i have an auto tranny, cause thats how i got it from a friend. i personally prefer 5spd. anyway, the tranny runs fine, doesnt jerk when shifts, smooth, all is well. the problem is,

when im sitting at a light, car is warmed up all the way, my idle is about 450. my friend said, it has 'seisures' as a joke but its a good analogy cause thats exactly what it feels like. That happens in Drive with my aftermarket foglights, stock rewired corners and headlights on.... i turn all the lights off, RPM is about 500, and a little plus. when i shift to Neutral, which i often do when at a long red light, the idle raises to 800 or 700, feeling and sounding normal like it should be. If i go in Reverse, its about 550-600 rpm.

Ive had problems with the engine couple times, and sometimes, the car wont even start unless i drop it in neutral then start it. COULD this possibly be a tranny problem? or something electrical like weak battery?

also, my Max eats gas like a crazy hungry girl from Bosnia. i fill it with a ten, drive for about 55 miles or so, then have to refill. and when the car is cold, windows closed, morning, the smell in the interrior is really heavy with gas scent. that doesnt happen when its warm though.

please help me out guys.

 

sounds like you could have the maxima plague of leaking fuel hoses from the gas rail that feeds the fuel injectors to the individual fuel injectors. its a tough job cause you have to pull the intake manifold.

 

hmm, i have a custom subaru wrx intake now (crappy foam filter). so i can pull it out in seconds, then what?

 

first try to pin point what is leaking before ripping your engine apart. since your engine has been worked on maybe the injector hoses are ok. the injector hoses leak worse when the engine is cold and may not leak hot. let the car cool off, start it up and start looking/sniffing around under the hood.

 

I have a 92 ve with auto and my car seems to do the same thing you describe...not as bad tho.....when I come to a stop and keep the car in drive, holding brake pedal down ofcourse, my rpms drop to like 600 and , when I put it in neutral it goes to 750rpm.....car runs fine and everything...I think its normal for rpm to drop a little while your stopped and its in drive...not exactly sure tho

 

where are the fuel hoses? are they accesible without taking engine block apart? and if the hoses are fine, then where are the rails?

 

the fuel rail is a gold colored tube (mine is) under the intake manifold. the hoses I am referring to are short pieces maybe 2-3 inches long that kind of look like vacuum tube hose. they are very hard to see and probably inpossible to change with out taking off the intake manifold. don't tear your car apart because some bozo said maybe this is it.

diagnose - VERIFY!!!

 

if i take it to a mechanic, the car will be warm by that time. he wont notice the problem..

 

Actually I am dealing with the same problems. My 92 GXE (auto) has seizures and it will sometimes go from 800 or 1kRPM all the way down to 500rpm. I primarily get mine while I'm warming up the car tho, once it starts running for a good 30 mins. its done tho.

I'm not sure if it is normal or not either so I'm thinking perhaps its because its an old car, or and I have a lot of mileage on it (131k) the engine is naturally going to do it. One of my friends tells me my sensors are messed up, but I'm not 100% sure.

I also have the fuel gremlins also. I tripped my last tank to 235 miles (pretty much all city), which calculates to about 12.7 mpg I know i have somewhat of a heavy foot, and I did use regular 89 octane gas. But i know I should @ least look at close to 285-300 miles tho.

chrgdRapa- if you put the AC on, does your "seizures" stop?

 

i dont use the AC. i just roll down my windows when needed. i had a Superbee as my first car, and it didnt have the AC so i kind of got used to not having it. AC will influence the idle on any car, new or old.

 

you're right thanks.

So check the fuel hoses? And possibly the o2 sensor no?

 

so the reason for the seizures is old age or something else? i got the same problem if it gets bad i just take my foot off brake and put it back on usually makes it go away.