My Maxima 1991 has a rough idle and the repair shop says all the sparkplugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor needs to be changed.

The price they are quoting is approximately:
$11 /sparkplug x 6
$120 /sparkplug wires
$85 /distributor cap and rotor

and 2 hrs of labor @ $85/hr

Do you guys think this is reasonable? Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Those prices are all very high. NGK Platinum spark plugs are at most $4.00 each. Spark plug wires couldn't be more than $80 for very good one's, and you can find remanufactured, used, or ebay distributor caps/rotors for cheap. All of the repairs are VERY easy and take little "car know-how"

At most it would take you a few hours to do all three things.

 

I just forked over $275 for my rough idle. An injector was crapping out.

 

Thanks for your quick reply! After a quick search in the Internet I too found those prices are very high -- their reasoning -- it is OEM parts.

Well, my main concern is, even if I get all these parts, how difficult is to install them? Do I need any special tools to remove the spark plugs? I know, distributor cap and rotor is very accessible.

 

It's very easy and you should do it yourself. http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=396706

 

I think I paid 25 for a good cap, I know the rotor isn't much. Thats rape for a simple job, Also.... It shouldn't takew more than 30 minutes and that includes throwing a timing light on there.

 

Dump the repair shop.
Unless you have no mechanical skills or tools, replacing all of those things are relatively easy. I would recommend staying with Nissan OEM parts if you are going to hold onto the car. Mail order via Courtesy Nissan www.courtesyparts.com. They have been good to me. I think there is a sticky under General Maintenance Reference Links with them listed.
Go for it, and good luck.

 

DIY all the way. All of it is very easy. all you need is a spark plug socket (13/16 I think) long extension, ratchet and a flat head or phillips screwdriver. You can probably buy a "tune up kit" with the few tools you need at advance auto or autozone. I know the one near me has one for about $12.

~Alex

 

One of the spark plugs (#2 or #5) is very tight. What is the best way to remove it? I am afraid to apply too much force. Any suggestions?

Thanks
MM

 

Spray PB blaster down there. Let it sit a little while, then try harder?

 

I agree with goon9. Once out, make sure you use some antiseize on the new threads so you don't have the same issue the next time you change spark plugs.

 

ok, so they are quoting him list prices as is totally normal business practice.
for a reputable shop to do it for you, I'm not surprised by the pricing.
DIY on a tuneup is usually 1/4 the price depending on what brand of parts you use.
You can't deny a shop it's right to make money, if they don't make money they are out of business.

 

I got my spark plugs wires and the cap for 50$ all together i work in a auto part store.Ill tell you like this the spark plug wires and the cap u change ur self the rotor i would say isnt hard but u gotta put it the right way u can probably get tips on how from these guys on the org. NIssan stealership told me 80 or 90 $$$$ for the sparkplug wires when i checked with them so i dont know what kinda wires u are getting for $120 sounds like they're WAY overcharging u. And also the labor for the wires and the rotors was $30. One shop wanted $150 for the labor so i went to a friend but in another words shouldnt cost you more then $60-70.

 

u can also get spark plugs from the dealer for like $20 thats what i did

 

Totally agree, tell me what repair shop charge you exactly how much they pay for any parts, none. Of course they are going to make money of the parts and labor. DIY if you know how to, if not, take out your wallet and pay it like everyone else.

 

$11 /sparkplug x 6 ($20 from the stealership)
$120 /sparkplug wires ( like $45 for denso i got em for like $38 i work in auto part store or like $70-90 at stealership)
$85 /distributor cap and rotor ( got me cap for what like $12 not from stealership but i think it shouldnt cost thay much i would say $30-60 at most and stealership) and by the way labor doesnt take 2 hours they are making atleast $200 of you from doing at most 40 minute job.

 

$200 from u doing a 40 minutes job and a 2 minute phone call for the parts

 

Best to remove plugs on a cold engine. Aluminum heads will swell a few thousanths when hot.

 

I can name several
of course that's because I sell to them...

 

You probably have a bad injector. If you have a rough idle, there's most likely one cause, you don't need wires, plugs, cap and rotor unless you want to pay for it. If it is an injector, the tune up won't even fix your problem and you'll have to pay for the injector replacement next. Find out which cylinder is dead and check its plug for a spark. If there's a spark, your injector is bad. I wouldn't be surprised if the shop knows you have a bad injector and is just trying to do some preliminary work. It's not very hard to diagnose the source of a miss.

 

I'm gonna give you OEM prices which is what I got locally
Cap- 20 bucks
rotor- 8 bucks
wires- 65
sparkplugs- 1.49 x6

And this is ALL OEM, if they take 2 hours to change those parts, then I suggest you get the hell out of that shop for overcharging and dragging on something that takes 30min-1 hour. Now keep in mind that they always mark up their prices to make profit but I think they kind of over prices em a little too much considering they get their parts at a discount + tax excempt. Definately get the hell away from that shop.

On the other note, I agree with Hectic on the previous post about the injector. Therefore I sugggest you still change the parts (yourself of couse)which I think you've already done and if the problem still there go back to them and tell them the problem wasnt what they said it was lol

 

Dealer List prices:
Cap $28.75
Rotor $8.07
Wires $78.37

Manufacturer List
NGK Plugs $4.34 * 6
NGK wires $155.74

Just some info

 

Which dealership foo?

 

ANY. that is Nissan's list price.

 

You know what, the spark plugs look OK to me! I was comparing it with the pics shown in the AutoZone page. And nothing wrong (visibly) with the wires. Distributor rotor's contacts are a little black and some deposits on the distributor cap's contacts. Did clean them up by gently scraping off the stuff with a screwdriver. Still the problem persists.

Another clue: The rough idling and vibrations are constant but sometimes the car runs really smooth (for a while). What does these symptoms indicate?

Btw, thanks for all the inputs on this thread so far!

 

indicates a failing injector

 

Cap and rotor aren't that expensive, if you have to scrape crud off the contacts just replace the darned things, it'll rule them out as a problem, and the car probably needs new one anyway.

 

Heres some food for thought, YES it can be an injector on its way out as mentioned by Brian...BUT it can also be your connector on the injector itself like it was for my g/fs car recently. Might be loose so it only makes contact once in a while therefore giving you a smooth idle/power intermittently. Bah Its probably on its way out. Dont be cheap trying to squeeze a penny now cuz it might just turn up to be a lot more later on.

 

on the injector connectors, take them off and clean them with electrical connector cleaner, I have had this happen with three seperate VG maximas and heard of many more.

 

After pouring some Techron fuel injector cleaner, the car is much smoother now. But increasingly I think, the injector is on its way out. If I had gone to the Nissan dealer (as I used to before) they would have changed injector with out any hesitation.

 

mukundan:
So how was your idle...was it like going up and down settling and then spiking? If this is true i might be down the same path your taking.

 

Yeah, something like that. But at the moment idling is steady at 600 rpm. I never felt the engine was gonna stall. I am glad that a bottle of Techron has some effect on it :-) -- not sure for how long though!

 

Yes, its worth trying! How difficult is it to do this?

 

not hard at all. buy a bottle of DRI or something at walmart, then you just take off the plugs and spray... wait a bit and reconnect. there is a little metal clip that holds the plugs on, easily removed with a small screwdriver

 

Hi all,

Sorry, I couldn't create a new thread here and hence I am using an old one.

I need some help here -- today in the morning on the way to work my Maxima just died when I had stopped at the light! I did restart it and I could go a little further (stop light again) before it died again. From then I was careful enough not to stop the car completely (also switched off A/c, fan etc). I could drive 4 miles in the interstate at 55mph -- could see the unsteady rpm occasionally.

To give the background -- I had the MAF sensor replaced last week at the AAA car care center in Columbus, OH and after that the car was much smoother (no rough idling and giving great MPG too) and I drove around 650 miles to Iowa.

What you guys think of the problem could be? Appreciate your inputs.

Thanks
Mukundan

 

Clean your IAC valve

 

Thanks for the response Internetautomar! I am gonna try that -- assuming it is not a difficult thing to do.

 

3 screws, TB cleaner, and a toothbrush to clean the black plastic plunger. also shoot TB cleaner down into the thing that the plunger goes up against (the valveseat)

 

Update: Yesterday I could drive and barely reached home. But today morning the car dies as soon as I put it in the reverse.

I did notice a crack in the black box (MAF sensor?) -- that was the same component the AAA car care people replaced last week. Do you still think IAC valve could be the problem? The car is idling OK at around 600 rpm (when parked). As soon as I put it in reverse or drive it dies.

 

well the iacv is what compensates for extra load. 600 is a bit low and if you put it in R it may very well stall if it doesn't get any more air/fuel.