i had a misfire on cylinder 3. verified by reading codes using SES light. moved the coil to cylinder 1 to verify coil and cleared codes. got cylinder 1 misfire, no issue with cylinder 3 now. so now i know the coil is the issue. i removed the coil from the tube and checked for spark by reconnecting the harness and starting the engine. there was arching from the side of the stem where the rubber boot is. i figured the coil is good so i fixed the arch leak by putting rtv mega black or ultra black silicone gasket maker cleanly around the boot where it meets the stem as well as the upper boot that connects to the coil. i also put some inside the lower boot to seal it better. works like a charm. cleared codes, none came back and the sputtering is gone. also note that i threw a code for crank position sensor (ref), the one next to the oil filter so i cleaned it and the harness and the area around it with engine degreaser. that code didn't come back either.

just wanted to share this incase someone has a similar issue and the coil isn't necessarily bad and money is tight.

i'll post an update if this fix doesn't last.

 

People used to (or maybe still do) do that "coil fix" with electrical tape, but obviously it would melt due to the heat. Hopefully the gasket maker you used is sufficient for the heat. Great ingenuity money is always tight for me so I am always "fixing" things by using what I have laying around...and usually they continue working

 

Thanks man. I looked at the rtv silicone products at work and decided on mega black rather than ultra black because the heat range was higher, something like intermittent 675 degrees F. I believe the factory adhesive would most likely be the same stuff or very similar. However these coils don't ever get that hot. I figure higher gives me more safety padding from melting and longer life hopefully. Anyway, so far so good in this heat.

Keep innovating.

 

There's thousand of decent boots in the salvage yard as well if you don't want to take his route....But That's a good fix....

 

was it sputtering at idle or all the time cuz my maxima sputters once its warm and only on idle have no codes going on i cleaned my iacv and throttle body and i cant seem to find out why sorry for hijacking the thread man hahaha