Hey guys,
Anyone got a solution to the problem i've got..95 max gle is shutting down while driving and hard starting. Mechanic changed the fuel pump and ignition coils but the problem persist and is getting worse. Changed the spark plugs a few weeks ago at Monroe's and they said it may be a leak in the intake manifold gasket, which i hear is a ***** do and therefore $$$. Anybody have a solution to this...i desperate and had it up to here with this thing...love the car but not the headaches....HEELLLP!!!

Was Talking to Matt(Below) who had some sort of the similar problem...heres the conversation..

Re: need your help.

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It's possible, but highly unlikely.
If your mechanic looked at the fuel pressure and thought the pump was bad and the pump didn't fix it, then I would put a good assumption forward to say it could be the pressure regulator.
I haven't changed one on a VQ, but on the 3rd gens they're not too bad to get to. sitting on the end of the fuel rail right by the throttle body.

check around on the boards for more info on it for the VQ.

also might want to post a few comments in the regional boards looking for someone willing to do the work. there are always board members who are good at wrenching that are willing to make a few extra bucks.




Quote:
Originally Posted by Naija9
Where is it located? is it plug and play? i wouldn't even begin to know where to look. The mechanic hooked up a pressure guage when changing the fuel pump, which lead him to believe this was the problem. I think it may be the intake manifold gasket as when i changed the spark plugs recently at monroe's, they said the gasket may have an internal leak which would result in the engine losing power and shutting off while driving...




Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt93SE
they should be able to find it, but after reading your description again, I don't think this is the same problem.
sound like fuel pressure related to me.
have you checked the fuel pressure regulator yet?



Quote:
Originally Posted by Naija9
Thanks, I guess i'm gonna have bite the bullet and take the Max to the stealership....Can an independent mechanic diagonis/fix this problem. My mechanic said it was the fuel pump and ignition coils and $580 dollars later, i still got the same problem.




Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt93SE
On the altima, the intake manifold gasket is an absolute nightmare to change. I was quoted $900 by the dealer to fix it, and the only part being replaced was the $6 manifold gasket! (So that's $894 in labor!! )

On the Maxima, it should be a lot easier to do since the manifold goes out the top. can't say for certain on a VQ, but I've pulled the intake manifold off a VG and VE (both 3rd gen engines) and they take a couple hours from start to finish.

One of the ways you can check for a leak yourself is to spray some soapy water on the manifold near the flange while the engine is running (but still cool). If it's a bad leak, you can usually see the bubbles get sucked into the seam where it would be leaking..
the other way is to use an air compressor and pressurize the manifold with 5-15psi of pressure while spraying the stuff on the flanges and see if any bubbles come out the other way.
best way to do this is to use an air nozzle and remove the brake booster hose and stuff it in there. remember to turn down the pressure on your air compressor to make sure you don't blow the engine apart with 100psi!

hope that helps. good luck!




Quote:
Originally Posted by Naija9
Hey Matt,
I was doing some research on this problem(leaking manifold gasket) and wanted to know if this fixed your problem and how much the dealer charged. I have a 95 max which seems to be having the same problem..(loses power while driving and hard starting). Any info you can provide would be appreciated.

Thanks
Ken.



My wife's 97 alty had similar problems about a year ago. kept throwing CEL for O2 sensor... replaced it.. twice in 6 months.. also replaced most of the parts on the ignition.. disrtib cap, rotor, wires, plugs, etc.
I was about to replace the coil with an MSD or something to zap the **** out of the thing, but I finally broke down and took it to the dealer.

diagnosis was a leaking intake manifold gasket causing one cyl to run lean at high vacuum (idle & off throttle).
I asked how he found that out because I'd plugged it onto autozone's scanners and it said nothing but a bad O2 sensor...
he said the nissan computers (whatever difference they are) also indicated a misfire in cyl #4...
and being a nissan mechanic, he'd seen the problem before...
ran a vacuum test on the engine and found there was a leaking manifold gasket.


so anyway... check all the top end gaskets and see if there's anything there that might be a culprit. often an O2 sensor code is caused by a fuel or air leak problem, not an actual sensor problem

 

how about the gas filter did you replace that

 

Yes...that was infact the first thing i did when the problem started.

 

Any of your mechanics thought of checking the ECU to see if its spitting codes?

 

had same problem: it tries to bog out and stall, sometimes just sitting in traffic it will up and stall, clutch in, clutch out, didn't matter...anyways...ended up being my coolant temp sensor, replaced it, and bye bye problem... hope it helps

 

my camshaft position sensor crapped out whenver it felt like it. Wait a few minutes and it'll start up again. Unpredictable (and embarrassing!) There were no codes thrown (and in fact, the ecu was not linking correctly w/my obd2 scanner). Until 1x I forced the scanner to stop scanning and it finally spit out a code.

Jae

 

2DaMax: The only code its is throwing is the O2 sensor, which i don't think would give this problem..

CarbonDreams95: Did your max lose power will driving as well? How did u determine it was the colant temp sensor?

Thurznite: How did you correct the problem...replace the camshaft sensor? where is it located?...I'll try anything at this point....you are right, it is unpredictable and highly embarrassing..

 

CarbonDreams95,
Thanks a million...you had the right answer.....it threw this code and so far so good the max has not stalled....keeping my fingers crossed....Thanks guys...