Every one of your questions can be answered using the 'Search' feature on here...what is recommended as far as a tune-up is going to depend upon mileage and condition of the car, there are all kinds of videos on YouTube for cleaning an engine bay, some better than others, and a few xB-specific brake jobs on there plus some posts on here about doing the rear drum brakes, lots of recommendations for spark plugs and gap and probably 50 posts on the infamous "CEL, Trac and VSC" triplets and their cause.

Based upon the build-up of 'junk' in the oil filler neck I am guessing any previous owner(s) weren't terribly concerned about proper oil change intervals. Not much to do there, outside of wiping as much as you can from the filler neck with a towel with some degreaser or brake cleaner on it, unless you feel a compelling desire to remove the valve cover to clean it.

 

Hi, I was driving yesterday in New Jersey having full tank with gas. Then like after 7 minute driving in Highway 78, the VSC + Trac Off + Engine Light all turn On. The problem is here in New Jersey. Here the car owner will not fill up his gas tank. You need to wait for the gas station attendant to fill up and close your tank. I got last year a brand new gas cap. So, I clean again that area. I clean the codes (P0018, P0442) and no more (VSC + Trac Off + Engine Light On) lights. Please see the pictures. Thank you.



Here is how clean is the area of the tank gas cap.



The gas cap is just one year old. Looks new and clean. Only the black color O-ring gets little lubrication.



This end looks abused. Still in good working conditions.



The end metal need to be clean. I do more by cleaning one inch inside from the top. Then use a long lasting lubricator film. Need just very little to help vacuum the gas tank when is closed. Must hear one click.

_____

 

@Ackindig The interior of your engine can be clean by driving with new full synthetic oil. I use (5w - 30W) in the summer and (5w-20w) in the winter time. Also I use the oil filter Purolator Boss PBL14476 because is not cheap. It is made in USA. Then I will suggest because your car is more than 10 years old to replace all the radiator hoses (the best may be made from silicone); check the alternator status (volts out in parking, in driving time, and with AC on), timing belt, water pump belt, check the power steering liquid level, check the brake liquid level. Then, if you go to a garage look under for exhaust pipes/muffler(s) corrosion, change transmission filter. Look that the transmission fluid have color red and is at the right level in coold temperature and hot temperature (after driving). Check all the lights at electric plug connection for rust, or damages. Front horn check for Hi and Low sound 440 HZ and 550 Hz. Here in New Jersey is very important to use the horn and lights. This car is little and not many driver can see you in the street driving (the drivers are under self abused intoxication).


I use this filter with full synthetic oil. No complaints. The interior of the engine will get cleaned in 2 - 3 years. Or faster if you drive every day long trips.

 

This YouTube guy is GREAT for xB Owners!

Search for the title on YouTube "Engine Bay Transformation ASMR Style- Scion xB".

Peek starting at 3:30 but then watch the WHOLE THING!

I want to do this but keep saying, How do I catch all that greasy water?
I have a plan involving a custom made PVC (sprinkler) pipe frame under the car and a cheap plastic tarp to make a giant catch basin.
Then wet vac and dispose in toilet. Has not become the highest priority yet though!

 

@mrmax, Hi, I watched the full video. I like how he fix the rust problem in the Battery area. The color chose for the top engine looks to me like copper. This color is good to use for an old Steam Engine. I like Gold or Silver. In that video he devoted so much time to clean and restore the car. Does he replace the spark plugs with Iridium? Thank you.

PS: Today I was to other Gas Station to get gas ($1.76/Gallon). The Attendant this time closed the Gas Tank Cap as needed. He waits to hear one click. So, I not get the Fail Code.

 

Hi, My Scion xB 2004 did it again! The 3 failure lights show up again. Now it is P 420 (again?). For some reasons I have on the walls of this engine lots of old oil deposit oil sludge. For more than one year I keep replacing the engine oil filter with Purolator Boss. This is made in US, for full synthetic oil. I suspect that the smoke from the exhaust is caused by this old oil. The synthetic oil have detergents to clean the old oil. I ad gas additive to the gas tank to clean the injectors. I hope the gas mileage and the horse power to be improving soon. The winter is coming. My next oil change will be with SAE 5W - 20 High Mileage Mobil 1 advanced full synthetic oil. This oil was sold in 12 quarts one package in Walmart on a one day sale. My questions are: 1. When is the best time to change the oil? 2. What are the qualifications of the new engine oil to have the best oil for your engine? Thank you.

 

Best time to change the oil...on schedule with whatever your particular oil might require. What, specifically, are you asking in regards to oil change timing?

Best oil...ask 100 people and you'll get 90 different answers. You can spend forever and a day researching oil on 'BobistheOilGuy' but most oils these days are likely so good, and probably very comparable, that as long as you maintain good oil change intervals there isn't going to be a marked difference.

For what it's worth, I use Mobil 1 full synthetic in three of my cars and Valvoline Racing Oil, which is a conventional oil with a higher Zinc content, specifically because I have an older Jeep Cherokee XJ that has a stroker motor with a flat tappet cam. For an xA/xB, I don't think I would sweat running any name brand full synthetic in it.

 

Hi, I get in Pennsylvania kerosene. This I was told is an engine treatment for gas cars that have more than 100K miles. Was removed old engine oil and ad there about 4 Gallons of Kerosene. Then removed all the kerosene, replace the old purolator filter with new one and add one gallon of full synthetic oil 5-20W. In the first 7 minute on idling was an extreme white color smoke. Then was clear/transparent. No check engine light or other failure codes appeared. Now after spending $25 on the labor for this treatment, the engine have a better sound, and looks like the gas pedal and the engine have a better communication. My oil stick for the first time in the past 10 years show the oil color to be transparent/clean after this treatment. I will need to drive like a 1000 Miles to see that there is not any collateral engine damage. If some of you get this Kerosene treatment? Please let me know how was your experience? Thank you.


This is a Kerosene treatment for the old gas engines.

After idling for like 7 minute the extreme white color smoke become clear/transparent like before. This is a success story. Extremely recommended.

 

Hi, I just want to follow-up. The failure codes where because the so called full synthetic oil is not synthetic in full. Still have other particles, and get shrink after few miles in use. The engine burns oil. I had to pay more attention here on the comments about the scion gas performance options. Took me a while to find 100% synthetic oil AMSOIL store/dealer. This brand will give me more Miles per Gallon. No wonder why the Farmers use in theirs tractor full synthetic 100% AMS oil. Next I will get the AMS brake fluid when I will flush the brake system, and replace the calipers (with new hub & bearings assembly).


This is the one I use that get me 31-34 Miles / Gallon of gas. And I only change now the oil once a year. One Quart cost in the store $9.69.

 

That kerosene treatment is pretty wild. Would be interested to see what it looked like after draining.

 

There is no code that will be thrown by an engine oil that isn't full synthetic...the engine has no idea whether the oil you put in is conventional, semi-synthetic or full synthetic.

Any codes you have or had were caused by something else.

 

^^^^ Absolutely 100% correct. Whomever told you that changing the kind of oil in your car will throw a code doesn't know what' he's talking about. And the "particle size" thing is comical.

As for seeing more miles per gallon with Amsoil (or any other synthetic oil), you're not going to see that either.

 

So you drained your engine oil, then replace it with Kerosene - which has almost no lubricating properties - and ran it? Then you drained the Kerosene and replaced it with oil? Good lord, who told you to do such a thing? With a modern engine, you'll be extremely lucky if you didn't damage the motor or wipe out the catalytic converter. If you really like your car - and it sounds like you do - don't mess with these "old wives tale" style miracle fixes. They flat out do not work!

 

I've seen crazier engine cleaning methods. I don't know what the lubricating properties of Kerosene are but it doesn't seem to have done damage.

 

The problem with these silly (and dangerous) internet miracle fixes for your car is that without tearing the engine down and measuring critical components, there's no way to tell how much damage was done. I will absolutely guarantee you that damage was done though. Oil is used in an engine to lubricate critical surfaces and reduce friction which causes wear. Take the lubrication away and you get friction and thus wear. It's actually that simple.

 

I didn't want to be 'that' guy but I'm glad I'm not the only one...kerosene, not unlike gasoline, is pretty good as a degreaser. I hope you meant you put in 4 QUARTS and not 4 gallons of the stuff as I would have thought you'd be on the verge of hyrdo-locking that engine with it almost completely full of kerosene. The big problem with that treatment is you added something that not only has very few lubricating properties but would have flushed out any oil between your rods and crank and their bearing surfaces and the cylinder walls and piston rings. An overly rich mixture can 'wash down' cylinder walls and adversely affect ring seal so I cannot imagine what throwing almost straight kerosene in a motor would do to it.

There might not be any visible damage yet but I'm curious to see what happens down the road.

 

@MileHightC, 2strocked, Chungee, Hi, the Kerosene treatment was simple. In total was used about 4 Gallons. After doing the kerosene treatment I drove out on the highways. On the next day in the Morning when I check the oil, the oil color was clear. Next day the car do about 400 Miles on mix city and highway road. Also I check the oil in the next day in the morning and was same clear color oil in the engine. There is no Failing codes, or any check light ON. The exhaust have no smoke. There is a clean/clear/transparent color exhaust released in the air. Everything is/looks normal for this car. In my case, I got an engine performance improved. I can feel this when I am driving to a top hill/mountain, or when I calculate the Miles/Gallon, and also I hear low noise coming from the front car with no clicking (when engine is running).

In Conclusion - I start to look on the car issues more than 2 years ago. Those were the problems:

1. was giving low miles/Gallon.
2. Engine was eating 1 quart or more of oil / 1000Miles.
3. Engine had a disturbing noise at all the times.
4. The Car got in the past every week another failing code.
5. Was missing every day little quantity of coolant in the system.
6. I had instability on the road.
7. The interior heater was not giving heat more than 80 Fahrenheit.
8. I can not pass the New Jersey state inspection (exhaust/catalytic converter failure).
9. Water was coming from the ceiling when raining.
10. Having long time to stop the car (slow brake response).
11. Had an exterior poor looking.

I am now looking to fix #9. This is the last complaining point unsolved.

Thank you.

 

There are several reasons your oil is "clear." First, right after an oil change, it should be pretty clear. After all, you did just put in new oil. Second - and specific to your case - the Kerosene (being a solvent) cleaned out any sludge in your engine as it ran past your rings. (You did say you were burning oil, so the rings were not sealing anyway.) That may sound desirable, but as it was cleaning that sludge out, it also cleaned out most of the oil lubricating your moving engine parts. That's very, very bad and the damage caused there is not going to fix itself or get fixed by dumping some miracle internet cure into the crank case.

Remember, don't believe everything you read on the internet. This is especially true with miracle cures for your car. And for everybody reading this thread thinking you should run out ang buy some Kerosene, please don't do it!

 

@2stroked, Yes you are wright. Everyone need to do research and decide for themselves on what treatment to do to theirs engines. What was working on my case may not work for other engines. I have an extremely experienced car mechanic. This is the reason that I keep this old car in good working conditions. The Holidays are coming. Happy Holidays to Everyone!
I am planing to drive long trips. I will let you know later how the car will perform.
Thank you.