jguillory

95 Maxima SE w/ 113k. Started fine first thing this morning; drove it for about 20 minutes without trouble. Parked it for about 45 minutes. Started again, fine -- but died after about 3 seconds. Wouldn't restart. Battery, starter, fuel pump all OK. After trying several times, finally got it started - but it would NOT hold idle unless I kept the throttle above 3k rpm. Blew a LOT of smoke out the tailpipe (maybe just running really rich?).

After about 2 minutes of holding it at 3k RPM, it idled normally, drove fine; even turned it off and it re-started like nothing ever happened.

Parked the car for about 2 hours, and it did the same thing again.

Anybody got any ideas? Just got the car back yesterday from the dealer who replaced the timing cover gaskets/seals due to an oil leak. Could something have been re-installed incorrectly by the dealer, or is that just a coincidence?

Thanks! joe

95BLKMAX

iTrader: (10)

W/e they did, they f***ed up. Check ur crankshaft and camshaft position sensors. Does it struggle to maintain idle (as in revs down to about 500rpm then jumps to 2k rpm and so on)? If it does it sounds like they messed up ur timing. But even that doesn't explain how it can idle good after 2mins at 3k rpm. It's hard to point anything out. This is a tricky one. Talk to private mechanics and c what they can tell u.

DoGGy

kind of the samething happend to my altima b4 i get my max. i would start it and it would shake really really bad and wouldnt move. one day it just never wanted to start so i had to tow it to mechanic. all there was wrong with it was the sitributor. if u think ur problem sounds like mine, then maybe you should try a new distributor.

jguillory

Well, I had the car in for a CV boot this morning, and the private mechanic couldn't duplicate the problem (of course).

The strange thing really is that it runs fine once it gets going, and sometimes it has no problems at all. That rules out timing problems, but I'm wondering if it's the IAC valve getting stuck in the wrong position (open or closed). When it happens, it seems like the engine can't get enough air, I know the car is running rich, because you can smell the fuel and the car smokes until it stops.

Any recommendations on replacing the IACV? Is this i do-it-yourself project, or how much should I expect to pay for it?

Thanks! joe