Preventative Maintenance ADD YOUR TIPS!

[caterashaker]

One of the other things that you can do to help your Catera or any other fuel injected car with a throttled body is to clean it. Start by disconnecting the two intake hoses. Get a can or 2 of throttle body cleaner. I use the GM stuff but there are others made by Valvoline ect. that are just as good. Make sure when you buy this product that it says, "Throttle Body Cleaner." After removing the intake hose, start spraying. GM throttle bodies are notorious for getting gunked up and when they do they don't close all the way and affect part throttle response and fuel economy. Use a screw driver to hold the blades open and don't forget to clean both sides. You can even use a tooth brush to speed up the process. Pay particular attention to the ends, the, "pin," that the blades rotate on. Clean it up very thoroughly. Now, when you try to start your Cat, it might be a little hard to start because some of the cleaner is bound to wind up in the plenum/fuel system.Once you start it there might be some white smoke might that comes out of the exhaust. Don't worry; just rev it up and blow all that stuff out. The felt results should be immediate.

[PEETYZ]

Well Andergar there is a tube that goes from the bottom of car and collects air that connects into the stock intake box, after you uninstall the stock intake box you still have that tube that is directly infront of the cold air intake feeding air to it. yes you still get some hot air but more air is better. Like ive said since the install ive noticed quicker revs, more power, increased gas mileage, and a much better sound under heavy acceleration. when your just at cruise or minimal acceleration it sounds just like stock. My oil psi is always clearly above the 1/4 line and it shoots up every time the gas is pushed. Hope this helps -Pete

[andergar]

Thanks for the info, Pete. It is possible to get some photos of the piping, top and bottom of the intake. Do you have a part number for the K&N cone and I thought there was some intake sensors in the air box? what happens to those? Thanks again and sorry for all the noob questions.

Steve
andergar@comcast.net

[mrman88]

I removed my muffler, replaced it with a flowmaster dual in/dual out and kept the stock resonators. The sound is much better, but never too loud and the engine seems to have a little kick in power.

[caterashaker]

mrman88, when you say, "muffler," do you mean the big one at the rear of the car? I was referring to the 2 underneath the car...and what part # for the Flowmaster did you use?

[PEETYZ]

no problem andergar, sorry no part number i got it on ebay with the filter which is not k/n but can still be cleaned and is the same style,but the tube is not connected to the filter it simply is the one that went into the stick air box but still collects air from undercar while driving. the sensors and everything are still all connected. all you do to install it is to 1. take the box lid off 2. take out paper filter 3. unscrew connector that connects tube to air box 4. take out aibx 5. put the filter with the open pipe end into the airintake tube(the one that previously went into airbox) and tighten look closely at te attached pic hope this helps -Pete- by the way if your looking for the filter go on ebay and type Catera Intake look around and check shipping and get the best price. Good Luck !! I put a few pics to show the filter assembled and un assembled after the stock air box is removed the pic in the middle is the pipe that feeds cold air from under the car

[andergar]

WOW!! Many thanks Pete! I think I know what I'm doing this weekend. When I do this, I'll let you know. What is your email, if you don't mind me asking.

Thanks again,
Steve
andergar@comcast.net

[PEETYZ]

no problem contact me on zeller.19@wright.edu

[passionaterage]

We seem to have gotten off of the topic and onto the cold air intake topic, so let me get back to topic. The single biggest preventative maintenance tip that I can give for these cars is this......JOIN AAA AUTO CLUB for when it breaks down. I have 5 cars, but I never joined until I got this one. Now I feel much better when I drive it, as I know I won't be stranded but for so long until somebody comes and pulls it home...lol.

[caterashaker]

I didn't get to tell you earlier but great pictures Pete. By the way, I bought 6 cans of Valvoline Throttle Body Cleaner yesterday at Big Lots for 50cents a can and cleaned mine again. It's amazing how fast throttle bodies get dirty.