Hello, just joined the forum. So I just bought a 92 maxima 5speed. And it has some problems... First off, it runs like crap, stalls occasionally and jerks when accelerating. Very difficult to get up to 40mph. Also, there is a problem with the coil packs, the front 3 have cracks on them causing the spark to go through the whole top of the motor up to the intake manifold. So I know it needs 3 coil packs. I have done some research on these cars and alot of people have the same problem with the stalling and jerking, I've seen people say that they replaced the MAF and it cured it. I have reason to believe mine is shot, considering while it's running it smells like a 2 stroke. I'm gunna look into it more, but I think that's the problem. Also, I went to go ckeck the codes on the ECU and only see one LED light. It flashes 5 times slowly, then 5 times fast. Any sort of input would help me here. Thanks.

 

welp....
you said you have 3 bad coil packs...how about you start there and replace them and see what happens? no sense in looking for other part(s) that's broken when you have 3 that's looking right at you.

 

Any Intel on the ECU?

 

At least try to tape up your coil packs with electrical tape first. I've seen that do the trick, though ideally you do still want to find non-cracked ones.

Also, MAF's are easy to find at the junkyards. If you really think it's bad, try swapping it out. It's easy

 

They are taped up right now. Still runs crappy. And yea, I know MAF's are easy to replace. Only problem is it is currently -25 degrees where I'm at. Just gotta wait for it to warm up a bit to go to the junk yard. Thanks for the input tho.

 

Just replace all 6 coil packs. If you have ONE bad one, it can cause your car to stumble, stutter and stall. Even if they test out OK, they might be failing under load (like when you accelerate or go up a hill).

I had this problem with my car and because no coils had cracks and they all tested OK, I thought it was something else. I replaced damn near every component on the car before finally giving in and buying a set of coil packs from someone on this site that wrecked their car, which had been running fine before the accident. After that, my car was fine.

If your plugs are not firing correctly, there will not be combustion and you will have a lot of unburned fuel, which is probably why you smell "like a 2 stroke." You could also have injector issues, as well.

 

So I have been toying with my car quite a bit recently. Replaced 3 coil packs, new plugs, ECT sensor, and I hooked it up to a scanner and checked out some data. While it's hooked up to the scanner the data shows that everything is working fine. When my car starts to act up, ie. Stumble or cut out, the scanner shuts off. I tested the ignition switch and it's good. I am quite baffled on what is wrong with this car. Now mind you I work in the automotive field, my boss is 55 years old and has been workin on cars since he was 18. He is also baffled. Need some insight here.

Also, the stumble/stall issue is very inconsistent. Like it changes every time I restart my car. Sometimes it will run perfect other times it's almost impossible to get to 40mph. And everything in between.

Also I bought OBX headers from racingpartsdepot.com off the fact that it says it will fit both vg30 and ve30 motors. It does not appear it will work on the ve. There is NO egr bung on the rear header and there is a o2 bung on the front header. If anyone has run into this before let me know what you did.

 

Code 55 = normal operation. Hate to say it but the ECUs on these beasts aren't as sensitive as newer vehicles.

I wonder if one or more of the back 3 coil packs could be bad?
Or possibly a plugged up fuel filter?

Have you checked ohms on your injectors to see if maybe one of those is failing? Should be within 10-14ohms IIRC.

 

It's been years since I researched exhaust for the VE, but I want to say there aren't any direct bolt on headers for the VE without some fabrication. I could be wrong.
If you're looking for performance gains in the exhaust, I'd recommend a warpseed y-pipe. I believe the factory headers are actually designed decently.

 

I know one of the injectors is plugged or something. But all the other ones are working correctly. I just don't see how the problem could be a coil pack, strictly because of the inconsistency of the stumble/stall. If a coil pack was bad it would be consistent. I need to find a cap for the crank angle sensor so I can test that. That's what I think it is. When the car stumbles the rpms drop to 0 for a split second then jump back up.

 

Here is a link to a video of what is going on-
http://youtu.be/6EdH7W-J7CQ

This does not happen constantly. It happens maybe 40% of the time. Sometimes more often, sometimes never. My foot is on the accelerator the whole time, probably a quarter of the way down.

 

I've never experienced or seen what a failed MAF is like myself, but from some things I've heard along with your original diagnostic, it looks like a bad MAF. Although what I've heard is that a bad MAF wouldn't let you rev passed 2500rpms, I cant' confirm that, and you are getting higher than that. Any chance you've got your hands on a MAF to test? And just so I understand correctly, 60% of the time it runs like there are no issues at all?

 

I have replaced the MAF with one from a local junkyard. I still have the old one. And yes, about 60% of the time the car runs perfect, a little rich, but practically perfect. But it's very inconsistent, sometimes it will never act up, sometimes I won't hardly be able to get up to 40mph.

 

Hey bud, i was curious if you found a solution to this issue. I have the same exact car with the same exact problem. I've noticed that maybe after 1/2 hr of driving it seems to do it much less, but when the car is warming up its a nightmare. Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.