bad charcoal canister or leaking injector(s)??
 

after what seems like an eternity of trying to get maxy back up and running right, i was reading that a failed charcoal canister or the valve in front of it can get clogged or stuck shut. i am going to check the front 3 injectors this week if possible, but i read that topping off your gas makes the canister fill with gas causing the gas smell. i don't do that, but will a 24+ year old canister and/or valve cause my problem ( smoke and gas smell at start up ), or are the injectors ( that i have no codes for ) causing the issue? i know many of you want to say injectors, but, 4 of them are new, and 2 of them are about 2 years old with no codes. i truly hate to start a new thread, but i am so frustrated with this problem after all i've done to maxy she should run perfect. where to get new canister and valve in front of it that that are reasonable and cheap, thanks

If it's the model where the charcoal cannister is located at the back of the car (on driver side), it is pretty cheap brand new from the dealer.

https://www.courtesyparts.com/oem-pa...bC12Ni1nYXM%3D

Is there any shops around willing to diagnose ur car? I feel like you are trying so hard to fix this problem yourself but can't seem to figure out what it is. Best of luck to you.

i've been to a couple of op around here including 2 dealers, i really feel like all they want to do is sell me a new car or mis-diagnose the problem. i was taking her to this one guy who wasn't charging me a lot but also didn't seem to grasp what i want which is to fix the car. charcoal canister being that cheap i'll probably replace it because i'm an idiot and i like throwing money out the window. plus i think that the fuel pump is on it's way out cause of the age and all the problems. goddamnit :banghead:

I'm going to scold you again, grasshopper, for these sentiments.

If you're going to keep (and actually drive) a 20 to 25 year old car, parts will need to be replaced ... sometimes simply for the sake of replacing a 20 to 25 year old part.

Replacing a 20-25 year old carbon canister, notwithstanding it's potential failure, is smart.

Ditto on the fuel pump (I've actually got one of these on the shelf in the garage) myself.

Your car's insured (as in you keep an auto policy), right?

This is the pretty much the same thing.

Make sure to blow all the evap lines out when replacing the canister, from the engine back to the canister.

i know man, i'm just feeling like it's never gonna end. i was thinkin on doing the ects because i think at 14 years old, it probably needs replacement. am i right in stating that they don't always throw a code?

Right on the ECTS and a good idea. Over the next 5-10years you'll probably of replaced most if not all the sensors and other wear items. But then it will be a born again Maxima

I'm still thinking it's your injectors.. are they flowing properly and not stuck open?

just curious, you stated that your spark plugs were black. how old were your injectors that you replaced? what did you do to test before pulling them? my plugs are black, don't really want to pay to re-do all the injectors. i know they're not all bad, maybe a couple of them. i fired up maxy yesterday and she ran like cat piss, tons of smoke, stalled after only driving a couple of miles with strong gas smell. i really wish i knew someone from this board that could come over and give me a hand with the car, bad back and shoulder and i can't bend over to pull apart the max. i have a new guy, but he's so f'ing busy all the time i can't get him to work on maxy. it's like pulling teeth. i have cash if someone wants to stop by and help before may when the inspection is up. :litch:

Although I do have the benefit of having three vehicles at my disposal and you may not, I personally am all about the "phased approach" if you can go that route.

Replace your carbon can ... see if that does it. But, be prepared for the possibility that it's not truly the problem.

Replace your fuel pump ... see if that does it. But, be prepared for the possibility that it's not truly the problem.

I do still feel strongly, based on your previous descriptions, that your issue is very likely an injector issue.

Nonetheless, your investigation and replacement of old parts and pieces isn't stupid and it's not a waste of money.

I think you going after the ECU as the culprit should be your last option unless you've got some very compelling evidence pointing to that component. You've got a couple of much more likely causes staring you in the face that should, IMO, be addressed first.

i would'nt even consider the ecu, no way. injector's are next after reading josh's description of his running rich and black plugs. i just want to know why all of a sudden those damn things go south like that. christ, i mean i replaced so much $hit on the max and all of a sudden she $hits the bed and won't run right? :rotz:

She's 20+ years old ... that's 140 in dog years.

Injectors or FPR.

Are all the plugs black? If they are on all of them, I doubt it would be an injector issue and I would imagine it being more of a global fuel issue. If only individual ones are, then I think you could narrow down the issue.

Injectors my dude, I went through the same thing. Flow test and make sure they're spraying correctly. Otherwise, the misfire comes back. I went through 7 brand new injectors before realizing they were all defective and did not know if they were flowing correctly in the first place. Before that, my injectors were the originals that came from the car (super dirty and dusty).

Injectors may have been defective right out of the box! cause that's what happened to me and I thought it was something else because of the smoke coming out of the exhaust. Do not overthink this before you start replacing parts that are not solving the problem. Black spark plugs is a big red flag that it is running rich, running like cat piss, fuel smell, and stalling. It is clear its injectors.

meaning?

Meaning something that wouldn't isolate to affecting individual cylinders (e.g. injectors, etc) but across all cylinders (e.g. MAF, etc).