mydecember1985

iTrader: (1)

I have dug and dug and dug for over 3 hours now, when I REALLY should be doing my homework. So now it's in the hands of you gentlemen/ladies .

Story:
2000 I30(Max)
Autotragic
Bought in 2006 @ 32K, now has 93K
Had issues with 2 bad alternators recently not long before this started. (possibility of low voltage FUBARing some sensors??)
JUST replaced plugs with NGK Iridium plugs to eliminate that possibility.
Everything else is original from what I can tell, other than the alternator and starter.
Only mods are muffler, apexi intake, cattman y-pipe, RSB, and coilovers.
Almost ALWAYS gets 91-93 octane. If the station I get my gas at (racetrac) is out of premium, I will only put in 2-3 gallons of 87 to hold me over for a day or two.
I already cleaned MAF and TB to no avail.

I can't remember what color stickers are on my coils. if it helps, I think my car was one of the early 2000 models, it was bought it October 1999.



Alright, so pretty much every time the car sits for more than 6-8 hours, I get the following problems:

Mind you, I have no CEL, so is there such a thing as a 'ghost' code??
Car still gets good mileage @ 23-26 MPG

1. Start car, fires right up, Idles quite well, but not great. Before the idle starts staging down, I might hear an occasional mild 'pop' from the exhaust, but very mild.

2. I go to rev it, it just about stalls. Where I put my foot would normally put it around ~3K RPM on a normal day (10-15% throttle). Instead, it's dying to hold out 1500RPM, if it doesn't almost stall. If I give it a few quick, deeper revs (like 2-3second VROOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMSSSS) lol and break it through this 'trouble spot', it smooths out a bit more.
If I try to just drive it without clearing it out and revving it, it stumbles bad and feels like a retard driving a stickshift.

3. Even when it is warm, if I am accelerating hard, I hit "invisible walls or steps" at like 3200 and especially 4500 RPM. If I am jumping on the highway, and it pulls a long 2ng gear pull, @ 4500RPM, the pitch of the motor lulls for a second, then comes back, but at way reduced power. I can still go, but at what feels like half power.

4. The car is at Nissan now and I am picking it up in the morning. They kept it since Monday and they called me back saying that I might need "a basic tune-up with factory-spec plugs and new ignition coils". WTF?!?!? I thought coils throw CEL codes like a ****!

And on a side note, I found it laughable that they wanted to charge me an hour and a half of labor and $126 a piece for the coils, so close to $830 + tax!!

From reading, I have gotten all kinds of ideas like:
Fuel filter
MAF (prolly not, cus thats a major CEL-blinking-in-your-face-thing)
IACV
PCV
EGR
Fuel Injectors
or TPS

When I took the plugs out, there was some carbon buildup on the pistons, so I seafoamed (used ~<1/4 bottle) the car through the brake booster line and the hose that attaches to the throttle body. didn't help the stumbling.

One thing I did read about is sediment in your tank. I almost always run the tank to fumes, which could pick up lots of sediment and clog your filter and injectors, correct??

If I want to get the injectors out to check them, does anyone know where to find a write-up?

TYVM in advance and I will catch everyone in the morning before school.

mydecember1985

iTrader: (1)

bueller? anyone? I leave to pick it up in 30 minutes!!

Parthur

I am not an expert but I'd say MAF; when I had problems with mine about 2 months ago, I did not have a CEL but I did notice that when reaching 2800-3200RPMs it felt like losing all power, still going but laking of power.
With the coils you "usually" get a CEL + trac off + slip.
Find someone with a good MAF and try it in your car.....
Keep us posted

mydecember1985

iTrader: (1)

thanks for that. I thought MAF was a "fail-safe" mode thing and kept you under 2500. I'll check into it

mydecember1985

iTrader: (1)

Alright alright, I'm pickin me up some parts to start tinkering!

See the attachments. Got me a MAF, 2 Coils to 'troubleshoot the dead one' if there is one and some seafoam for like $220-somethin!

Is there anything I need to do after I put the new MAF sensor on? Like leave the battery unplugged for a few hours?

Thanks

mydecember1985

iTrader: (1)

Should I cancel the order for the MAF?? I know the price is still a little high, but I am thinking it's gonna get returned anyways. If anything, where can I order an OEM from nowadays?

Is DAVEB still around after all these years?

Parthur

I wouldn't order coil just yet, as I said with bad coils "usually"you get a CEL+Trac off+Slip and for sure a bad misfire (car shakes a lot and the OBD will tell you which cylinder is misfiring). and if you still decide to go with coils I would not order BWD brand I tried 2 of them and did not work for me.
Yes Dave B is still around I bought my MAF 2 months ago from him ($85) + shipping and it's NISSAN!!!

But try to find a friend or someone with a good MAF and try that one on your max......before buying anything and paying for shipping and all that.. Just a thought

ColdRain

i thought there was a way to test coils with multimeter to find if any of them is faulty.

mydecember1985

iTrader: (1)

That sometimes works, but there are many posts about how a bad one can still give you good readings.

I won't even open the coils when I get them. I don't really know anyone with a max in this area unless I go all the way to Tampa. So I'll try this MAF. If it gives me some improvement, I will return it and buy a Dave B MAF.
What is his contact info?


Thanks all again. I have to go to work early today so I dont have time to run to the other end of the county to pick up parts. It'll be tomorrow afternoon when I'm back with results

Parthur

Hey mydecember1985, did you ever find out what was the problem?
I'd like to know if it was the MAF or what???

mydecember1985

iTrader: (1)

yes, it was the MAF! Weird that it didn't throw a CEL.

I put a new reman one from Autozone on and I got a "Bank 1 too rich" code. So now I have the old one back on and I am contacting Dave B about a nissan one. So the stumbling is back, but no CEL again. STRANGE