So I manually replaced the knock sensor, the knock sensor wires, the rear downstream O2 sensor, the RL Hub assembly (not related but it got rid of the shaking and fear of my tire falling off), and the IAC valve solenoid. I don't know another option to fix the stalling and bucking. I set my idle throttle to about 800 RPM and the car still wants me to keep the gas pedal on the floor to prevent bucking and stalling low gears. If anyone has any suggestions, I am all ears. I refuse to pay outrageous amounts of money to fix a problem that is not necessarily hurting anything but my patience. If it was idling too high it would be more of a mechanical engine problem, but it is idling too low at times and it has no consistency and is completely random. I can go most of the day with fantastic smooth driveability, but as soon as I think it's not gonna buck...........the car goes spastic on me. If I am on the highway going like 60, the car will not stop bucking until the pedal is to the floor and I am going at least 90. I think I should have named this car Christine..................... Other than that, I LOVE this car!

 

Thanks!

 

. Check your spark plugs,fuel filter or possibly a loose ground wire,my 2 cents ....good luck

 

Forgot the air filter too.....

 

What brand spark plugs are you using? If you're using anything other than NGK, you will have problems.

 

Your 99 is notorious for coil pack issues. Discussed on here often.
Do some trouble shooting first. Measure the coils as per the FSM. Also check the stalk, specifically the spring and where it meets the coil pack. If corrosion is present, replace the coil.

 

I checked the air filter.

 

Spark plugs are not going to cause this problem and I have double platinum DGK plugs. They are functioning properly the wireset and coils are also in proper working order.

 

check for vacuum leaks...all the hoses.

did you set your idle properly? With the engine warmed up to normal operating temp?

 

NJ - he's running a 98, but that is what I was thinking too.

Sounds to me like you have a vacuum leak someplace. I'd guess TB or IACV - did you replace the gaskets (or make new ones)? Take some carb cleaner and with the engine running, spray lightly around the TB and IACV - if the idle picks up, you found your leak. Hope this might help.

 

If you say so, but its been proven.

 

Sounds like a TPS problem to me.

Oh and 98 + SE-L = No sense.

SE-L was a 99 option ONRYYYYYY.

 

Op is confusing us. He says 98 but he also says SE-L...which as aack mentioned, is only 99.

OP needs to clear that up

 

I checked for leaks and I do not have any! I had to make a gasket when I replaced the IAC valve. The throttle position sensors are fine, the knock sensor is replaced, O2 sensors replaced, MAF is spotless and tight. I really don't know what else to look for. I am doing as much research as I can and cleaning and examining everything under the hood. There is no engine light and the car is not actually registering a problem.

Also, my car is a 98 and a SE Limited Edition. Doesn't that make it an SE-L?

 

Maybe it has SE-L badges from a 99

 

There is NO SUCH THING as a 1998 SE-L.

Either you have a 98 with badges from a 99, or you have a 99.

 

The car lot I bought it from said it was a 98 and I never thought to check.

 

you should Run free carfax record check, it'll tell you the year. Same with the free autocheck VIN check.

 

Or just post the first 11 of your VIN.

 

It is a 98 SE and the vehicle history report came in the glove box when I bought the car. It is a limited edition. I don't understand the difference though.

 

OK -

does your car have the following (in BOLD):

If the answer is YES, you have a 99 SE-L. If the answer is NO, you have a regular old SE and got fed ****$hit.



where does it say "limited edition"??

 

Limited Edition is nowhere printed on the car.

SE-L's have a door badge w/ a unique SE insignia and below it is says "Limited"

nowhere on my car does it say "Limited Edition"

 

Yo man, back on topic!!

OP, buckling and stuttering is usually caused by bad coils or bad maf.

What prompted u to replace the IAC valve? was the car stalling out at idle? if not, then there was no reason to replace the IACV. Verify the gasket u are using for the IACV is not source of vaccum leak.

Double check all air lines.

Clean MAF and TB per how tos.

I dont know why ppl didnt already say MAF issue, but this screams a MAF issue to me. Does the car rev past 2500 rpm when u buckling. If it doesnt rev past 2500 rpm then the MAF is toast.

When the car is buckling u need to test return voltage for proper voltage.

U also need to test the TPS.

After that test the coils. If the car is a 99, i would DEFINITELY test the coils. Its well documented that 99 coils are prone to fail.

 

The car was stalling at idle so I took the IAC valve solenoid from my 99 wrecked car to replace the one in my old car. I would have replaced the entire valve but they were slightly different. The 98 had an extra sensor on the valve where there was just a seal on the valve from the 99.

I checked and double checked the MAF and TPS. The thing is that the car stopped stalling at idle after replacing the solenoid, but the problem wasn't entirely fixed because the car still randomly bucks at any speed. It's like my car is getting indigestion and it goes away. I know it is not causing any mechanical harm but it's driving me crazy because I KNOW something is not right, but the car or computer do not register any errors or malfunctions. There is no check engine light and no other indication of a problem. It doesn't make sense because it is not even a consistent problem. It is random and I can go a whole day driving with no problems. I cannot find a common denominator. My next project is going to be replacing the ignition coils one by one just to see if maybe one is soiled. Or it is possible that there are differentiating voltages being delivered to the spark plugs. It's basically just trial and error at this point. It's not imperative anymore that I fix the problem because it hasn't stalled since the IACV solenoid was changed, but I will figure it out..................eventually............and without spending a dime.

 

probably coils or injectors if the IACV didnt fi it. Im having the same problem. got the IACV code, replaced it but its like nothing changed. My coils are fine and I can hear the front 3 injectors cleaning but the rears will be a project for tomorrow I suppose. GL to you though

 

The A33 series Cefiro was released in Australia and the U.S. in 1998 labeled as "Nissan Maxima." The Limited Edition "L Selection" and Autech versions were also offered in Japan.

First of all, this post had nothing to do with my car title.
Second of all, who REALLY gives a **** about how much you think you know about Maximas. Get a degree in something else dude.
And LASTLY, if you do not have any efficient contributions for a thread then do not enter it with stick stuck up your ***, acting like a white-trash redneck.

That being said, I have more important things to worry about than some lettering on a car. Ummmkay!

 

You know what, kid?

it matters if it's an SE-L (99) or not. You don't want ACCURATE help from folks then that's fine, but don't jump on my **** when all I'm trying to do is help you.



BTW, I'm the redneck? i don't think so.

 

It doesn't matter what selection the car is. Mechanically, they were all identically manufactured. The only thing the selection changes are the extra options. You never once offered your expertise on identifying or solving my mechanical concern. Just butt out.

I joined this forum because I have limited amounts of time to work on my car in between juggling school, being a full-time tutor and a single mother. I just want to see some comments regarding a 98 Maxima with similar issues and the corrections made. The rest is irrelevant. If I wanted snide comments or judgements, I would have simply taken my car to a mechanic who automatically assumes that intelligence, engineering, and mechanical skills are exclusive to men.

 

they arent?

Back on topic now guys/gals, Your problem seems to me its your injectors or coils. Easy to test coils because you can unplug them and see if your engine idle changes and starts to buck. THe injectors you can listen to and see if you hear a click when it fires. The rears you have to take the intak emanifold off and test with a multi meter. Either way on an old car such as our I would get your injectors through a cleaning service. Im about to do the same becuause in all honesty the in-tank cleaners probably don't do a damn thing

 

I didn't catch that because he stated it was an SE-L which wasn't available in 98

 

guys it doesn't matter lol. Lets not scare off another...

 

Did the check engine light go off when you replaced the IAC? If it did then it was only reading a problem with that one valve. It is not reading the problem that you are having with the bucking and stalling. You can adjust your idling throttle with a flathead screwdriver and that black screw-looking thing on top of the IAC valve. All it does is change how much air is getting in. If you were experiencing any shaking at idle that will definitely help. I have mine set for about 700 RPM and the shaking was eliminated. I think the standard RPM at idle is like 800. Did you make sure you changed the gasket when you put in the IAC? There may still be a leak if you didn't change the gasket. It sounds like you are having the same kind of problem and I am curious to see if you fix and how.

 

bad idea, just covering up a problem really. Its set to the proper flow so if you have to adjust it then something is wrong. Yea my light went away becuase my IACV was bad but that wasnt the cause of my rough idle. I Probably have a few bad injectors and possibly a leak on the LIM from installing the NWP spacers at night(bad idea) Im gonna go at it with TB cleaner tomorrow and see if I can find the leak and probably take the UIM off to get to the rear injectors and maybe even put some fresh RTV on the LIM spacers. My car has never stalled because of this its just extremely annoying lol

 

The injectors are fine. I listened for a while and didn't hear anything. In fact, it is kind of eerie how quite the engine is. Everything under the hood is so clean and well-maintained. That's one of the reasons I bought such an old car; that and Maximas have a pretty good rep. I plan on testing all of the ignition coils on Sunday after I see the Hunger Games. lol.......I would do it tomorrow, but my sister drove her car with bad brake pads for almost a month before telling me and now I have to replace more than just pads. She has probably destroyed her rotors and calipers in the process of being blonde and naive.
I actually read somewhere that the Hanshin based coils were reported as having more problems than the mitsubishi based coils. The late 90s model Maximas had coil pack problems because the Hanshin coils were sealed ineffectively causing accumulation of corrosion. I haven't checked the coils yet, but I honestly don't know which ones mine are. I'm not sure there is a way to tell without looking up the product ID number.

 

I meant you listen and you should hear a "click" every time they fire, if you don't hear a click thats a bad injector. Hitachi made the coils for my year I believe. Ahhh hunger games...still deciding if I want to see it or not. Might read the book and wait for BluRay. Break issues huh...go on Ebay and get the Powerstop set, surprisingly quality product and lots of .org members can vouch. Rotors and ceramic pads for about $200(at least for the maxipad so Im assuming they have most applications as well). I thought you said earlier the coils were fine? To test the coils just pull the clips, and if the engine reacts and idles rough after then the coil is good, takes 5mins for all of em. If you pull the clip and nothing happens then the coil is bad. For replacement coils I would really only go OEM. Every other coil has reported isuues

 

If you change the coils, wouldn't you also have to change the spark plugs? The computer said the coils were fine, but the computer has a margin of error. If a coil is bad, I am going to replace it with a coild that I know is good from my spare parts car. What I meant was that I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary from the injectors. I actually had my neighbor help me with that one because I am not very familiar with the fuel injection. I don't think that any of the coils are bad mainly because it would seem that a bad coil would have a consistent effect on car. Wouldn't the car show symptoms every time the plugs fired instead of randomly. From what I understand the ignition coil system is a transformer relaying voltage to the spark plugs much like a Tesla coil, if not the same exact process. It would be the same for every piston cycle..............right?

 

No, your spark plugs could be brand new and have a bad coil on top of it and the cylinder wont fire right bc the spark plug doesnt get to fire. WIth the injectors, to test them easily you can put a length of hose or a screwdriver on the injector and then hold your ear down to it. You should hear a click every time it fires. That means its good. If you hear no click then its bad. You can easily do the front injectors(2,3,5) but the rear injectors are all but impossible to test via this method. Like I said with the coils, because testing with a multi meter is unreliable, just simply unplug the harness clip that connects to each coil and see if the engine reacts. If it does, it will idle rough and shake, then its good but if nothing happens then your coil is bad. If they were bad they would send a code yes, but then again your check engine light bulb could also be burnt out lol. Just a good idea to check those. Other than that, with the stalling, the best thing to do is check your EGR tube for clogs as that could be a cause as well. Either that or your MAF sensor is on its way out

 

check or clean the maf. It'lll cause the car to buck

 

I already checked the MAF and filters. There were no clogs or leaks anywhere. I have not checked the EGR valve yet though. I will do that next. Thanks for the tips and advice.

 

EGR tube is connected to the back of the intake manifold. To get to it you must remove the upper intake manifold and thus everything bolted or connected to it. About a 2hr job if you have never removed it before. Not hard just time consuming