Hi All,

I have a 90 maxima. The engine light went on a couple of months ago and the car ran like crap, felt like it was running on 3 cylinders. Anyway, I read that the O2 sensor was bad, so I changed it...now the light is back on from time to time and running like crap. Any ideas what else it could be???

BTW...I did try to search, but it was disabled.

Thanks,
Jason

 

If it is a big problem take it to the shop and have them read the computer codes to see what is happening. This could be anything from injector and fuel filter problems to oil leaks to overheating.

How many miles and what kind of condition is the engine in otherwise?

 

I bought it used and it is in excellent condition. It was a one owner car, she even had the orignal sticker for the car. I changed the fuel filter when I bought the car and did a full tune up. There are no visible oil leaks or overheating problems. The car has 122,000 miles on it.

Sometimes when I put it in reverse, it makes a loud rattling noise from the engine bay...I think that might be a bad motor mount. After that the light will come on and run like crap. But, it won't do it all the time though.

Thanks,
Jason

 

I just went for a drive, it idle's kinda rough. When I did my tune up...I did not change the coil. How long do these stock coils last? Think that could be it?

Thanks again,
Jason

 

Replacing the distributer cap and the coil is a good idea. Take the cap off first (3 screws real easy) and look to see how worn the contact points are.

A lot of people here have high mileage max's and would argue with me on this point, but 122k is a lot, and you should probably go over the whole car with a fine toothed comb (not literaly . . . the paint would scratch)

Also don't forget to check the spark plugs, they can tell a LOT about how a car is doing.

 

My money is on injectors.