My motor has an intermittent sputter....and it started again....anyone have any ideas on the problem?

 

Hey, just stuff some dynamite down the intake . Claim the insurance, then go down and grab that 91 sitting at B&B. Atleast it still has a intact front bumper....... Maybe, if it hasn't been stipped of that too already.

 

J/k.......... kinda.

I think everyone could help if they knew exactly what was going on.

 

:attention :attention It sputters right after start up while its in park....in drive(idle)....Accleration is garbage right now as well. It smooths out somewhat at a cruising speed ( around 55 - 85 mph). I was told by my local Nissan dealership that I should use some injector cleaner. And do a Fuel press. test. I think it has happend once a season so its happend in all temperatures. Anyone got a better idea other than blowing it up?

 

I know your engine is a VE, but on my VG, that happend also. It would chug-a-lug for a while (with CEL on) then it "could" return to normal (and CEL off). After reading the threads about my VG, i was told to test the resistances on the injectors. The VGs were supposed to be around 14ohm, but i was getting above 50ohm readings on 4 of 6. I even got one that was about 240ohm.

this would also happen every so often, initially. When I ignored the problem, a month later, it would stutter for a loooong period of time.

in short it could be your fuel injectors... good or bad i don't know. Clogged? maybe?

Another instance of stuttering was when I put 91octane in the tank. Only on that tank it stuttered, ever since, I've been using good ol 87.

Good luck

 

I wish we could 87, here we have a couple of choices. 85, or 91. They put that ethanol crap in the 89 around here. And that stuff will eat maxima injectors faster than drinking a bottle of ex-lax.

 

Hi, mine has a sputter on accel, gets worse as engine warms up, along with a slight rumble and crappy power in low RPMs and slight vibration at idle. I have a couple fuel injectors with high resistance that I havne't bothered replacing yet, I'm guessing that these are the cause for me. so i third checking injector resistance

 

USAF, you might want to check your coil packs, too. On the VE engines, they can go bad and cause stuff like that.

Mine used to idle really rough and stutter/buck on acceleration. The idle was cured when I replaced a cracked front coil pack and the stuttering/bucking went away when I replaced a rear one that was bad.

Just a place to start. The injectors could be a problem, as well as a number of sensors (MAF, throttle position sensor, cam sensor, o2 sensor). I would lean toward the o2 sensor, but it's hard to tell without doing some tests.

Have you ever cleaned the TB out really good? You should also always use 91 octane since you have a VE. Lower octane should only be used in emergencies. It can be used, but not recommended by Nissan.

 

I know this may not go with USAF's thread, but I thought I would save thread-space by asking here.

I understand you are referencing the VE, but you said something about coil packs. Do you mean Ignition coils? And if so, are they problematic with the VGs also?

Thanks.

 

VG engines are different than VE in that the VE has no distributor (coil on plug). Each cylinder has it's own ignition coil atop the plug.

I am not sure about the VG's coil, but I know it is going to be completely different.

 

hmm, that would be like the 300zx z32s, which my brother just got. This clears the up a lot more now. I was confused looking into the 300z and seeing no distributor cap.

Thanks!

 

Well I changed my coils about 3 months ago cause most were cracked. What else doesn't seem normal to me is that the RPMs are holding steady. Seems like if it were to sputter it would have to have some fluctuation in RPMs. I was actually told by the dealership that I might try diluting the 91 oct with 85 oct. Said it could be too much alcohol for the engine to handle....even though manufacture recommends 91 or better?

 

I highly doubt it's the gas, unless it's just bad gas. Think about that for a second. If using 91 octane was bad, all of us with VEs would have stalling problems if we put in 91 octane gas...

If you put in 87 octane, you will likely see knocking or, actually your knock sensor will sense the knock and retard your timing, diminishing your performance.

Have you checked for codes, BTW? Test the resistance on your injectors?

 

Hey hydro, if the gas was the case, then mine would be doing the same thing your's is. Like I told you to try, check the injectors first. If they come out fine, then try the sea foam.

If that doesn't cure most of it, then that one time you filled up with the 89/ethanol mix up here has eatin a few injectors. And it'll be time to start pulling.

Just make sure when you get the new injectors in, to only fill up there at Sam's Club, they don't use any 89 there at all, so there's not a chance of it getting contanimated with the ethanol.

 

Check injectors first at this point, but does it begin to buck/stall when the engine is warm or when it is cold, this can determine what is causing it.

Cold Engine Stall/Stuttering: MAF, Injectors, Cam Positioning Sensor
Warm Engine Stall/Stuttering: Injectors, O2 Sensor

O2 is the best guess if it does it when the engine is warm or is warming up. That was the issue with my car since i had the same bucking and stalling issues for about 6 months, pretty much since i've owned the car. Both Cam sensor and MAF are pretty expensive (up to 500 bucks a peice) so make sure u've run all the tests u can before even thinking about those. Injectors and O2 Sensor run about 100 bucks.

Gas won't be the problem unless ur using 87 octane, in which case i feel bad for your engine already

 

Oh the 89/ethanol is really bad for any of our gen. I found out the hard way. South Dakota got buddy buddy with some fuel providers, and got them to mix in some ethanol (the soy/bean alternative). Well problem is, it's not that compatible with some cars. I lost 2 injectors to the stuff already. One got clogged up from the stuff (they claim it won't freeze during winter). And the other was pitted out so bad, it was dripping non-stop. Didn't notice to much, a lot of missing. Until a couple of days later, i was driving down the interstate, and all of sudden my car lost power, and started to sound like a 4 banger.

 

Well, I think I'll shoot for the O2 sensor first. The only code its giving me is 55 and according to the book it means shes running fine. I'm getting the sputter when I first crank up...but I notice it more when I accel. I'll try checking the inj as well.

 

Well hell sometimes it feels like a 4 banger before this problem

 

This morning I did the O2 sensor check thats in the Chiltons manual....the MIL didn't blink like it said it should. It came on and stayed on until I started backing off on the throttle...( It tells me to hold it @ 2000 rpms for 2 min ). What was weird was that when I took it on the road to drive down the street the sputter would pretty much go away until I slowed to a stop and then it was back. I decided to check the plugs just in case, cause thats easier and cheaper to replace....those were fine. I think its a toss up between the O2 sensor and fuel injectors.

 

Ive been reading the spark plug thread and read about the Bosch 4s .....could that be the problem? cause thats what i'm using

 

Well I got the ambition to run the O2 sensor test from the chiltons again today and now its doing what it said it should do....According to Chilton..."When the light flashes ON, the exhaust gas sensor is indicating a lean mixture." Could it be running too lean for the engine? If so how might I go about correcting it?

 

:attention

 

it could be runnings rich? hows your gas mileage? if its really ****ty and you got a rich mixture its probably the 02 sensor.....but thats if its running rich I think

 

the O2 test requires warmed up engine, make sure your engine is hot before doing it. Now the engine light is supposed to blink at 2000 rpms i forget but i think at least 5 times every 10 seconds within a 2 minute time period. now if your engine light didnt blink, and your engine WAS WARM, then maybe it failed the test....

if your sputtering happens only after engine is warmed up, AND you tested it properly and it failed, then theres a pretty good chance its the problem

 

to test o2 sensor you warm engine up...and hold idle at 2k rpms for 2 mins after its warm and check light?

 

you have to get to the O2 sensor test on the ECU first, its mode 2 on VE (same mode as self diagnostics code check, just with engine on instead of off)