Stephen

Had clutch replaced in December. Since then the throttle response has been terrible. The torque seems to be greatly diminished. I've taken it to several dealers and mechanics. They all say clutch is fine. However, something is definitely wrong. It's really a downer. This car used to be faaaast. Now I feel like I'm driving an accord. You guys have any ideas?

Vinipux

go to here
http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/

maintenance

Throttle Position Sensor (TPS)


what you have sounds like TPS
check it out

good luck

vmok

does the car idle funny or anything (high?) does it loose power at a specific point or rpm? if possible, check to make sure all the electrical wiring harnesses are all connected and none of the vaccuum lines were disturbed. does the car feel like it stutters or chokes as you're accellerating?

it could be something binding or it could be a sensor on the engine that got knocked loose... do you have any MIL/engine service soon lights on?

gee, i wish dan were here

-V

Stephen

The car seems to have less power at any rpm, but seems to be most noticeable from 2500-3000. After 3000 the engine sounds different than it use to. Before when I hit the gas there was an immediate and dramatic acceleration. Now the engine seems to gradually build up speed. But its not like the clutch is slipping. A mechanic said it could be a vacuum hose knocked loose when the new clutch was put in.
Still searching for answers.

Maxfreak

I would also like to know the answer to this problem. I seem to suffer from the same thing, power does not get laid down like it did before. Power seems to dip around 2500 to 3200 and them sometimes picks up again. Can we get more people in on this?

Vinipux

DISTRIBUTOR could also be faulty, trust me on this one, I've heard something like this before also, have it checked

Stephen

Did your similar problem surface after having the clutch replaced? Can someone fill me in on exactly what the distributor does. In response to an earlier question, it does feel like there is a stutter or a hesitation of some kind.

Maxfreak

No I did not have my clutch replaced, sorry. I too would like to know what's up with the distributor, do we have a traditional "distributor"?

Stephen

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely going to pursue this lead as well. I've had some of the idle problems described on the web site you referred to. I think this may be a separate problem I'm having.

ejj

iTrader: (5)

No, we don't.

Maybe one or more of your ignition coils is messed up...or maybe you have a fouled plug.

ejj

iTrader: (5)

when was the last time your fuel filter was changed? That could be clogged.

Same with your air filter.

vmok

btw, the 3rd gen Max's don't have distributors. they use direct ignition with a separate coil on top of each spark plug. there's actually six coils on the max. one of these may be bad.

ejj5875 definitely has some good ideas, as those will cause the car to bog as more fuel/air is needed. however, because this happened very suddenly after the clutch was replaced, a vaccuum line or sensor knocked loose sounds very likely as well, but most of the time, that would trip the engine service soon light.

it's interesting as most items that would cause the power loss that you're mentioning would trip the MIL light. however, the fact that you mention the car makes a different noise while accelerating during the higher rpm's does make it seem like a cylinder isn't firing... i know this sounds like a weird question, but does your exhaust smell any different? both at idle and after you've revved it up to say 3000 rpm for several seconds and let it return to idle? (don't sit there and inhale off the tale pipe, just the odor

-V

Stephen

replaced in last 6 months: plugs, fuel filter, air filter, oil/oil filter, clutch(all clutch hydraulics components replaced within past year), o2 sensor, timing chain tightened, water pump, ac valve, alternator,all belts.

Not much left to replace.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Small correction:

3-gen maximas. VG30 powered maximas have distributors and spark plug wires. Only the VE30DE powered maximas have coil on plug and distributorless ignitions on the 3-gens.

Stephen

What kind of odor or change in odor am I looking for? What does this tell me?

Is it expensive to have a coil replaced/repaired?

vmok

OOOPS MY BAD!!! Don't know what I was thinking... I drive a '97 and have always said 4th gen... haha...

-V

vmok

iv the coil of plug is not firing, you'll get unspent fuel going out the back. though cat should clean much of that, you wanna look for some smell outta the ordinary, like gas, rotten egg, or any other nauseaus smell, which might indicate that the cat was working to clean up the junk.

however, as I said, most of this would cause the MIL light to trip or rough idle as well...

-V

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

Each coil is approx 80-120 bux. Make sure you get the right one because the ones on the far side of the engine are longer to compensate for the intake manifold, and of course naturally the ones in front of the radiator are shorter. Maybe your O2 sensor fuse is out, and may not have been able to trip the check engine light. It actually sounds like 1 of your cylinders isn't firing though. Let us know. .0.02

Stephen

I've had the front o2 sensor replaced twice in the past year. Do think it was actually some other type of warning and they have been misdiagnosing. Also, when I replaced plugs from 60-112K I did not use top of the line, although they were platinum. Could this have created the problem?

vmok

I put Bosch plugss in and they're fine. Copper plugs actually have more spark energy than platinum and it's a better conductor, but platinum lasts longer.

You're right... almost everything has been replaced that may have caused problems.

Here's one thing you can try... bring you car into a shop that has a consult. They may charge you or they may not. My brother had a '92 300ZX that was having problems. We couldn't figure out what it was (though it had very similar problems to what you're describing). It ended up one cylinders wasn't firing and this is how they found out. The shop hooked up a consult, which can control everything in the car through the computer, and they killed one cylinder at a time. They found when killing one of the cylinders that there was no difference in how the car was idling, so they were able to localize which cylinder was not firing, then figure out what was wrong from there. The consult was pretty cool, it could tell us the temp of all the sensors, roll up/down the windows, turn on/off stuff...



-V

Stephen

Thanks, I'll give this a shot. Damn I wish the car could talk. Open up and say ah.

Stephen

Really thinking about the acceleration problem while driving this weekend. I think it could be the clutch, eventhough several mechanics have said otherwise.

Why I think its the clutch:
All this started after clutch replaced.
At very low speeds there is not the same torque.
The very distinct 1st gear groan is greatly muted.
When I downshift in any gear there is not the same "clutch grip" that there used to be.

All mechanics that I have talked to say that clutches are so simple and haven't changed for years. They don't think this could be the problem. But, the more I think about it, I think the clutch is the culprit.

vmok

if the clutch is the problem, then you should see the engine rpm's rise non-proportionally to the speed of the vehicle as it slips.

-V

Daniel B. Martin

This is a long thread and nobody knows what is wrong with the car. I don't know either. In the absence of clearer symptoms, it is time to fall back on basic principles. Please make some fundamental tests.
- Fuel pressure test
- Intake manifold vacuum test
- Engine Compression test

Post your test results here and we will all have something better to work with.