I bought a 99 max with a decent body and decent interior , se model , always liked the white gauges . Anyway the guy said it would not run . So towed it home filled a gallon of antifreeze in the radiator and overflow , gas gauge showed half tank . Jumped it and it fired but ran rough.Couldnt see any obvious wires out of place ect so decide to take it for a ride so much smoke out of the exhaust I couldn't see the cars behind me . So headed a few blocks and it ran rougher and finally ran out of gas . Gas gauge now on E , So went home to get a gas can and there was a puddle of gas as big as a car . Decided safest bet at that point was tow it home . Please tell me the most likely cause and first step second step ect to try to fix this car I really like the 4th gen maximas.

 

failed fuel injectors

i'd be more concerned with "where did all the antifreeze" go

sounds like you need a compression test to confirm your head gaskets are intact, followed by R&R the top part of the motor to replace or rebuild the fuel injectors

you'll also want to spend a few dollars replacing this and that on your way in and out

 

I'd suspect the head gasket. Test it before you spend any more money on the car.

Do you know how to test head gaskets?

 

Well before my son and I drove it we revved it with the radiator cap off , since it was low on fluid wondering if head gasket . No bubbling up of coolant , no chocolate milk on the oil dipstick. What other test can I do .

 

I saw a great little thread about easy injector removal with unscrewing the bolts a bit then placing a screwdriver using the bolts as leverage . I thought about just going to advanced or auto zone and buying and replacing the injectors , but your right why spend money on the engine if the head gaskets are toast prob better off with a junkyard motor swap .

 

Plus it lost a half tank of gas in less then 5 mins , so you tell me but I'm thinking all the injectors were stuck open which would indicate a malfunctioning part telling them to stay open ?

 

Gas on the ground, half a tank dumped, bad injectors don't cause that kind of problem. You're likely dealing with a fuel line issue. Once under pressure it is just dumping it out of the line somewhere. I'm surprised it had a half tank when he sold it to you. I'd have to think he would at least know that it was leaking a ****-ton of fuel and told you that much.

 

Though his story was he had given the car to his daughter and being a female she messed it up. We did meet at her apt , there were teenage girl items in the car. The dad was told by her it made a clunk sound and died she had already bought a new car. I was even thinking angry boyfriend , since the fuel was dumping out . I was away all wknd cabt wait to get home and work on the car because it is a mystery.

 

The dark smoke was so thick behind the car we were cracking up , in reality almost burned up. So if the fuel line is broken ,why all that intense amount of smoke?

 

My guess is it's more then one thing wrong. Smoke is one problem, the fuel leak another.

 

Your fuel all over the ground sounds like a fuel line leak, a clamp probably just needs tightened or the rubber hose has a crack in it. Both are easy to check and fix. The stuck injector would also explain smoke and a heavy gas smell and loss of gas.

Not sure why you were low on coolant to begin with?

 

Pull the spark plugs and see what color they are. A light tan color is normal. Black means too much gas and/or oil. Black and wet is too much gas.

 

Okay thanks , staff meeting then PT now its dinnertime and dark . So hopefully tomorrow after work I can start figuring it out . I wish a 4th gen enthusiast lived nearby .

 

I guess safest way is charge the battery , then pour some gas in. Turn the key on without starting and look for the leak I'm kind of paranoid after it puked a half tank of fuel .

 

So , I always thought gas completely evaporated if spilled on the ground . There is a stain longer then the car maybe 3 ft wide , so some evaporated since the puddle seemed much larger . Unless it was premix for my dirtbike that spilled why is there a huge stain still there ? The guy was adamant that his daughter ruined the car , you dont think she put diesel in it do you lol .

 

I think that there are at least three issues.

One is the low coolant. This means a leak.

The second is a leaking fuel hose on the engine

The third might be a bad injector or two, or the coolant leaving the tail pipe.

Your cost of fixing this depends on what the problem is.

I would do a test for a bad head gasket first.

If the gasket is good, the car is worth spending more tI'm and money on.

But if the head gasket is bad, the least you are looking at it replacement of the engine, along with the radiator which caused the blown head gaskets.

Look for small bubbles in the coolant.

A better way is to do a block test. This use's a fluid which changes from blue to green or yellow if there is exhaust gas in the coolant. Which means head gasket.

It would suck if you fixed the fuel leak or injector issue, only to find that the engine needs to be replaced.

 

You need to be more specific.

is the pool of gas under the front or back of the car?

does the car reek of gas as you are driving it?

once we know where the leak is, we can suggest a fix.

 

Is there smoke and gas coming out of tailpipe literally the car smells like nothing but gas fumes all around. Is there any codes the car has or is storing. start checking the injectors for gas leak and gas smell will be visable near the fuel rail and injectors and the injectors O-rings seals.Try checking the fuel lines near the firewall smell or touch to feel any wet hoses for fuel and check the fuel filter. The fuel lines near the gas tank and underbody just rule what's the actual problem.

 

Thanks for the help and good questions , the puddle stain is longer then the car and about 3 ft wide since lots evaporated, gas smell strong in the car . I'm charging the battery because noway I'm going to pour gas in it and use the jumper box or jumper cables and even then I'm just turning the key on , so the fuel pump comes on , def to paranoid to start the car again until I solve the big fuel leak part of the issue

 

Again, are we talking about the front or back I f the car.

That makes a diffence........