98 Maxima hesitating at 3600RPM
 

I just bought this 1998 Nissan Maxima SE 5speed manual transmission car and it's acting up. I have cleaned the throttle body and replaced my dirty air filter with the K&N replacement filter. The problem is when I'm at full throttle, the car sort of "jerks" back and forth around 3400-3600RPM and sometimes around 5500 under hard acceleration. I don't have a check engine light on and the clutch seems to work fine. I've heard about knock sensors making the car run bad, but I don't have a check engine light on. Does anyone know what this could be? Please email me at yuriy2001@hotmail.com.

Yuriy

check the plugs ... also get your altenator tested

changing spark plugs
 

How hard is it to change spark plugs in the Maxima? I checked under the hood and I could even locate the spark plugs...

Real easy :thumbsup: http://www.vqpower.com/v2/modules.ph...howpage&pid=33

I just bought the NGK copper plugs for like $2 each at NAPA so all 6 were about $12. The platinums are too expensive for me. eBay sometimes has 6 platinums for like $38. You have to change the coppers every 30k, but the platinums should be changed every 60k.

It's real easy to do, don't get scared :p It's basically unplug and unscrew the coil packs. Take out the old plugs and put in the new ones. Put the coil packs back on and put their screws on. Connect them again and you're set :D

could it be a knock sensor?
 

I know that I have to change the spark plugs real soon, but what I don't know is if my knock sensor is bad. I've read about the knock sensor and it does not give you a check engine light if it fails. That is really weird. Also, I have a 98 Maxima SE. I think the front spark plugs are under the plastic cap that is over the cam cover. Anyways, this car is being a real pain in the *** already..

The KS may be checked with an ohmmeter.

1) Raise the hood. View the engine from the driver's fender. Look into
the deep valley between the cylinder banks and below the intake manifold.
Identify the KS as a black item fastened to the block by a single vertical
bolt. A wire harness wrapped in black leads toward you, out of the valley.
That is the KS sub-harness.

2) Follow the KS sub-harness to it's nearest connector. This is connector F121.
It is located near the upper right-hand corner of the valve cover of the forward cylinder bank, as viewed from the front of the car.

3) Disconnect F121. You have to do a "press the latch and wiggle and
pull" to disconnect it. F121 has only two pins; if you see more than two
pins, you have the wrong connector. Use a digital ohmmeter capable of
measuring more than 10 Megohms. You want to measure the pins of F121, not
the sockets of the matching connector. Measure the resistance between a
good ground (such as the battery negative terminal) and pin #2 of connector
F121. On my car this is the highest of the two pins, the one closest to
the front of the car. The factory spec is 500 - 620 Kohms.

Or http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=104931 :D

And yes the front plugs are under that plastic cover :thumbsup: It's a pain in the *** alrdy? You give up too fast :p

changing spark plugs in 98 Maxima
 

how do I change the rear 3 spark plugs? They look like they are under the intake manifold.. I don't know if I should mess with that..

It's not under the intake manifold. It's on the top near the back (stand by the front passenger wheel and you'll see them). Good look under your hood :p

checking error codes
 

Do you think that AutoZone can help me get the error codes from their OBDII computer reader? How long do the spark plugs wires last for? I hope I don't have to change them.

You don't need new wires. Maximas have coil packs that do not need to be replaced (unless they go bad).

AutoZone can check for codes for free.

The spark plug thing is easy. Look at the link I posted before (http://www.vqpower.com/v2/modules.ph...howpage&pid=33). I did it a few months ago when I was only 16 years old :) Go look at this site http://www.vqpower.com/v2/modules.ph...howpage&pid=33 and read it. Not too hard. You'll :slap: yourself after you do it since it's too easy :D

Error Code 1336.. What does that mean?
 

I went to AutoZone and they said that I have a 1336 Error Code on the computer. The description of the error code is "Crank/Cam Sensor Range/Performance". The guy has no idea what that means, other then it's a sensor. What do I need to replace? Is this something that I can do by myself? Or should I go to the dealership? Please help...

Yuriy

My car was just doing this. Only under full throttlt the car jerked from 3000 RPMs on. It was my PCV valve. An $8 part. Your is probably clogged and too much oil fumes are being sucked into the intake. Or something like that. My intake was filled with oil. Change the PCV vavle and Im willing to bet your problem will be gone.

why did the crankshaft position sensor go off then?
 

I will probably do that also, but I just want to know what the Crankshaft position sensor went off and what should I do about it. Does this mean that it's an expensive part to replace or does it mean that my engine needs to be replaced?


Yuriy Z.

where is the PCV valve located?
 

Do you know where the PCV valve is located? I'll probably go and try to replace it right now if you tell me.

Yuriy

hesitations you say? eh? EHH?! EHHHHHH?!!!!!!!

Not to sound rude or anything but I think all you people are wrong. I can almost bet $$ that it's one of the ignition coils going bad! -

ANyway, read my posts (they're the longest ones...lol) here: (http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....=ignition+coil) AND (http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....=ignition+coil)

P1336 is the 0905 code: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....highlight=0905

PCV valve: http://web.archive.org/web/200111091...k_service.html

Buy a Haynes repair manual, it's very helpful :D

so is it the PCV valve, coil pack, or the crankshaft position sensor
 

A lot of different replies for the one problem that I have. I am going to replace the spark plugs, the PCV valve, and the sensor. I hope this will do the job. Otherwise, I have no clue.

Change the plugs (use NGK coppers or platinums), PCV valve (http://web.archive.org/web/200111091...k_service.html), and fix the sensor problem (http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....highlight=0905). After you do these 3 things, your car should be fine. Don't worry about the coil pack.

I think u missed my post above...read it god dam n it! I bet $$ it's your ignition coil...you will waste money replacing other things.

dealership says one of the Coils is bad
 

I went to a Nissan Dealership and they ran a quick diagnostics and it gave them a code relating to the ignition system. From what I described was happening to my car, the mechanics said that it's one of the coil packs. Autozone code is crank position sensor. WTF? I'm going to go with the Nissan instinct, but damn. Why are they so different. Does anyone know what the labor hours are for testing all coil packs? If you do, please let me know. I would like to know before I spend it. Perhaps there is a way to check the coils myself. I don't know. I don't have the equipment.

The same thing is happening to me but only when im slowly accelerating to redline. I feel slight hesitation around 3.5k and sometimes around 5k rpms. I just replaced the plugs (NKG copper) and the intake is new and the TB is clean.

Could it be the fuel fiter or the fuel pump? I do have 100k miles.

Ask someone around you (http://forums.maxima.org/forumdispla...aysprune=&f=42) to help you test you coil packs with a multimeter :thumbsup:

I'm getting the same hesitation. Max is about to turn 103K, and I haven't done anything to the engine (except oil changes and air filter). Makes me wonder if it's worth it to spend $$$ on 7,500, 15K, 30K, etc services. I will put new NGK coppers in to see if this cures it. I have a feeling I'm gonna have to do alot more :(....

does it disfire?
 

You should get a check engine light if the engine is misfiring. Hesitation like this is can be caused by a sensor or some kind or a main wiring harness going bad. I don't understand it. Mechanic told me that it's not rare for main wiring harnesses to fail in these cars. Would it make more sense if they did a recall? This sucks.

Could a bad rear O2 sensor cause the hesitation????

check your error code
 

If it's a bad sensor, it will say so by the error code in your computer. O2 sensor is a sensor that reads your fuel mixture and other things. Read up on some threads about bad O2 sensors.