tim191k

New here. Thanks for the add. I have a 96 Maxima. One specific ignition coil keeps going out. This leads me to believe that the problem is not the coil. Any advice?

Violator

what brand are you getting?

maximaxi

There are three thing that can cause a misfire: spark plugs, ignition coils, or fuel injectors. It is one of those three things 99% of the time.


Also, the 99 is known for coil issues. The Chinese aftermarket coils suck. Only use OEM coils. Denso and Hitachi coils are the actual OE coils.

tim191k

Thanks. This is my Son's Nissan. I have no idea what make coil he used. I have control over the maintenance on this car now so I will be replacing a lot of things, Particularly the fuel injectors, plugs, and coils. It appears from your comments that the make of the coil is important. So OEM (Denso or Hitachi) is the way to go.

Off topic here. But I don't want to start a new thread for a simple topic. This car is in Russia. So I assume it is not American built like the Nissan's in the US. Do any of you know what differences their might be? I imagine emissions equipment differs significantly.... Probably no catalytic converter. I don't know. Any ideas?

Violator

Use the NGK plugs and as far as injectors you can go with China ones but I'd reccomend getting them flow tested to make sure they are all good and also order a couple spares in case one is bad. You can get a set of 6 for the same price of 1 OEM injector at the cheapest price you'll find. If you're gonna do the back 3 injectors do the fuel filter (doesn't have to be OEM) and knock sensor (this should be OEM, have been found on eBay for around $20). Look for valve cover oil leaks, the rear valve cover requires removing everything you'd have to do for the rear 3 injectors so that would be a good time to get it done. Make sure the injectors are all seated correctly, use oil to lube the top and bottom and again make sure they are seated fully. You don't wanna put it together and find out one of the rear injectors isn't in 100% and have a leak

As far as emmisions differences I don't think there's anything you should have to worry about

JvG

To the best of my knowledge, all Maximas of that year were built in the factory in Japan. My1996 has a tag on the firewall which says Made in Japan.

If the first character of the Vin number is J, it was built in Japan. I understand that a lot of Japanese cars with the steering wheel on the right were shipped to Russia once they were a few years old.

I also understand that some Maximas have 4 cylinder engines. Almost all of us on this forum have the 6 cylinder engine. This was the only option for North America, and western Europe.

Are you also in Russia? What part of that vast country?
​​​​

tim191k

Actually in Pro Russian Eastern Ukraine. Son is a Journalist here covering the war. He bought a 96 Maxima. I haven't seen it yet. It's in the shop for transmission repair. So I really don't know much about it. But he has family here and I am going to try to get it as refreshed as possible so he has reliable transportation. He has wife and two year old.

So I came over to help the best I can. All I am good for at my age it seems is babysitting and car repair. lol We are both from St, Louis MO.

I think this site is going to be a great aid in helping me with this car. If I am not mistaken, it seems a lot of people really like this model. I'll be around. Thanks all.

JvG

I think that the key questions are if the engine is a 4 or 6 cly, and where the steering wheel is.

We are quite familar with the 6 cyl, not so much with the 4 cyl. One of our members lives in Turkey, and has a 4 cyl car.

is it called a Maxima, a Cifiro, or another name?

where the steering wheel is tells us if the car was origanally sold in western Europe, or in Japan.

The first character if the. Vin number will let us know if it was made in Japan (J), or 1, the USA, or some other character which we will need to look up.

I think that the western European market cars are similar to the ones in North America which we are familiar with.

I'm guessing that you are also in the Crimea area?

CMax03

iTrader: (3)

Make sure you use Denso, Hitachi, or NGK coils available from rockauto.com, also make sure you use dielectric grease inside the boots...Make sure you don't have any leaking valve cover spark plugs tube seals!!! If you do and you use the dielectric grease it'll seal the spark plug/boot and it won't jump spark to the tube....If you have an Ole'school timing light you can watch the coilpack by placing the inductive pickup around the coilpack 's harness...If you suspect a particular coilpack, just swap it and see if the problem transfers as well,if not swap the plugs...

tim191k

The car is a six cylinder, with driver of the left like american cars. The transmission should be done this week so I can look at the VIN.. I can't wait to get my hands on it. It's got he 3.0 engine. I don't know yet what model (SE, GLE, ect)?
Crimea is what started the unrest in Eastern Ukraine. Unrest started soon after in Donetsk were I am. After a bit of anarchy here, a government was formed and the new state was called the Donetsk Peoples Republic. It is quite nice here in the center of the city.

JvG

it appears that the car is very similar to what we are used to.

if changing a coil on one particular cylinder does not help, the most likely cause is the spark plug or the injector. Of those, the plugs don't seem to cause much in the way of problems. But the fuel injectors tend to break down. That causes excess fuel in that cylinder, causing it to run rough, and emit fumes from the exhaust pipe which are whitish and smell like gasoline.

which cylinder has this problem? If it is one of the ones close to the radiator, the repair is easy. But if it is one on the other side of the engine,by the firewall, the repair will require that the upper intake manifold is removed.

Once you get the car back, please remove the spark plug for that cylinder. Send us a photo of the electrode area.

better yet, remove all of them, keep track of where they came from. Send a photo of the electodes .We will be looking for evidence of worn out plugs, or oil consumption, or gasoline fouling.

please smell the plug which comes out of the problem cylinder. Its likely that it will smell like gasoline, and might be wet.

if the plugs look worn, replace only with NGK brand ones. Preferably platinum. I expect that NGK plugs are available where you live.

​​​​​​Another question ... have you noticed if the coil looks like it is covered with oil on the insulator? The reason I ask is that the valve cover gaskets tend to leak into the well the spark plugs live in. That can cuse the kind of missing which you are experiencing.

How many kilometers has this car been driven since it was new?

I have been following what has been going on in your portion of Ukraine. I hope that things will remain peaceful there.

MichMaxFan

If its injector related you might try BG44k fuel treatment. I had a van running on like 5cylinders and that stuff cleaned it up. Ran great after that.

Just an idea before extra hard work commences.

JvG

This is worth trying.

The product cleans deposits on fuel injectors.
The same or different brands of fuel injector cleaners should be available in Russia.

Message to those of us in North America.
Consider that this man lives in Russia. It's likely that the specific chemical potions we are used to might not be available there. But European or Russian companies probably make similar injector cleaners.