HELP, smells like oil too. Didn't have a torque wrench so that might be it. Or do they have to burn in or something...

 

No this is not normal...

What do you mean by shakes? Is it missing and studering? Check and make sure everything is clicked back together tightly. Not sure why you would be smelling oil though? As long as you snugged all of the plugs you should be fine.

 

all are snug, I'll check the connections again though. Is the anti-seize necessary???

 

No... This would only matter when you go to take them out again anyway.

I bet one of your connections are lose... this happened to me once after I change the plugs and I thought I had killed my car. lol

By the way what plugs did you use??

 

Antiseize is not it-it just helps with removal of the plugs at a later date. Hence the title "Anti-seize". Sound slike you have a "miss" where one of the plugs is not hooked up and is missing. The car will still runs with 5 plugs but it will run rough and prolonged operation like that can damage the engine. Check connections on plugs. You may need to pull all plugs and check the gapping... Did you do this before installation? If all plugs agpped right and connections are good, one of the wires could be bad or the problem is elsewhere.

 

umm, are all the coil packs back in?

 

Get a flash light, take out the coils one at a time and look inside the cylinder. Any oil in there? If so, you may need to replace the cylinder seals.

Did you disconnect any sensors while you were doing the work? Make sure everything is plugged in.

Good luck.

 

I got the plugs from Courtesy Nissan, they are the copper NGK. The guy there said they are pre gapped but he will check them himself and he did. I did not(probably a mistake) How do I check the gap???

 

You need a gap tool - you can get onefrom any auto parts store for less than $1. I use the circular disc type.
You basically measure the gap and adjust the tip of the plug (either bend it closer or further away from the copper conductor) to the correct gap width - Haynes specifies a gap of .039 to 0.043 inches.

oh.. and it really does sound like you're missing on a cylinder.
To find out which one it is...
with the engine running, start at one side, front or rear bank and lift out the coil pack. then put it back in.

If it gets worse, then that's not the problem one. If nothing happens when you lift it out - that's probably the one that's missing.

 

1) Remove plugs - check for correct gap
2) Make sure you haven't cross-threaded one of the plugs upon installation (check for metal filings; flattened or worn threads)
3) Look for oil residue.
4) Look at the plug electrodes ('bidniz end) to see which one(s) were misfiring (It/they will look different than the others)
5) Carefully/gently reseat and thread plugs in by hand: using a plug socket and extension (no ratchet at this point) Torque to specification.
6) Firmly press plug coils and shafts into place and secure each by their 2 mounting bolts.
7) Disconnect coil-pack plug harnesses, reconnect, wiggle them a bit (freshen up the metal to metal contacts this way)

Start engine & observe running cond.

 

I'll do that. All I know is that when I turn on the car it idles very rough. I haven't driven it yet(scared). Gave it a little throttle and car sounds like a mean V8...

 

Not to sound like a pu$$y but this is the kind of **** that scares me. I am gonna change my plugs soon for the 1st time and in the back of my mind I dread something like this happening. As easy as changing the plugs is, stuff like this seems bound to happen to me. It never fails
I am still gonna do it myself, I will not pay the $ to have that done.
Ivelweyz, did you find the problem?

 

I'll check everything tomorrow. It's dark as hell already. Now I need someone to get me to school in the morning. I'm hoping it's the connections but I checked them already...

 

how far is your drive? if its not too far (< 5 miles), it wouldnt hurt to drive it slowly....

for checking purposes, just undo everything, and then reinstall as if nothing happened, then just double check everything as you are going along the way

any CEL's?

 

It's 8 miles each way to school, a good friend is giving me a ride. And yes there is a ****ing CEL on, I didn't even look before. I'll check te code after I get home tomorrow. The smell is the exhaust fumes, they smell really weird much stronger than before. Are torque wrenches expensive...

 

for the most part, torque wrenches ARE expensive....you can probably go down to your local Autozone and rent one, or just go to Home Depot, buy one, and return it after your done with it

you might wanna check the CEL...its most likely 0201 (ignition control circuit) and then probably a cylinder misfire...

check the code before you do any of the work, could make your life a whole lot easier....if you get the 0201 and then a cylinder misfire, check the cylinder in which it says the misfire is in (if it only says one) the cylinders are as follows

1-3-5
2-4-6

if it says multiple cylinder misfire, have fun

 

DEFINATELY CHECK THE GAPS.

I was told my courtesy staff not to worry about it since they are pregapped....... realize though that the box is shipped, things move around, that gap changes.... When I checked the gaps on my coppers, they were really off, like .020...

 

thats because your an idiot

 

and how did I KNOW jaime would post before sprint....

 

the first thing i'd try would be resetting the ecu and see what happens, and if that fails, begin trouble shooting. Try the old plugs. Maybe a plug is defective? Highly unlikely but maybe...

 

I'm glad my misfortunes amuse you.

...What size torque wrench do I need?

If it is a misfire it's no big deal right, I can just fix it? How? I bet it's the ****ing gap, I knew I should have checked it...

 

no no, not amusing, just it wouldnt be fun...ok worded wrong sorry..

torque wrench, just get one that goes down to about 10 or so lb/ft, and as high as whatever, doesnt make a difference...you can just connect your existing sockets to it, so you dont have to worry about that....

if its a misfire, its most likely that your coil isnt all the way in, or your spark plug is installed incorrectly, or like Jeff said, your gap is off. First thing tomorrow, check the codes, then check the gap. Regap if necessary, and do a full reinstall

 

Thank you guys, you've all been great and helpful. You all deserve awards of some sort, the KUDOS AWARD( hands imaginary KUDOS AWARD to all who helped). Thanks everyone...

 

:coughing out loud: bad coil pack!!

Ant

 

Its like $25 at AUtozone or Strauss for a torque wrench.

 

how could the coil pack just go bad???

 

unlesss your coil packs got contaminated or it tore while it was out of the car, I highly doubt thats the issue...my guess remains as the 3 options above.

 

a friend has a 1/4 torque wrench and that probably works with normal sockets so I'll redo everything over. Only takes about an hour...

 

one of mine did when i pulled them out to change my plugs at the 60k mark. Nissan told me that they are prone to go once removed from the spark plug, dont even ask me what that means! Long story short, i bought a new one for the rear and the car was fine.

Ant

 

When I changed my plugs I somehow knocked my base idle off. The engine would shake because it was idling too low. Might check that.

 

so I checked the ECU codes and got 0201 and that's it, no other codes.

HELP!!!

 

hmm very wierd....try checking each pack to see if that pack/plug is foul

 

So does it sound bad at idle and all through the rev range?

Have you tried unplugging the coil packs while the engine is running to narrow it down to a single cylinder? (see my earlier post)

 

I'll try that thanks. I put my old NGK's back in and still the same stuff. How much to coil packs cost???

 

Front bank coils: $65-75 ea. through a Nissan dealer (less, if u find a deal)

Rear: a few bucks more, ea. (sorry, can't remember)

 

Damn...

 

Here's the deal, 2 of the coil packs have rust around the hole for the screw. The black coating or whatever came of 2 of them. A spacer is missing from one of the screws.

Question 1

Could it be that because the coating came off and the rust is there that somehow there isn't enough contact? Would putting elecrical tape where the coating used to be/where rust is help/damage anything.

Question 2

Would driving with a messed up coil damage anything internally, driving for about 15 miles.

Questin 3

"To find out which one it is...
with the engine running, start at one side, front or rear bank and lift out the coil pack. then put it back in."

Do I take out the whole coil or just unplug the connection???

 

Answer 1:

The coating on the outside of the coil pack shouldn't have any effect on the operation of the coil, or the connections inside the plug boot. This is cosmetic.

Answer 2:

No. < 100 mi probably won't have any ill effects. Driving for long distances with a non-firing cylinder can be hard on Oxygen sensors and catalytic converters, though, because you are dumping raw fuel into the exhaust from the mis-firing cylinder(s).

Answer 3:

I guess you could just unplug each coil's wiring harness, one at a time, instead of pulling the coil off the plug. In theory, the cylinder from which the coil is removed (& causes no change in the idle) is the bad coil, plug-boot, plug, or wiring harness.

 

#3 you can unplug the connection - that'll achieve the same goal - to stop the firing on that cylinder. If nothing changes, you've found the faulty cylinder. Then you can experiment with swapping coil packs and spark plugs to see which component in that cylinder is failing.
i.e. if cylinder 3 is misfiring, swap the coil pack with cylinder 1 to see if cylinder 3 fires with the working coil pack. If it still doesn't fire, it's a bad connection, wiring harness or sparkplug.

 

I got a FLUKE so I'll check the resistance. The oil I said