can disassemble the intake manifold and emmerse the whole thing in a cleaning solution.

throttle body is a little different, theres some electronics on it. but the parts you need cleaned are easy to access.

fuel injectors, i would just use a gas tank additive. not worth the trouble of attempting to pull the injectors and risk having one pop off.

takes me about 20-30 mins to remove the whole top half of the intake manifold. i'd estimate about another 30 mins of cleaning. so it shouldnt take more than an hour.

 

Put half a bottle of seafoam in a vacuum line and half in the gas tank.

 

isn't the whole reason to use 91 octane gas in our cars to avoid carbon buildup?

 

No, octane rating is only a measure of how fast fuel burns, nothing more. Faster burning = more completely burned.


And BTW Implicit, the car doesn't always retard the spark just because you're running lower octane fuel, only when it detects knock/detonation issues. As for performance, any smart tuner will tell you the general rule is to advance the timing as much as possible without pinging/knocking, and that's where you make the most power. Therefore lower octane/higher compression/no pinging = fast burning, clean burning, more efficient & powerful engine.

Don't believe me, do a search on real engines that get built and tested week after week at the track...and yes, on the strip...

 

Another thing you could do for your car is to run FI cleaner and go on a road trip at a sustained 3-4000RPM for a 100 miles or so without stopping. You'll be amazed at how much smoother your engine feels afterwards...

 

I'm no fuel expert but I have read the owners manual cover to cover a couple of times in the past and It says use 91 octane home boy. And we don't have that so I've always used 93. But do remember onetime the 93 was like 3.75$ so I put the 87 in and my car drove like it was breaking down.

 

 

Just sharing my experience from a performance builder's POV...