Basically when i drive the car is fine. No erratic idle nothing like that. No CEL or any Codes. This is very hard to explain, i'll try my best.

This is the problem:
When i down shift to make a turn say from 3rd into 2nd i catch the clutch and press the gas to speed up(maybe 1/3 of the way in even less) the car starts to kinda hesitate,jump,shake,sputter, hard to describe.(kinda feels like it's either getting alot more fuel then it needs and starts to choke or it's not getting enough fuel and starts to choke). When this happens the rpms kinda jump up and down while it's choking. This usually happens under 3k rpm mostly in the 1.5-2.5k range. Happens mostly when I'm trying to drive normally and slow. Really doesn't matter if I'm up shifting or down shifting. If i say turn and drop it from 3rd or 4th into 2nd and press the gas ever so slightly then it's fine and i can even go into turns in 3rd if i barley touch the gas. just enough for the rpms to slowly go up, but if say i wanna take of after my turn and push the gas or floor it the car hesitates, chokes, jumps...

Please don't tell me i can't drive stick. I feel myself catching the damn clutch(sry but everyone's first comment is you don't know how to drive stick)

Here's what I'm leaning towards:
1.) Sparks - (Asked my old Mechanic to put in Iridium's he put some double platinum bs but sure enough charged me for the Iridium that's why he's my old mechanic)
2.) Timing - The timing might be off a few degrees (how can i fix this if it were the problem actually how can i check my timing?)
3.) The injectors/rails/pump/filter is clogged.
4.) Vacuum leak.

Anyone with idea's plz give them!!! I can't stand this, because it doesn't feel normal at all. I can't drive slow or normal. I have to go semi-fast so it wouldn't do this. Thanks for the help.

P.S. I hope Mdeezy, Tavarish and Dgeesaman step in. Thanks.

 

So you get a weird hesistation when rev matching comming down from 3rd to 2nd only or going up from 2nd to 3rd?

So the problem is appling gas after making a turn? I'm partly grasping what your explaining but still feel like I'm missing something.
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As for what you leaning towards, if it was spark related the problem would occur all the time and not only in specific gears as the sparks are firing all the time. Same theory applies for the rest as they are active while you are driving so if there was a problem with them it would more than likely occur all the time not just when changing down into 2nd or changing up to 3rd gear.

So this problem is present when applying to clutch or applying the gas?

 

It does accur most of the time, i just didn't really know how to explain it. It happenes in 1st also 2nd 3rd and 4th. didn't check 5th cause i only use it on the highway and this doesn't accur at high speeds. When i engage 1st and drive i feel it hesitate once maybe and then shift into 2nd and feel it also(sometimes once sometimes i feel it a few times like the car is coughing)

Mdeezy if you don't mind may i have your aim plz?

 

as per our conversation, it could definitely be your coils.

 

atm i'm also leaning towards that as i've already ordered new coils.

 

sure my aim is "analyz455"

I'm about to head out now for the night, but feel free to im me anytime, dont mind chatting mechanical stuff anytime.


I didnt know it occurs all the time, then I would lean towards sparks or coils. The hesistation leads me to believe a misfire of some nature.

 

idk it might be a misfire. I've never experianced one so i have no idea. Me = Mechanical Newbie. =D

 

im a total noob but by the sounds of it, coils or sparks.

ive had my car sputter from lack of gas, which would basically act like a misfire(or a spark not firing at all. no gas in chamber.. you get the idea) and it sounds like what youre saying sort of.(at least the bucking and hesitating)

ive had it where i floored it getting on the freeway and the gas sloshing around caused it to miss the engine a few times and it felt like kind of what youre saying.

try the coils and see if that does it.

 

i hope it does do it as i've already invested alot into this car.

 

can't be misfire you'd hear a BOOM and there'd be a CEL blinking, and a code afterwards.

but coils are a culprit on the 99s. get the mitsubishi replacement coils from nissan dealer, not the Hanshin brand that nissan sells..

it shouldn't be the spark plugs unless it's cylinder 5 where the mechanic "forgot" to change it (too much work to get to it)

 

all 6 are brand new. 2 months old but they aren't NGK or Denso. I'll be getting iridium's also when i change the coils.

 

I'd check te coils (which you said you ordered new ones) those are common. But also when you said "platinum b's", I assume you mean Bosch double platinums. If that is the case, GET RID OF THEM NOW!!! Those plugs, let alone Bosch in general ARE JUNK!! Listen to the other org'ers, as well as myself and go get some NGKs, at least coppers if you cannot afford the platinums right now. The only difference is platinums do not need changed as often (they do however require more power to spark compared to copper, and iridium is even more energy to spark). But that is mainly what your engine is designed to run with, so GET'EM! I have done testing at Federal Mogul (Champion) and different plugs and additives in different engines. Boschs were always terrible, especially their platinum lines. Change them before you instal the coils so you don't lose an arm or a leg if thats your problem. I am not 100%, because you should throw a misfire code at least, like vipervadim said, but thats what sounds like your prob is. Hope I could help.

 

i was actually planning on changing my sparks aswell with the coils to some Iridium's.

 

there isnt always an audible noise when a misfire occurs. Also a blinking cel means multiple misfires.

 

make sure all the plugs are sercurely plugged in and what not.it might be something simple.but please do replace those spark plugs asap.

 

Check the resistance sweep of the TPS. It should be clean and linear.
Swap the MAF sensor with a known good one.

 

I don't wanna hog the thread, but my 99 does the same thing. Like taking off at a light and I hit 3k on 1st, the car would just jerk as i just let go of the gas and not pushed the clutch. It really threw me off the first couple of times. No CEL though and seems fine when the motor is nicely warmed up. Could that be coils also? I haven't change my plugs, but i will do so this week end. Thanks guys

 

Did you check the ECU for codes?

I also recommend pulling the plugs and inspecting them. If a cylinder is misfiring, you might see the evidence on the plug. If I were you, I'd buy a whole new set of OEM plugs (NGK platinum) and run that instead of screwing around with aftermarket stuff.

Dave

 

I am having a similar problem w/ my '99 but it's an automatic. It also will stall when I change from reverse to drive. And NO CEL!
any clues?
thanks , Carolyn

 

Oh yeh, I forgot... Check the MAF sensor too, that as well is also known to be a problem with our cars. And I remember a fellow org member discussing this was his problem a couple weeks ago. Switch them out, but watch buying one and trying it, and trying to return it if not the problem... I used to work at Autozone and they do not like it when people do that. There is a way to test it, but I do not remember how (they should be able to at AZ). But that as well is the same symptoms the other org member had if I remember correctly.

 

No CEL doesn't mean there are no codes stored.

Dave

 

I had the EXACT same problem with my '96 5spd max. It got to the point where it would just stall and turn off as i was slowing down to make a turn or something...that made for some fun power steering :P And it would also choke sometimes when I sped up, and even stall on the highway! (this happened a couple times - all i did was keep going, put in the clutch, and turn it right back on lol)

The reason why my max was doing that was because crap got into the intake, MAF adapter and throttle body. What happened was when I installed my k&n intake I took off those three hoses (two big one small - not sure if a 99 max is different?) to add a different pipe. Unfortunately I didn't put the hoses back on tight enough and over time unfiltered air got through these small gaps and into the throttle body causing it to clog. It also ruined my MAF and my throttle body had to be cleaned out. Got my mechanic to do it, cost a sh!tload of money, and problem was solved...

Do you have an intake installed or is it stock? I'd check all the hose connections (or tell your mechanic to check em) and just check the whole air intake system (before and after the MAF adapter) to see if there's anything that's loose that could be letting in unfiltered air.

Good luck with it.

 

Hmm... does anyone think it could also be clutch, flywheel, or release bearing related?? Mine would sometimes do that when I would downshift.. my car would shake. This was after I installed the ACT clutch... i dont think the guy who installed it resurfaced the flywheel correctly... unless its normal for ACT clutches.

Thats my guess, but maybe I didnt read something right...because if it would have something to do with the coils or spark plugs, i think it would occur more often rather than downshifts... Im no expert mechanic-- so i may be wrong!

 

I have a brand new 5th gen clutch, PP, and TOB. <---Ruled Out

I have a stock intake. <---Cleaned the entire box with air

If it was the maf i wouldn't be able to rev past 2 or 3k <---Ruled Out

My TB was cleaned about 2 weeks ago. <---Ruled Out

I don't have a CEL nor any Codes. I'm leaning towards the coils and sparks. I'll know in roughly a week's time.

 

That's exactly how it feels like. But it doesn't matter if the motor is warm or not, happenes very randomly but like 90% of the time.

 

i have a '99 and the same problem as 95mtlMAXSE

 

lol i'm glad i posted this then, makes me feel better knowing i'm not the only one with a crappy maxima.

 

I don't think its the Max, I remember I had a similar problem with my launches and shifts. The fuel injectors on mine were rather clogged, about 45% blockage (mechanics estimate), cleaned them out and no more clunky shifts and stuff.

 

check your MAF sensor..i had a similar problem and it turned out to be a faulty MAF

 

it's not the maf. i bought some chevron techron so maybe it'll clean up the injectors a little.

 

sparks are an inexpensive fix. NGK coppers at ~$1.20 each.
Injectors you can use the s***hescope method with a screw driver. put on end on the injectors and put your ear to the other end. You should hear ticking which would indicate that they are firing. Listen for the rhythm, if it seems off on other injectors is a posibility that, that one can be leaky or giving too much or too little fuel.

after sparks and injectors out of the way coil packs are next.
Check you cam and crank (both) sensors. If certain ones your car wouldnt start but still check them, if memory serves the cam is responsible for timing.

does this hesitation occur at idle as well?

 

IM GETTING A SIMILAR PROBLEM. FEELS LIKE IM LOSING LOW END AND HIGH END BUT ESPECIALLY IN THIRD WHEN I GET TO ABOUT 70 IT IS PICKING UP BAD AND FEELS LIKE IM NOT REALLY EVEN GOING ANYWHERE??????

 

could also be a botched clutch install.

 

during idle i get this strange pinging of the engine but the idle stays still(or move like 100-200rmp ever so slighty) Sometimes the hesitation happens from 1st gear to 3rd or 4th. Someone discribed what this feels like. It's like you let of the gas in gear without pushing in the clutch, that type of motion.

Been having this since the day i bought the car like 3 months ago. Happened with the old crappy clutch, and it's happening with the 5th gen clutch. I used white out to align the clutch back together aswell as an alignment tool. I highly doubt it's the clutch.

 

i just tried to Im you but no response... so i work at a GM dealership and i have cars that come in with similar problems quite frequently. alot of times it turns out to be an aftermarket filter that has to be oiled and the oil gets on the heated MAF element and it causes it... dirty filter.. dirty injectors.. of f'ed up installs of some sort...

 

completely stock.

 

do you ever put fuel injector cleaner in your car? you should put it in one or two times every month.

 

i just bought chevron techron fuel system cleaner. i will put that in tomorrow and see what happenes.

 

you should put more than one bottle in. try two or three bottles. the problem could be your injectors.

 

It could also be a clogged fuel injector. Mine was doing the same thing. I put in 2 bottles of concentrated fuel injector cleaner and drove it till the tank was down to 1/4 of a tank and it never did it again.