Ok, This is what has been happening with my car for about the past 3 months.

About 3 months ago I start hearing this rattling in my engine upon the RPMs falling. I take it to Dealer A and they keep the car for about a week, and then tell me that I need a new engine because a screw fell in, but they don't have the manpower(only two mech.) to do the swap, so they refer me about 20 miles down the road to Dealer B. I go to Dealer B and they call me back the next day and tell me that I don't need a new engine, the rattleing was caused by a bad precat, so they replaced it. Fine and Dandy with me, the noise was gone and the car drove fine.

So I go back to Dealer A to pick up some paperwork, and the head tech says, "I don't care what they did to fix the noise, the bottom line is that a screw went through you engine and caused damage"......By this point I am getting sick and freaking tired of all this crap, because up to this point it has been about 5weeks since the noise first started. So I ask the tech to show me where this mystery screw was located, and so he drew me a little sketch. I came home and took apart my Power Valve and here is what I found.



So now I want to see some action, and get the new engine that I deserve. So I call up Dealer B and tell them what Dealer A said, they basically said screw Dealer A they don't know what they are talking about. Eventually after some "sweet talking" we got Dealer B to agree to check my PV. I was thinking that if they saw it for themselves then maybe I could get my engine replaced. So I take my car in once again and leave it over night. The next day they call and say that they have my engine apart and they would like one of us (me or my dad) to come down and verify that the PV screw is INTACT!!!!!. I was unable to go so my dad went down with the above picture in his pocket.

He gets there and the head take, service rep, and service manager are all standing around my car and here is how it went.

Head Tech--"You can see that there is no damage to the engine if you
look here in the spark plug hole, and there are no visible nicks
on the spark plugs themselves"
DAD--"Ok"(he is going to play their game for a while)
Head tech--"This is all evidence that no screw has gone through the engine"
DAD--"what about the PV, where is that"
HT--(as he pulls the PV out)"you can see that there are two screws in the PV"

Now when my Dad sees this he realizes what they have done, and knows we have them by the short and curlies, but he decides to play along. BTW they didn't even put the same type of screw in the hole.

DAD--"well i am confused, why did nissan use two diff. kind of screws on this PV"
HT--"I don't know that doesn't really make any sense, that is weird"
DAD--"I didn't want to have to do this but...(as he pulls out the picture)..this
picture was taken the day before this car came into this shop, so how do
you exlplain how that other screw got there"

(DEAD SILENCE IN THE SHOP)

HT--"well, um, well, WELL UM AHH, i don't understand that"
Service Rep--"well I saw it when he pulled it out and it had two screws in it"
DAD--"the person holding this part, the person who took the picture, and myself
are all willing to take a lie detector test about this, Is everyone in this
shop willing to do the same"

(DEAD SILENCE IN THE SHOP)

At this point my dad starts to talk to the Service manager and the next freaking day they called back and said they have my new engine on order and it would be there in few weeks. I just picked my car up today with the new engine. I was hesitant to post all this before they did the swap for obvious reasons, just didn't want to cause bad blood.

But my new engine seems a little strange, maybe you all could help. When I start my car and rev it a little I can here what sounds like flowing fluid every time the revs go up. But that stops after about it warms up. Also there is this constant HIgh pitch whine, more so that usual. Any Ideas??

But anyway this just goes to show how crappy some people can be. Had I have been ignorant I would have never known the diff. BTW I don't think we are done with that dealership yet, they deserve to pay for their actions. Also the final tally of an engine replacement by nissan was 8500 bucks, good thing they covered it.

 

hahah you owned dealer b! nicee!

sorry i can't help you on the problem you are having/hearing now...hopefully someone else here can

 

Job well done. Good to see you covered your bases and caught them trying to screw you. Too often people on here talk about how they just go in an ***** and yell at the dealers but can't prove this or that. You did it right....take the photo, multiple dealers...

Only one question - You said that after Dealer B replaced the "precat" the sound went away....So why was there still the problem that caused you to take apart the power valve.

Anyways, well done. +1

BTW anyone know if this screw has fallen out on any 2k/2k1 models. I have only seen posts about it on the 2k2-3s...

 

There was no problem, just the fact that Dealer A told me that the screw was missing and I wanted to see for myself. The car ran fine, but we were worried that something might come of it later. BTW later on the head tech at Dealer B accquired a Borescope and told my dad that there was indeed damage to my old engine.

At 28k i had a horrible rattle accomanied with a SES light and a replaced#6 coil pack. That is when the screw came out and is what started the demise of the precat. Somehow the screw went in and out of the engine.

 

The dealer will always try to screw you!!!!

 

can you please tell us who dealer B is...so the SC people can watch out for them

 

Yea i will definitely tell anyone who wants to know, but I don't want to be "defacing" them on public forums, because remember we are not done with them. Just some good ole CYA....but anyone who wants to know just send me a PM.

 

Put it in the dealer/service area...

 

smokinodum had a similar experience i beleive. cept he paid for his new motor and installed it along with paying for the tow to his house from the dealer plus the work they did. good thing is that they finally owned up to their error and got him a brand new motor. not sure if he ever got reimbursed for the other stuff tho. maybe he'll chime in.

 

<<<But my new engine seems a little strange, maybe you all could help. When I start my car and rev it a little I can here what sounds like flowing fluid every time the revs go up. But that stops after about it warms up. Also there is this constant HIgh pitch whine, more so that usual. Any Ideas?? >>>

Sounds like they didn't bleed the cooling system properly and there's some air in there. As for the whine - the simple explanation would be that they didn't connect the filter capacitor (condenser) at the alternator and the whine is coming through your speakers. Otherwise it will be hard to find.

 

So it did end up being that screw. Those damn dirty apes!!!
Can you post a pic of where this screw is?

 

<<<But my new engine seems a little strange, maybe you all could help. When I start my car and rev it a little I can here what sounds like flowing fluid every time the revs go up. But that stops after about it warms up. Also there is this constant HIgh pitch whine, more so that usual. Any Ideas?? >>>


It's definately coolant. Make sure to check your overflow, it will go away in a few days as the air is purged. I just did a coolant flush on my engine.

It's funny you mention a rattling at deceleration, on the way home from work I had that happen. It almost sounds like pinging but not under load. Your picture above is not working. Could you please post:

1)Where the screw was.
2)How to get to it.

Thanks!

 

sorry but this wiis a long reply.. i had a similar experiance but it was on my specv...one day i was driving down to my buddies house and my car starting skipping but i wasn't sure what it was it only did it a couple times so i kept going and all ofa sudden it was horrible and i pulled over and got it towed to the dealer they called me the next day saying a srew was found in the number 1 cylinder and blamed it on me sohow i put a screw in there and charged me 100 buck to replace the spark plug...i tried calling nissan of norht america but they didn't doing anything about it so i dropped it cause i was getting nowhere then i went to another dealer because of the oil problem with these cars and after a lot of BS they warrantied me a new short block they told me drive it esy for the first 500 miles so i did exactly as they said not even a week later i go to leave work for lunch start my car and its making this horrible knocking noise so i called the dealer who installed the engine they tell me to get it towed to a different dealer that was closer and they qwere supposed to be a personel friend of the service manager they look at and say it needs a new motor the dealer that installed it didn't believe them and got it towed back to them and they looked at it and come to find out it did need a new motor and the cause was the intake vavle flap or plate was suckked into the cylinder and destroyed the motor now all this coulde have been fixed before if the first dealer who replace the spark plug took the time to see were the screw came from but they wouldn't take any responibility and now my car was sitting with no motor and i traded it in for the max glad i made that choice cause after they installed the 3rd motor it blew a head gasket what a POS that car was


but i'm glad you caught them before they screwed you sorry for the long reply but nissan ****es me off

 

Yeah, what is this famed "screw"?????

 

My pop works at a nissan dealership. He has only had one customer come in with this problem. I believe it is becoming more common though. They called tech support, and the guy on the other line new right away what the problem is and how to fix it. NEW ENGINE. Im guessing they are getting alot of those calls. Dont be surprised if there is a huge recall on this.

 

On what? There is no listing for a "power valve"...doesn't exist. Ask your Dad what screw is coming loose.

"Huge recall" to replace the engine...doubt that.

 

The pic isn't working because my hosting server is down, hopefully it will be up later. If you are facing the car the Power vavle is on the left side of the intake manifold. Over to the left you can see a "cap" with a vacumm controller sticking out of the side.....there are 3 bolts that hold it in.

And the whine doesn't come through my speakers, it comes from the engine, any more ideas.

 

Email me the pic and any others you have, I will host on my server.

HotShot2002@nc.rr.com

 

Here is a pic I have from that side. Is it in this pic?

 

yes it is in that picture....it is right there on the right with the vaccumm switch on it. right on the end of the intake manifold

 

Here are Bulldawg's pics:

 

I beleive I will be checking mine today. Could you see your missing screw through the hole after removing this?

 

ooops i didn't mean to send you the second one. haha that is my background right now. and yes you will be able to see the screw missing. hopefully it isn't

 

So the dealer tried to "screw" you by using a "screw" to replce a "screw" that was'nt there. Oh, this is hilarious. . .

I'm glad you got your engine. Kudos to you and your dad.

 

maybe should have taken them to court, maybe get awared punitive damages.... i hate dealerships... why does nissan have to stoop to such shady levels... do we really need to buy a BMW to get BMW service?

 

How do you remove that black plastic box in front of the power valve?

 

You don't, I just undid the screws that hold it in place and took off my engine cover, and followed the wires back and kept un-snapping the clips that hold the wire inplace until I had enough slack to lay it on top of the engine cover. It will be tight but it is possible.

 

How about the vacuum hoses? That thing feels like it is glued on at both ends. I keep rocking the car trying to get it out.

 

the vacuum hose that goes into the vacuum switch on the PV?...if that is what you are talking about mine just came off with no problem. A tip might be to take a flat head and put it at the end of the hose where it connects to the metal tube that come out of the PV, and push it out. Once you break it loose it should just slide off.


Also about my whining noise. If it were the Capacitor thingy on the alternator how would I go about checking/fixxing that

 

Bulldawg,

I got all 4 of the rear sensors unplugged, but the main bunch of wires in the black plastic box, go behind the passenger strut tower housing and hook to a metal clip on the side.

The metal clip is attached to a plastic ring on the wire harness. Is there a way to remove the metal from the plastic clip or did you undo the metal bracket attached to the strut tower housing?

I can post pics if need be.

 

yes, post a pic to be sure. But i think i just undid the metal clip by taking out the mounting screw

 

Bulldawg,

Here is pick of another metal bracket on the bottom of the black plastic box. How do you remove this? I unscrewed it from the manifold (2 screws) but it appears you can remove the metal from the plastic box. This bracket is in my way!!!!



I tried pushing the clip toward the black plastic box and then I tried putting a screw driver between it and the box...it won't budge.

Oh, got the vacuum hose off!!!

 

I don't know man, I didn't have this much trouble with mine. Just kinda pull and see what is hindering you....also maybe zoom out a little because that doesn't look familiar

 

not a new engine. just fixing the bolt so it dosnt come loose.

 

I got it, there was a clip inside the housing holding the metal piece to the black plastic box. I tried in back of it and on the outside, but not between it and the metal piece...fell right out.

Upon inspection, I seem to be in good shape.



Thanks for the help Bulldawg...oh yeah

GO *****!!

 

Haha

 

Hey, do you know if the MAF sensor will unplug without having to remove the security screws? I was cleaning my throttle body today after checking the PV. I couldn't get the MAF sensor to unplug, so I removed the security screws and let it sit on top of the strut tower housing while I removed the rest of the intake.

I tried pinching it and pulling it out for a while (like the other sensors) but it wouldn't budge.

 

Please report everything here: http://www.nhtsa.gov/

 

Anyone know what the PV does? Just curious.

 

Well after alot of thinking and reading through my Fluid mechanics books and what not, all i could come up with is that it equalizes pressure. If I remember correctly the PV is open while Idleing, and then it closes once you pass about 2G. So to me that means that it equalizes pressure at low RPMs to smooth the idle, make for easier air flow. Then when it closes it seperates the upper plenum from the lower plenum and allows the car to pull the air in smoothly. That is my best guess??????