My 95 SE was fine today started right up this morning. Ran nice and smooth Left work OK, picked up my kid from pre-school car was fine. Me and the little guy were about to head out for something to eat and all of a sudden the car starts chugging real heavy. Took it around the block to see if it stalls and it did not. No check engine light. Take good care of the car only go to one gas station to fill up and have used premium since I I bought it in '94. I know she is getting old but she has never left me stranded. Fuel is at 228 at half tank, highway driving mostly. Any ideas on what might be going on?

 

Sounds fuel related. I'd be looking at the fuel pressure regulator and the fuel pump. Checking your spark plugs will also tell the health of the engine/system and provide clues to what's going on.

I bet shortly the CEL will come on, let it idle if you can in hopes of triggering it. Or perhaps the battery and brake lights will come on, indicating a bad alternator. May want to check health of alternator too.

 

The wizard makes sense, as usual.

I'd do an experiment to confirm his alternator theory.

I'd attach jumper cables from another car to the maxima's battery. If the car ran normally afterwards, i would suspect alternator issues.


Or I'd check the battery voltage with a vom.

 

 

I do smell gas sometimes. On very hot days when the car sits outside it take a few seconds to kick over. In the garage no issues when starting up. I am going to the mechanic today and hopefully we can find the problem. Thanks for the advice I will look into those.

 

 

Well right before I got to my mechanic my CEL came on. Hesitation seems rougher.

 

Earlier this year I started getting a strong gas smell in the morning start ups, I check later but to no avail. So I popped the hood and and checked the engine bay on a very cold morning startup, turns out there was a leak in the fuel rail right at the rubber line that meets with front rail. Luckily it was a loose clamp, tightened and no leaks and smells anymore. Plus startup has been very fast now, mpg increased and power is back.

 

Got a No. 3 misfire so it can be either my injectors or something else going on. I had the same issue with the clamp and the rubber line but that only happened during winter. Once I tightened it the problem went away.

 

my experience was similar when an Injector failed. no code thrown. but definitely noticeable chug and lag running on 5 cylinders .
after the failure. I took out the other 5 and none had intact pintle caps ,. I replaced those with new caps and seals. and all good since.

 

Now that you got a CEL, it is starting to look like an injector issue. Might be dumping way too much fuel which is causing your issues.

 

Injector servicing or replacement is becoming a regular maintenance item after 18+ years.. The o-rings begin leaking and the plastic pintle caps crack up.

People with other Nissan/Infinity products that use the Phase II (pintle cap) style injectors are in the same boat as Maxima owners.

If you run with leaking injectors long enough, it cooks the cats and you get to replace those or go for a Warpspeed Y-pipe.

 

Thanks for the info on the injectors. Had to rent a car as my mechanic said to leave it in the shop and do not drive it for fear of damaging my CAT which I just replaced two years ago. I only drove it about 30 minutes local and highway to my mechanic, so hopefully my Max is OK in the exhaust category. Driving a tiny Chevy, miss my Max.....