Cielo

So after my previous "shaky" driving post a couple months ago, my maxima's finally dead.

I start the car one morning (4 days ago) and she fires up like she usually does, nice and quick start, then i put it in D and she goes about 3 feet and dies.. start her up again, let her idle to see if it does it again, she doesn't... so i think its all good... but i throw it into D again and she dies... again

now im like "ok.. i guess i'll take the 240 to work today then" reluctantly... So i fire her up again to try and reverse her back into her parking space, but as soon as i throw it into R , you guessed it... dead.

so i just roll her down the hill to the enterance of my driveway and there she sits on the side of the road... getting rained on and collecting water/rust/air just sitting there.

im daily driving my weekend car now... but i need to get my maxima fixed before i take a BIG penalty on my 240 (its got hotrod insurance with a 5000 mile limit per year.)

the maf is OEM and brand new. the previous problem was a shaky drive between 1300-1800 RPMs and a creep in D (creep meaning, in drive, no foot on gas).

Spark plugs are also new. passenger CV axle is new. everything else is old. Oil is new. Oil filter is new. Intake filter pad is new. No CEL.

styliztik

Cleaned tb an iacv? Checked tranny fluid?

cashoit

Start off by checking TPS and IACV per FSM. Clean TB and IACV per how tos.

Honestly, sounds like your Torque converter crapped out. Sorry

Trini Boom

iTrader: (5)

Car has no codes? When you start it up in P, where is it idling RPM before shifting gears?

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

One foot on the gas, one foot on the brake. Put it in "R" or "D" while you maintain some RPM's and tell us what happens.

D I R T Y I 3 0

Happens to my car in the winter man, just let it warm up for 10 or 15 minutes then it should run ok

Cielo

living in hawaii with 78-90 degrees F all year round, its not temperature related.

thats it, when i put it into any engaged gear, brake pressed or not, it dies just from being in the gear.

but i can let it idle all day. she only dies when i put it in any gear.

if a torque converter crapped out, does that mean new transmition??? in that case i gotta sell the car?

Cielo

in P or N starting cold, idle is high 900-1100 rpms. but thats normal. operating temperature is at 500-600 rpms.

driving the 240 once again today. need my workhorse back... my maxima's my baby.

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

Sounds like the idle is too low so it dies...raise your rpm a little....hopefully it's not a faulty MAF sensor...disconnect it and try to move it in drive or reverse again!

Cielo

would 1 failed injector/coilpack cause the problem? thats what they said in my older post...

i was wrong about idle. it actually idles at 1500rpm during a cold start. temperature right now is 88 degrees outside. just tried this. it goes down to sub 1000rpm at operating temp but i haven't been able to get it to operating temp as it hasn't been able to go anywhere to do so.

SandyMax96

iTrader: (12)

Coil pack wouldn't cause it to die off, if anything it would struggle and chugg about. If it happens only when you get into gear, my guess as anybody else's would be the Torque Converter. Also, is your ground on the negative secured? More importantly, any grounds connected to your tranny?

Cielo

i was refraining from asking, but a fruitless google search forces me to.

sigh... are torque converters replaceable parts? can i replace the torque converter myself? the junkyard sourced out 4 complete auto trannies but they are charging $1200 each. damn chinese junkyard.. the only one on the island too.

SandyMax96

iTrader: (12)

You can do it yourself, yes, you will just need some muscle man power help. It's better if you have a chain to lift the tranny into position too when you line it up. But very doable. I would say it could save you a good $600 in just labor alone. Patience is key though.

Cielo

i'll reply later on i can't think atm. goodnight.

Cielo

oh wait thank you for the advice. didn't mean to sound rude. definitely i'll be sure to research that so or not off tomorrow morning. i'll find a walk through on doing this. can i lift/drop traddy with a jack stand?

andrewmac

iTrader: (2)

I thought I needed a new torque converter and searched around for one with no luck. Most places I found don't separate the t/c from the tranny for obvious reasons (renders the tranny useless). So what I did instead was I found a transmission shop, took my t/c into them and they took it in the back and tested it. They gave me the OK so at least I knew the t/c was fine. Of course that only left the transmission as the culprit so I just said f*** it and bought a whole new(to me) tranny.

SandyMax96

iTrader: (12)

Yes you can use a jack to support and lower the transmission out. Again, I would recommend getting somebody to help you out, unless you're alright with maneuvering a oddly shaped, 200+ lb item by yourself man. Lol. Again, it's not a hard job, just very time consuming and tedious. And as andrewmac said, I would call and ask around transmission shops to see if they have a way to test them, and would ask their opinion before going through the trouble of taking it off in the first place.

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Jeez, if you're going to throw parts at it, start with the cheap stuff first. i suggest replacing your coolant temp sensor.

DW

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

look for an air intake leak first and may sure all your vacuum lines are connencted....it's something simple and it's not your T/C either it transmits the torque or it doesn't....Which means all it would do is rev when you give it gas to move....It moves slightly but you have a really bad intake leak and you need to find the source.....

Trini Boom

iTrader: (5)

You didn't state if the car had any codes or not. Does your check engine light come on before cranking? Even if it does, still scan for codes as ghost ones can be sitting there.

Cielo

will start looking for a bad seal in the hoses right now. will report back with my progress.

Tyutyunnik

iTrader: (1)

Off topic but how in the world would the insurance company know how much you've driven the 240?

Cielo

the company needs to see your registration every year. they always log your mileage in my state. as far as collector and interest vehicle insurance for my company goes, you pay $150 every year. you pay penalties for going over the 5000 mile limit. you have to have your own home and the odometer has to work.

i accrued a penalty last year. so my insurance for next year will be over $400 this time. which is why i don't want to accrue another.

oh yeah. ANWAY UPDATE:

The intake and all piping i redid and tightenned up to see any changes, but i notice now my car acts like I30 said up there ^ dies in gear when cold, but allows me to drive once it warms up... BUT**

the car runs (poorly) once warmed up. it can still hit highway speeds. but theres a noticable loss of power. need more throttle to get more fuel/speed (idk what it is). and it STILL has the old problem but now a little worse. it can rev all the way up and down, the trans fluid is a nice bright red on the dipstick. the motor oil on the other hand, was ALL OVER the oil dip stick... is this supposed to happen?

99maxwell

iTrader: (1)

It is normal for your oil to be all over your dipstick but that is happening because you either checked it while the engine was running or didnt give the engine enough time after turning off the car. you should always check your oil with the engine off, and after turning the engine off wait about 15 20 mins, then check your oil. This will give the oil time to drip back into the oil pan and is the proper way to get the most accurate reading.

styliztik

Wow. $150 per year. Hell, I'd kill to have to pay $400 a year for my car insurance lol seeing as how I pay $200 a MONTH. lol

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

Replace your front O2 sensor. Just the one after the exhaust manifold. They get tired without throwing codes. I mention only replacing one because the ECU only uses the one to fine tune air fuel reading in closed loop mode.

DW

Cielo

though keep in mind u probably drive alot more than 5000 mi/year and have the privilege to do whatever u want with it. lol most hotrod insurances won't even "let" you race your vehicle.

yes hotrod insurance is the best thing if you collect cars or have a non-daily. $400 doesn't sound bad but on my wages its not exactly fun to be hit with a spike in your bill randomly when its $1200 for the maxima alone ontop if all the regular mishaps lol. makes no sense to regularly ensure a bi monthly-driven "race" car for an additional $2k+ yr., being under 30 and male (woulda) sucked had it not been for it.

the front o2, ok. brand new let me see what it costs.

styliztik

about 10k/year. 20 years old. full coverage. on 98 max and an 07 bmw 3 series. lol

Cielo

update: still waiting on the 02 sensor... but now my car during cold starts responds to the pedal when it wants to...

idle is at 500rpm even cold when it used to be at 1200+- rpm before dropping down to 5-6 when warm. if i push the pedal, it feels like its not giving any gas then suddenly jerks a little revs up and down up and down, if i push down further to try and rev it, it will take a few stops on the way up the needle. like its struggling to rev linear and smoothly... its not going "vrooooOOOOmmmmm" its going "vroo-...Vroooooo-vroo-VroooOO-OOOO-oo-mmmm". then off the gas it drops down almost instantly back to 500 rpm.

also when idling in traffic (in Neutral). the rpms float from 500 scarily to a couple rpms below and the car sorta warbles. not like rough idle. and its never felt like it was dying. it just simply goes lower than 500 at times and comes back up. very slowly dipping down to like 450-400 before returning up like its on a boat. not like dropping or jerky like a vacuum leak.

it is NOT the maf.

when warm and it does run (still like **** but no longer hard to rev), when in Drive gear and 0% throttle (coast/slowing down) even if i'm doing 40-50mph, the revs drop right down to 500 rpm like i threw it into idle??? but when i press the gas again it continues to drive normally.

what the hell is going on.. im almost being forced to put this car on craigs as a mechanics special... but i can't. ugh.

styliztik

Listen to the exhaust at idle. Make sure it's making an even rhythmic tone

Cielo

what do i do if it is? what do i do if its not?

styliztik

It can usually mean a few things. If its not, you could have a misfire, or it's possible to have a clogged cat. And from my experience, your "vroom vroom" description (lol) sounds like a clogged cat. But idk if that will throw a code

Kuhn_man

iTrader: (8)

sounds like the maf

but in all honesty when my maf went out my car did that and when i put it in first (5 speed) i had to damn near floor it to get it moving and to keep it from dieing. so how do you know its not the maf. and if it is your cat, one way to fix it is to cut it off and see if it runs better but a way to check if its clogged is have someone rev it while your by the tail pipe. the exaust flow should match the cars rpms if theres a delay between the rev and the increase of flow than its blocked.

Fatboy98maxima

wowww what a dilema keep us posted i would like to know the outcome of this issue

GGENIUS

iTrader: (1)

for serious. this is as confusing as my boys center console problem. actually that reminds me...

Cielo

a clogged cat would keep me from getting fuel and prior to that, cause my engine to vibrate like crazy??

its not the maf. the maf is almost brand new and last time it went out, it acted totally different, rev-limited to 3000 rpm and would die anytime you put it into gear, or died anyway if u just waited for it to do so. unplugging the maf doesn't cause the car to run better minus the rpm limit either. so its NOT the maf...

i will update in a few days, i just dropped by to see any info i could get. since it seems hard to explain i'll upload a video next time to hopefully make it easier.

Cielo

no clue where my camera is . i gotta borrow one, i really need this car running.

i think you guys misinterpret me, thinking the "vroom" description is happening at idle. its not at idle, its when im accelarating forward. no matter if its 10% or 40% throttle, it ignores my foot at goes the same way. my foot could be down the whole time at 40% throttle (the same amount when ur starting to hit the highway), but the engine and trans doesn't load the wheels, nothing spins freely, no revs, no slipping, no engaging, no nothing, then 1 second later (VROO-) shoots up to 2500 rpm with much force and sends my car to 15-20mph (BUT) stops doing that, my car starts rolling, rpms dropping slowly, (But my foot never moved from 40%) its at 1400 rpm then (ROOOO) shoots up to 2500rpm (OOOOoo0) hesitates... (OOOOOO) drops to 2300 NOW 2600, 2400, 2900, 3000, shift, (ShOOOoom) 2000, 1000, 800, 500, (VroooOO-00-00-00) (Stuck at 2300) 2300 2250 2400 (ooOoOOOOOMMM) 2500 shift, (OOOooooobbooop) 1200, 700... (Only doing 45mph now)

^^ all this, and my throttle position was always at 40% pedal push... only easing off to assist the shifting once adequate speed at the gear was met. (thats when it dropps below 1000rpm which is WAY too low between gears before bouncing back up post 1500).