Vehicle running well, no symptoms of a failing sensor. Wondering if I should clean it using a can of electrical parts cleaner or leave as is. Thanks

 

My car mechanic mentor once said, "If it ain't broke, don't efff with it."

 

100% agree with Shipo. I only replace items that I know are not working. Don't mess with something that isn't broken, because you could break it. Guess how I know!

The maintenance items I do on my car is checking fluid levels and changing at the recommended intervals. If levels are low early, then I investigate. I look at the tires for strange wear and check the tire pressure for leaks. I'll look at my rotors for any obvious wear through the tire. When I rotate my tires, I look at the brake pads to see if each side has similar wear. I'll also look at the suspension bushings and ball joints for orange/brown rust showing metal on metal wear. I'll look at the ball joint boots, CV joint boots, and power steering boots for cracks/tears. I'll only replace if I see a problem.

I reset my trip meter to zero every time I fill up my gas tank, to see how many miles I have between fill-ups. That basically it.

Periodically I take a microfiber cloth and a spray bottle of water and lightly clean the hoses and items in the engine bay. My engine bay is by no means spotless. I pay attention to any obvious issues like finding a deteriorated vacuum hose, damaged wire harness plastic, broken harness clips, etc. I only ever found my PVC vacuum hose deteriorated due to an oil leak. I'll clean off any oil/grease on the oil pan, bottom of transmission, so I can identify a fluid leak later. This is also a quick wipe down. For me, pressure washing an engine is not worth getting water into connections that can cause more problems.

 

Thanks to both of you for the advice, makes sense.

On the other hand, my understanding re the PVC valve (as an example) is that it should be cleaned or replaced every 50k miles or so in order to avoid other problems that a failed PVC valve could cause. In other words don't wait until it fails so that would be one exception to the "If it ain't broke, don't efff with it.". Another example is spark plugs. Iridium plugs can work without breaking for 200-300k miles and the vehicle will still run. But it's a good idea to replace them every 100k miles. Sounds like cleaning the MAP sensor is not advised. In the past I recall advice stating MAF sensors should be cleaned. I'm probably confusing the two (MAP and MAF). I'll refrain from cleaning the MAP.

 

I would argue unless one is running an aftermarket air filter arrangement which requires an oiled foam filter (which are hugely inferior to a stock paper/fiber filter), then you should never clean either a MAF or MAP; they should easily last the life of the engine, and then some.

 

Thanks

 

Although, I agree with you guys. But what about a timing belt? I guess most people don't keep a car that long to change one. Well, although I mean if it is a little newer? Would you risk it for a older car?

 

Depends on value of car, condition of car, your risk tolerance, etc. If it's past due, worth changing if you plan on keeping it for several more years. In my case, I usually stretch the time or mileage limit since I tend to drive laid back style.

 

Depends on value of car, condition of car, your risk tolerance, etc. If it's past due, worth changing if you plan on keeping it for several more years. In my case, I usually stretch the time or mileage limit since I tend to drive laid back style.

 

Are you okay with needing to junk the car or replace the engine? If so, then by all means don't bother replacing the timing belt. Even though my old Accord had north of 200,000 miles on the clock, I opted to replace the belt.