1992maximase30

well let me first start off with sayin she's a sXe auto with 175k miles on her.

this problem i've seen to have for awhile can't remember if it started when i first got her.
after about 3 or 4 days after the fresh oil change she will tick when you start her up in the morning.
but this tick is also accompanied by missfire for about 2 seconds.

but after 1000 miles more or less it stops.
does'nt do it at all.

i let her run for about a minute before i drive and once i do drive i keep it under 2k rpms.
she still has power no lag. no burning oil.

i recently drove to georgia twice then tennessee. no problems what so ever (got bout 370 miles to a tank).

the second issue i had yesterday then today also.
yesterday on the way home from work i decided to take side streets.
with my foot somewht on the gas pedal i noticed that the tranny did'nt shift till about 30mph.

throttle 1/2 way or wot the car is fine.

today on the way home on the highway with my foot barely on the gas pedal the torque convertor would lock then unlock over and over till i press a little more down on the gas.

like i said she's been good in fact one of the car's a rarely had to put money in to fix. and if it's something that was done to her it's becuase i wanted to do it.

please help me out.
thanks in advance.

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

ive heard that the tick is your VTC or something or other

1992maximase30

sorry i no longer own the ve30de i have vg30e

YearOfTheGus

iTrader: (2)

lifters?

ColombianMax

iTrader: (7)

I've been told many times that engines with many miles will usually tick for a couple of seconds during fire up and thats because either the lifters are bla! or oil hasn't fully moved around the engine... Not sure if its true but it sounds believable considering the sound DOES go away.

I'm not sure about the small misfire at startup...check ECU for codes?

btw, wtf is an sXe? is that like an australian model 3rd gen or something?

1992maximase30

lol...figured you would say something about that.
sXe referes to the fact that i was crazy enough to swap all of my struts, grille,gauges, rear tails, brakes, etc anything to do with an SE.
while still having the keyless entry; which is only on the GXE.

no codes in fact i think it happens so quick that the ecu does'nt catch the missfire.
i could go out there right now and start her up...and no ticking or missfire.
it's only after a fresh oil change.

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

No way it has anything to do with an oilchange!

1992maximase30

i'm telling you, this has been going on for so long.
i did'nt post about it before becuase i was told it's common.
but now it has missfires along with it.
and i always forget about it because after 1k miles she does'nt do it anymore.

maxinout93

CHeck your oil level before you drive the car in the morning, most likely your oil level maybe a little low. My car has a lot more miles than yours. When I first got it, it had 176,000 miles. I now have 222,000 miles and still going strong. One of the most reliable cars I have ever owned. Ive been to Tn, GA, NC, VA on numerous occaisions.

1992maximase30

oil level fine.
i thought it was low oil at first but then i stop and think well i just did an oil change then my next thought is oh **** i left oil filter loose.
but none of that.

and i have to agree with you on that. this is one of the most reliable cars out there on the road. i mean i had a couple injectors go out, replaced em.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

it's a term i coined a while back

http://forums.maxima.org/3rd-generat...phase-2-a.html

basically a hybrid of SE and GXE appearance and mechanicals. Mine was aGXE with SE tails/center w/ SE chrome (and a 97-99 rear MAXIMA badge), spoiler, SE clsuter, 5spd swap, SE springs/struts, and a normal GXE grille and mirrors.

1992maximase30

your right this is a very reliable car.
aside from 2 injectors and a waterpump the car has been really good.

but the oil level is fine when this first happened i though oh **** i left the oil filter loose.
but nope. not the problem.

and caped john knows what it is. and whom i got it from.

1992maximase30

bump

1992maximase30

bump.
well the shifts was fine till today leaving from work to make a turn into traffic THE DAMN THING WAS IN 2ND GEAR. i mean i had my foot all the way down on the gas, to prevent from becoming a hood ornament for a denali, hoping it would reliaze to downshift into 1st.

also now when i shut off the car (this only happened a few time today) the rpm gauge stays at 400rpms (where it idles normally) then slowly drops to zero.

before it would just drop to zero when i shut off the car.

ColombianMax

iTrader: (7)

Hmm, time for a new trans son... lets do this

1992maximase30

ehh..no.
i don't think i'll be keepin the car.
i know i wanna work out the bugs before i get rid of her.

i say "bugs" :
yesterday i started the car up while i was on my brake had the a/c and i dozed off.
woke up to see the temp gauge reaching near the red.

checked fluid levels, radiator hoses, fans, everything was fine.

shut her off. went back to work on the way home she was fine a/c on and driving hard. oh and had to wait for about 10-15minutes for a train to cross.

but there was another issue: the idle was high. 1,000rpms in gear 1200 rpms in park...did'nt matter if the a/c was on or off. idle is normally at 400rpms

same thing today. BUT THE SHIFTS WERE "NORMAL" NOW?
then around 4 today i went to the store...idle back to 400rpms and trans shifts normal.

no check engine light on during all of this. and the check engine light comes on if almost anything out of wack.

BenStoked

iTrader: (7)

CEL only comes on if EVERYTHING is out of whack, and then, ONLY if it feels like it. If your CEL is constantly on, ALOT of things are out of whack.

1992maximase30

yes i heard nissan cel don't tunr on for jack.
i see that on my q45. but i had a check engine light on when on of the injectors went out on the maxima.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

you may have some blockage in the system.

though I can give you a good laugh courtesy of my old subaru.
I had "new" front struts butt the back were still the blown airbags, so the car was a bit higher in the nose. the car would run hot anytime I switched on the A/C and wasn't moving. Can you guess what caused it?

1992maximase30

okay another update. idle back to 400rpm. this mornin was fine. on lunch was fine. on break was fine. now the tranny is actin up again.

internet automar:
i don't know..what was the problem?

Max_5gen

iTrader: (2)

I just went through similar problem. Check this thread, especially the test LvR was asking to do and the end of the story of course. I don't know if it is applicable to your car though:
http://forums.maxima.org/3rd-generat...-new-post.html

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

the airflow over the radiator and condenser was insufficient. once the rearend got up no issues.

1992maximase30

lol. damn just like certain GM's, they gotta have that plastic that strapped under the bumper where it directs the air flow to the radiator.

you would think that would make a difference.

you kno the rear end of my car sits low pretty bad...

max 5th gen i was the one that made the suggestion it could be the shift linkage. but it turned out to be the p/n switch on your half.
glad you got it taken care of.
during all of this i have'nt bother to check the power/comfort switch.
if it remains the same then there's something wrong electrically.

and brian i don't think it's a coolant issue becuase last night when it did it i shut her off then turned her back on then the idle was fine.

update: everything was okay.

Max_5gen

iTrader: (2)

I'm actually greatful that you and LvR got me looking in the right direction. That's why I started that thread - to get some new ideas and I never expected someone to help me based on my vague description. May be my experience would help you as well: I found that switch is very important for every position of the selector, not only P or N. It is not difficult to take off open and clean - give it a shot. You seem to have had similar trouble with it in the past so may be those contacts just got worse. There's another thread on org where someone described how to open it called something like 'our switch is serviceable'. I found it through Google and it has good info on how to do it.

I can add one thing - there's small plastic pin on which this switch rotates on the transmission side of it during adjustment. Be careful not to break it as I did. Selector has to be in certain position to remove it and I think I got it wrong so I can't tell you which position is right. It helps if someone moves selector in the cabin while you're wiggling it out. I worked alone so the pin didn't survive.

1992maximase30

yea i might give it a try.
here's an update:

today i went to runs some errands. i let warm up. it went down and it was fine.
got to where i needed to be the idle was high. put her in park she shot up to 1200rpms.

shut her off start her up normal idle.
so then i get home to check out up under the hood, and there's this wire that goes into the distributor.
i connected it back the idle has been normal all day (400-500rpms) also the check engine light had came on too followed by some popping noise in the exhuast (the sound as if the injector about to go bad) opened the hood again.
#1 sparkplug was moving around.
IT WAS LOOSE. tighened it up. the idle is smooth and odd to say i even got some power back!!

now i've been payin attention to the transmisson.
the shift points are fine or the same in comfort mode.
but power mode:

with the throttle about 2/8's pressed 1st to 2nd shifts at about 28mph.
2nd to 3rd about 43mph.
and on top of that it's like i'm driving a 5spd sometimes becuase i could be in 1st gear on side streets doing about 25mph and it does'nt shift...it'll keep revving till i go faster.
it's like it's just programmed to shift at those speeds only.

do the tcu adapt to your driving habits like on certain car's?

1992maximase30

bump

ColombianMax

iTrader: (7)

I would assume that the TCU does adapt as does the ECU.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

since when does the ECU "adapt" to your driving style? the TCU certainly does not. it's got fixed shift points for speed, throttle position, and perhaps the rate at which you push the gas pedal down (ie, a gradual increase from 10% to 50% throttle, vs a sharp jab from 10% to 50%). but it doesn't "learn" how you drive. if it did i might not have minded having an automatic so much.

1992maximase30

sorry...was just asking.
as for the engine tapping w/ missfire i guess it does'nt matter.
i'm about 700miles past my oil change and i started her up this morning...tapping with missfire.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

heh i was hashing john, not you. make him look at for you. he should be able to fix it.. or at least diagnose it.

1992maximase30

he say's he does'nt know...or so he says. so i kinda learned to do it on my own.
i did happen to do a lil experiment today:
i remove the soft/hard switch while the car was running.
then i proceeded to remove the tps sensor as soon as i removed it the engine kinda stumbled for like a milli second. folled by check engine light.

i find it amusing that the engine was still able to rev with it deconnected.
i found it even more amusing that it was still able to get a reading with all that corrosion.

so i cleaned it out good news is the engine seems more responsive. but the odd shift in power mode is still there.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

ic... so in comfort or normal, it shifts fine? also.. when it shifts weird, (ie 1st gear at 25mph and staying there) does it stay in that gear even if you lift off completely? or does total lift-off cause it to upshift?

1992maximase30

i just read what you wrote and thought oh snap.
went out to try it bare foot and all.
and yep she shifts when you let off completely.

1992maximase30

okay...now there's another problem.
when i let off the gas for it to shift to the next gear it does'nt.
also now it does the same thing when the engine's cold!

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

so post #2 now supercedes post #1?

btrig1990

TRY
1. Flushing your motor with gunk or lucas.
2. DRAIN FLUSHING OIL.
3. Replace your spark plugs, and check your ignition system to make sure everythings in tact.. the distributor shouldnt be corroded on the inside, the rotor shouldnt be discolored or burnt looking. If you have a multimeter, check the resistance on your cables. if its anything > = 1.00 ohms, your cable/s needs to be replaced.

4. Fill motor with 5w-30, or 10w-30 max.

5. See if the tapping/misfire goes away.

1992maximase30

it's like the damn thing gets worse week by week.
my tranny fluid is not burnt, thank god, that stcked tranny oil cooler comes in handy.

the level is fine.
the tcu codes.

also in a previous post you mentioned that if the 3g tcu adapts to your driving habits you would'nt mind so much of the auto.

have to admit but the tcu and the features it has is way better than both my old sables and my aunts dodge stratus v6 is.

those 3 cars have a computer that "learns" your driving habits and adapts to them.

needless to say no the hell they did'nt.

on the maxima when the switch was in auto she would cruise then as soon as i pressed the gas she would quickly downshift.

she still does. it's just now in power mode it kinda feels like im driving a damn stick. lol.

btrig1990:
you just made me realize something...i NEVER in the year and half of owning her checked the dizzy rotor and cap!

i did however use engine restore.
that stuff worked so good.
maybe it's time for another treatment.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

still think maybe something is fishy with the TPS (the part itself, its harness, out of adjustment, etc). tps + speed are the only things the TCU goes by once the car's warmed up. so if it's misinterpreting your throttle position, it could make sense that it's not shifting at the right times.

1992maximase30

you know it's odd that you replied that.
because if i'm not mistakin the ecu relies on the tps till the car is in closed loop mode.

so today i was running late for work.
so i started her up let her run for 30seconds and kept the rpms under 2k.
i noticed while pressing the throttle lightly the engine was strugling.
but as usaual when i open it a lil bit more it revved fine.

this only lasted for about...ehh i say less than a minute after that i could'nt duplicate the problem again.

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

have you used a multimeter to check for smooth transitional output from the TPS?