Dealer recommended services is not needed?

The truth is somewhere in the middle, no doubt.

Let's start with the fact that the Toyota factory service manual specifies nothing but Toyota part number such-and-such. That's a stone cold fact. Now, what they actually call it in documentation or on the can, is fairly meaningless in context of the outside world.

They may call it Toyota Carb Cleaner, but it may have exactly nothing to do with that old can of carb cleaner that's been sitting on your shelf since 1969.

I just double-checked my factory repair manual for a 1997 Avalon. It just specifies carburetor cleaner, without any special service materials, for use in cleaning the throttle body. As a district service manager, I used to recommend carburetor cleaner.

Lead, coolant, and silicone, none of which is present in carburetor cleaner, will damage O2 sensors. If carburetor cleaner was going to harm O2 sensors, the 1,000 + Toyota dealers who have been following the factory repair manual and who use carburetor cleaner to clean throttle bodies, would have run into problems by now.

The special throttle body cleaner, which I believe is necessary in Fords, is to avoid damage to the coating inside the TB.

"Ray O" wrote in news:gtl44h$25h$ snipped-for-privacy@news.motzarella.org:

The factory service manual for the last-generation Tercel also specifies "carburetor cleaner", without saying you need to use a specific brand.

This is the PCV valve for the 2.4L, $4.55 (+shipping) on rockauto.com:

The rear system may be under designed? Some Hondas suffer the same. I'd go with aftermarket Akebono ProAct ceramic pads. These should be FF friction rated. An owner reported the (front) Akebonos from Toyota are only lower EE rated. Don't resurface good rotors -- it takes away metal to dissipate heat.

The outside of the throttle body is always clean. It's when you open up the throttle will you see all the carbon. But the idle is smooth then it's most likely not needed. If you do want to clean it yourself use an old toothbrush and Valvoline's throttle body cleaner. Works better than most.

True, but a machine shop or any repair shop will turn them for you if you bring them in. Not sure how thin the Camry rotors are. Generally you can turn modern rotors _once_ then the next time replace them (I remember the rotors on my VW which were very thick and could be turned multiple times). But if you can live with reduced braking performance while the new pads and old rotors get in sync then you don't need to turn them.

Just be sure to use Toyota pads. Today I was getting an oil change on my

07 Camry at an independent shop (that happens to be owned by my brother-in-law). I had brought a Toyota filter with me. I noticed a huge assortment of Toyota boxes in his shop and thought he might have some Toyota filters, but all the boxes were Toyota brake pads. He'll use jobber filters, but the after-market brake pads, even the higher end ones, don't work as well, and there's a lot of liability involved in brake repairs. The low-end ones glaze over, and the high end ceramic pads don't dissipate heat as well, and wear faster then the semi-metallic pads, though they are quieter and have more friction if not overheating.

"Many vehicle manufacturers have stated that the rotors on their vehicles do not require resurfacing as a matter of routine during brake pad replacement. General Motors and Ford both recommend reusing rotors =93as is=94 if they meet specifications for minimum thickness, thickness variation, parallelism and runout, no pedal pulsation is present and they aren=92t badly scored. GM has also stated that rotor grooves of up to .060 inch are acceptable if the rotor meets all other specifications."

I'm not sure if throttle body cleaning needs to be like this: But again, I think an old tooth brush and a throttle body cleaner works well. Just follow directions and avoid spraying into electronic components on the throttle body.

John - How do I open the throttle plate to clean it? I cant run my engine while the air cleaner is dis-assembled? Can I poke it with a screw driver to open the throttle? That's a good picture of the PVC, exactly where is this located? sorry for this I really dont know where it is.

Here's a follow up on my brakes I bought my 2 ton jack stands, C-Clamp, brake aerosol cleaner, sil glyde at Autozone first thing in the morning. I went home and did my first brake job. Here's what I did and did not do:

1. I did not use the aerosol on my pads & rotors. I did not spray that cleaner on any rubber parts. I used the aerosol only to clean this metal thin plates that aligns the pads to the caliper.
2. I did not buy an alligator jack and used the jack that comes with the car. Now I have sore arms.
3. I did not resurface my rotors. It is smooth to the touch.
4. I did not get ANY other tire wrench and used the one that comes with the car. More sore arms.
5. I do not have any torque wrench and just torqued all the bolts as much as I remembered when I opened it - for the wheel lug nuts and the

2 caliper bolts only.

here's what I observed when I opened my brakes. I did the rear passenger side first. The pad near the tires or outer pad had 6mm thickness, the inner pad had about a little over 2 mm. On the rear driver side the outer pad had 6mm and the inner pad had about 5mm. I did not yet buy new pads and reinstalled the old ones but this time, I placed the inner pad on the outer side, and closed the brake assy. I did not have a chance to get pictures this time.

Ray O mentioned that I should pay attention to the slide bolts and sleeve, and lubricate them with sil-glyde. I only lubricate the outside of the rubber sleeves- the two small sleeves on the caliper where the bolts are attached and the one big piston with rubber sleeves. I also lubricated the back side of my pads, the side that touches the piston and caliper. Should I lubricate the inside??? I could not figure out how to open it up! When I closed the brake assy, I could slide my caliper assy left and right very easily and somehow I know its good.

How can it be that the rear passenger side inner pad the only pad that's gone bad? Can I just replace the bad pads on one side and leave the other side. I will buy my pads from the dealer and install them myself. Can I use the aerosol cleaner on my pads and rotors if I cover all the rubber parts? I suspect that the aerosol is harmful to rubber parts or am I wrong?

Thanks in advance!