Alright, so I replaced my spark plugs today, now my idle is all messed up. It's really rough... you can hear the engine stumbling... and it dips down to 500-600 rpms when it warms up. I double and triple checked that all the vacuum lines and electrical connectors were re-connected the way they were. All the coils are plugged in tight. All the manifold bolts are tightened to spec, EXCEPT the stud/nut on the left side, which is tight, but not with a torque wrench, cause I was having some trouble with the stud staying tight while torquing it.

I also did the accelerator pedal released position learning procedure and the throttle valve closed position learning procedure. I attempted the idle air volume learning procedure (which seems to be the same as the ECU reset procedure) but that didn't work either. The engine revs smooth, but what's the deal with my idle?

Also, can I drive the car like this? I gotta go to work tomorrow...

 

what kind of plugs did you use?

 

Might be the ignition coils.
I'm in the process of replacing mine, because of sputtering and iratic idling.

 

i used NGK platinums.. torqued all the plugs to 20 ft-lbs.. i was having a misfire, and i did the pull test on all the coils and injectors before i replaced the plugs and they all checked out fine.. so i figured my misfire must be from the plugs.. i didnt have any idle issues before the spark plug replacement

 

Did you disconnect the battery when you changed them? The ECU might need to reset itself so try driving it around for a bit.

I just did mine two nights ago with NGK iridium IX's that are 2 steps colder and a smaller gap. When I started mine it would die at idle and if it stayed runing it would jump between 500-600 rpm. After I drove it around for a bit the computer reset and now everything is ok.

 

I just found this there is a TSB on it...

http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/tsb...=2000&tsb=none

 

yeah, i did disconnect the battery.. my idle situation is rougher than usual at all times.. then after about a minute, it'll dip down betweek 500-600 rpms for a few seconds, then it'll go back up to nomral, but still be rough.. so you think the ECU just needs to be reset? i'll try disconnecting the positive terminal of the battery for a while.. i've read conflicting things about resetting the ECU by disconnecting the battery.. some say overnight, some say an hour.. will it hurt by leaving the positive terminal unhooked for too long?

 

After you disconnet the battery, turn on your headlights and step on the brake and hold it down a few seconds. That will give the same effect as leaving the battery disconnected for hours.

 

Check the gap on the spark plugs.

 

with the key in the "on" position?

 

I don't think it matters.

 

I thought the NGK plats come pre gaped ..right?

 

Did u drop any of the plugs???

 

it is my understanding that NGKs come pre-gapped.. and no, i didn't drop any of them.. i think i have a vacuum leak fellas.. i have the NWP IM spacers, and i didnt re-apply any RTV when i put the IM back on because i gotta rip it apart again friday or saturday to put on my valve covers.. i was told that would cause a vacuum leak, and thus.. the idle issues that i'm having

 

Well you didnt drop them but i have gotten plugs that were dropped by pepboys employees or at the factory. I always check the gap regardless. I'm **** like that and i can sleep at night. I always by one more than i need and keep in the garage. Just in case. I think you might have a vaccum leak with that spacer on.

 

yeah, i no doubt do have a leak.. would that cause the idle issues though?

 

sho nuff

 

Absolutely.

 

cool.. i'll fix that this weekend then

I have one more question that I could really use some help with. I wasn't able to torque that nut on the side of the intake manifold down correctly because that stud in there kept coming loose when I torqued it. How do I get that stud down in there tightly? I tried the method where you put 2 nuts on there, hold the bottom one, then tighten the top one, but it got very difficult and felt like I was going to strip something if I kept trying. How do I tackle that stud?

 

Use some Loctite 272 and a female torx bit if it's like the Oem stud!

 

Brake bleeding on 2000 Maxima and spark plug removal and installation

 

well it's not an OEM stud, it's a stud that came with me NWP intake spacer kit.. i'm not sure, but i dont remember if there's a fitment for a female torx bit...

EDIT: by female torz bit, i'm assuming you mean a tool that allows the stud to penetrate it, and not a tool that does the penetrating into the stud? that would make sense because females ae usually the ones being penetrated.. lol

 

Loctite is your friend

 

dude....

 

alright so basically, i could put some loctite 272 onto the stud to grip it, then use a female torx bit over the stud to screw it in like a normal bolt?

 

If the NGK's have the number 11 at the end, they are already pre-gaped.
http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/docs/te...tnumberkey.pdf

 

ok, i put in the valve covers, RTV'd both of those and the manifold.. the idle is smooth now for the most part, but it still drops down to about 600 RPMS every now and then and gets a little rough.. i still have a small intake leak because i STILL couldn't get that damn IM stud in tight, and i think that's whats causing the leak.. i went around the corner to the auto parts store before hand, and they didnt have any locktite. i asked the dude if they had any tools to do that sort screw in a stud like that, and he said no.. so what i did was took some pliers, gripped the smooth part of the stud and tried to turn it that way.. i did get it down some, but the stud still loosened up when i tried to torque the nut onto it.. i think something in there got stripped because i saw little metal shavings on the stud when i took it out.. HOW DO I FIX THIS THING!!??!! lol.. kinda frustrated with this intake leak...

is it as simple as just drilling a new hole and putting a new stud in there?

 

mine's been idling at 700RPM forever since i got the car at normal operating temp.

should i be worried?

 

look it up to be sure, but i think normal is 700-750.. you should be alright

 

Maybe heli-coil time it sounds like it's possibly stripped!

 

yeah, i've been reading about that heli-coil stuff.. is that hard to do and/or expensive? i'd like to do it myself if possible