okay so i bought a 96 se for a good price becuase of this misfiring problem. cylinders 2 and 3 will not spark. ive tryed different coils still nothing. fuel injectors are working. had a circuit test done and it seems ecm isnt sending signal to spark to 2 and 3. tryed a different ecm and still nothing. the only code i get is p1320.

 

Check for torn wires. Check the maintenance stickie and then go to the TSB's on the 2nd page and look for the one that talks about EGI harness breakage.

 

nope that didnt fix it. any other ideas? what would they share in common. i mean i even hardwired a new wire straight from the ecm to each coil and still get nothing there has to be a short on something they both share because all other cylinders are firing normally.

 

Check the crank and cam sensors.

 

i replaced the crank ref sensor and that made no difference. if the sensors were the problem wouldnt i get a trouble code for them?

 

Wasn't there a problem where if you had the timing off by one tooth, cyl's 2 and 3 wouldn't fire? Seem to remember something like that from All Motor.

EDIT: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....h+cylinder+2+3

 

oh **** man i think you got something. i need to check this out tomrw morning. how hard is it to remove the chain cover w/ the engine still in the car?

 

It isn't that bad, but it certainly does suck. Gotta drop the AC compressor off, alternator off (I believe, I remember taking the AC off to get the alternator off, for some reason during my re-timing experience...), PS pump has to be dropped off the cover too, as well as crank pulley and tensioner assembly. Then, after getting the motor mount off (a hell of a thing with the motor in, all sorts of wiggling around) and getting the PS reservoir out of the way, simply remove all of the 10mm bolts hiding around (including two 12mm bolts you can get to after removing the lower oil pan), then pry the cover off.

Most of the time is spent in minor things, like finding all the bolts, getting the PS pump back on (a long pipe and a hammer from the top helped for me...pure ASE certified method), and re-sealing the timing cover/oil pan. It's not all that hard to keep the timing cover from smudging on reinstall, but it definitely requires some picky hand placement and moving around.

FWIW I didn't jack up my motor at all while doing this, did it all with just the RF jacked up with the wheel off (and the hood off, to make things easier on me).

You'll need a variety of random sockets - 10/12/14/17, a 10mm ratchet wrench comes in great handy for some of the stuff, a few extensions. If you have access to air tools, an air ratchet is awesome for all this ****. You'll also need RTV and a gasket cleaner (or paint scraper, new straight razor blade, whatever) to clean/reseal the lower oil pan and timing cover.

Honestly, while I'm in there I'd replace the tensioner and guide with the updated parts per the TSB, and also the water pump, since it's a thousand times easier with the timing cover off.

/longasspost

 

haha yeah you dont need a breaker bar...you need an ez curl bar so you can do some skull crushers.

 

Pmohr you are the man, the timimg was the problem. It was off by 4 teeth.

 

How did it happen? Hopefully you got new tensioners and guides while you're in there, at the very least to make sure it wasn't a faulty tensioner that let it skip teeth.