I got my valve cover gasket installed today and changed out my spark plugs. I used the NGK Platinum Plugs. Once i got everything put back together it car started to idle rough. Since it was running rough me and my father decided to turn that black knob on the Idle Air Control Valve to see if it make it any better, but it got worse. Anyone have any idea on what I could do to get the car purring again. During the process of changing the gaskets I took off the IACV so that I would have a little more room in the back of the manifold. Also, if I don't gap my plugs will it make it idle rough. And there is not check engine light so I cannot even run any codes to see if there is a problem in any of the sensors.

Before i could not even tel the engine was running.

Thanks In advance!!

u might need to back and gap the plugs

we've been over this a few times lately. NEVER GAP A PLATINUM PLUG NEVER!!. It will scratch the platinum coating and screw the plug up. NGK is always perfect right out of the box and they never need to be touched up (unless of course you notice the box is bashed in, then I would check). If they weren't gapped right would it make it idle rough? Yes.

What was your reason for changing the valve cover gasket? Did you check for exhaust leaks after you were done the job? That would certainly cause a rough idle.

It would also be a good idea to pull your IACV and clean it, you may also want to take a look at the connector and make sure all of the wires are connected and look good (nissan had some issues with bad connections).

Good luck and keep us posted.

I changed the valve cover gasket, because oil was leaking out. It was getting on the exhaust and the burning oil smell was getting into the cabin. This is why I changed it.

The IACV to my knowledge should be clean, because my dad cleaned it when we had taken the manifold off. Also, what are the chances of the EGR Valve going bad.

Other symptoms that I noticed in the car. Today I drove my car to the doctor's office, because none of the other cars were home. So, when i crank it up cold the RMP's around 1,500, at this point the car seems to idle pretty smoothly. But once I place it under load and sounds like the engine is starving for something. During under load the RPM's will go all the way down to 400 and then jump to 700 and continue until the engine shuts down on its own, but if you take it out on the road and get going the car seems to be running fine. I hope then further helps you in assisting me.

(I yet have not had the chance to work on my car due to the weather here in Rome. It is raining the whole weekend)

Again Thanks in Advance for the Help. (Once me and my dad do more work on my car I will keep you guys posted)

I should never started this job. Should have given it to the shop. Full-time student, and just do not have the time.

It almost sounds to me like a vacuum leak. I would double check all the connections around the throttle body. Next I would remove the IACV assembly, and make sure it's clean.

When was the fuel filter last changed? When was the last time the coils were replaced? How many miles on the car? How long have you had it? What sort of maintenance records do you have?

An EGR failure would register a code as well as turn on the CEL.

I have had the car now for about 4 years. I bought the car with 96,000 miles and currently i have around 171,000 miles on it. The car belonged to a doctor's wife and it was serviced regularly at the dealer.

1. The fuel filter lasted changed I am not sure. (mostly never)2. The coils are still the originals from what I can see.3. Miles on the car around 171,000 miles.4. I have had the car for 4 years now.5. I have all the records from the previous owner of the regular maintenance. Ever since I have had the car I have changed the oil every 2,800 - 3,000 miles (running it on Castrol GTX 10w-30), I changed the water pump around 150,000 miles, and changed the starter twice, because the first one was defective.

I will get out under my car today if it does not rain too hard to check for the vacuum leaks and IACV, etc.

Thanks for the Great Help Again.

I took my car to advance to get the codes read and help me solve me problems. and these are the codes Not code, but CODES) that I got:

P1320 Manufacturer Ctrl (Ignition system or misfire)

P0325 Knock Sensor 1 ( already replaced, but had not been erased yet)

P0300 Random cylinder misfire

P0135 o2 sensor circuit malfunction ( Bank 1 Sensor 1)

P1400 Manufacturer Ctrl (Auxiliary emission controls)

How did I end up with all these all at once. My CEL was never on before. The one time that it was on was when I got my car read for the knock sensor.

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could help me in resolving these issues. Well, I am not worried about the O2 sensors, because I have had those codes for a long time now, but always got then erased. but other than that I need help.

i'm still gunna put my bets onto a vacuum leak. It'll be your best bet. You may want to double check that everything is plugged in solidly.

OMG!!! You guys are going start ROTHFL when you hear the newbie mistake that I made. When I replaced my spark plugs I had to pull out the coils as you know. When it came time to place the coils back in i did not place the front ones into the 1-2-3 order and the backs ones into the 1-2-1 order. There are numbers on the coils that indicates which coil goes where. But I did not do that and thought that it would be O.K. but obviously not.

After I got all that fixed and cranked the car it was running a WHOLE LOT better. But I heard a hissing noise and looked to see where it was coming from and it was a small vacuum hose under the throttle body was not hooked up. I hooked it up and it is running decently now. But I have still have a small leak. I am going to try my best to explain it since I do not know the technical term. the leak is coming from that oval metal looking flange behind the intake manifold that have a round tube running down, It seems like it is a tube that sends in the exhaust that is running too rich. That graphite gasket is bad but it is every hard to change that now so, I am going to wait a few weeks before I change that.

Man I think I think I just need to stick to running motels and gas stations, and let the garage work on my car, but one problem. ( I DO NOT TRUST THE GARAGES AROUND HERE)

I Greatly Appreciates All the Help That You Guys Have Chipped In.Once Again Thanks,Keyur Patel

Always nice when it turns out to be simpler than you thought.

Well I am back guys. My car is still giving me problems. Last night my dad took my car to a town close to Rome called Cartersville. He told me that on the way back at a traffic light the car started to have a rough idle and was knocking under load. This morning when I got ready to go to the bank and college, the car was very hesitating a lot when starting off. Once the car got to cursing speed it was settle down, but I could still tell that there was something worng with it from the way that it drove. Once I got done with the bank deposit I was on the way to class and i noticed that when I was trying to overtake I really have to press down on the gas in order to get the response for the car that I wanted. At this time I noticed that my CEL started flashing. This scared the hell out of me, cause it never flashed but always stayed lit. So I took it to my friends garage and had him run the computer on it. -It read that was a Misfire on one of the cylinders on the back side and also a misfire on the fronts ones. I do not know how the narrowed it down \, because I did not know that it showed back and front cylinders on the computer for a 1995 maxima. -There was also a code for the egr valve, but he said a misfire would trigger this code. So I was recommended that I chance my coils before I work anything else I further questioned him and he said that it might be that i have a bad coil somewhere. And i needed to ohm out every coil.

1. My question is how do I check Ignition Coils, for if they are good or bad?2. Does anyone have to add to my resolution, b/c my friend is not big on working on imports. So I want to get all the information I can Before I start oipeneing my car up again.

Thanks for the help Again. -Keyur Patel

Also, does anyone know the proper adjustment for that BLACK knob on top of the IACV, the one that has a phillps hiead on it? Me and my dad tried adjusting it when my car was running rough after I got done chanign ym spark plugs and Valve Cover Gasket.

Here's the procedure for coil inspection:(Click for full size)

Try this out before you go on a wild goose chase.

Check the condition of all of the wire going to the coils. The last time I got a tune up, the mechanic snapped one of my wires and I was firing on 5 cylinders.

The wires are pretty thin and after so many years can easily break.

Does anyone have the correct order that the coils are suppose to go in, like there is A-1, a-2, and a-3 for the fronts...do they go in like common sense would tell me...like when u looking at the engine from the front of the car you would place a-1 in the left socket, then a-2 in the middle, and then a-3 in the right one.

i don't know about the a-1 a-2 a-3 thing, but i do know that NISSAN calls for ALL coil packs to be replaced if ONE is bad.

I had a bad #6 Coil(front right), and had to replace all of them and their spark plugs

You need to borrow a multimeter and check your voltageand resitance readings on most of stuff your working on

I checked my coils with my dads meter and they all are good....I think I know what the exact problem is...On the way back home from Cartersville my dad filled up at the RaceTrac on the way...I think that was some bad gas....My uncle who also filled up there is experiencing problems in his LS460...I do not know his exact problems. He is going to take his car to the shop tomorrow and if it is a problem of bad gas then I know my problem too....Man I hope this is the problem...I need my car running back to normal...I am missing ATLANTA. SO all I can do now is just hope for an easy fix.

One again, I appreciate all the Help that all of you guys have put in.

Keyur Patel

Good luck. I'm a little skeptical that the gas is what's causing your problem, but I hope it works.

Your right is not the gas....I got to thinking and decided to ohm out my injects and found out that, that the one the front in the middle was bad...so i went to the junkyard and picked up all six of them for 10 bucks a piece...I got them pretty cheap since they were fairly new on the car nd my dad knew the owner... Now my car is the way it should be...I can not step down on the gas and get the performance that I wanted. Now if anything goes wrong then I am getting a new car.

you mean getting a newer maxima right?

If I were him I wouldn't bother with a new max... actually right now I'm hoping someone totals my car for me so I can get away from it. I always thought the maxima to be a good, reliable, powerful car. It's got most of the power I expected but it certainly isn't reliable. And sadly from all the threads here it's not just the 5th gen or even a small amount of the cars that have serious issues. All the fly-by-wire crap, the ignition coils, tranny computers, electrical issues all around. This is the 2nd nissan I've owned (the other was an Altima) and it had some issues here and there too. He'd be better off trying another brand.

No Way...I will not get another car, but a maxima...i have already talked to my dad and she said that it would be no problem...we bought my car in 2006 with 106,xxx miles on it....and currently it has 175,xxx miles on it now...this is the only major problem that i have had...and it has been resolved under 200 bucks... this is the only time that I have placed money into my car...ohh yeah I installed a new water pump which any car would call for at these miles and a starter....i think these are excellent cars...The next maxima that I will get will be the 5th gen. with a manual transmission...hope i can find one that has not been abused.

id stay with nissan and just get the 2009 GTR...

Darktide wrote: If I were him I wouldn't bother with a new max... actually right now I'm hoping someone totals my car for me so I can get away from it. I always thought the maxima to be a good, reliable, powerful car. It's got most of the power I expected but it certainly isn't reliable. And sadly from all the threads here it's not just the 5th gen or even a small amount of the cars that have serious issues. All the fly-by-wire crap, the ignition coils, tranny computers, electrical issues all around. This is the 2nd nissan I've owned (the other was an Altima) and it had some issues here and there too. He'd be better off trying another brand.

Maybe I was one of the lucky ones, or maybe Infiniti really does build better cars than Nissan (don't give me a history lesson, re-read until you understand), but I was able to drive my 4th gen to 277k miles with the original engine and transmission.

My maintenance:

Timing chain cover leakRadiator and fansStrutsbrakesEGR valveHead UnitAntennaBushings

The struts, brakes and fans are all normal replacement items in my mind. Same goes for the bushings if you consider how long they were on the car.

The Timing chain cover was the only really problem. It was also one of the last times the car went to the dealership for repairs.

Hey if you haven't done any research yet, here is my experience with the 03 SE 6sp. I owned it from 38000 miles until now over 110K. This year I've noticed an oil consumption problem which is leading me to do the valve cover and gasket projest like your Maxima. I was surprised to find out this is a common problem with 5.5 generation and Nissan USA has on rare occasions replaced some engines while on most occasions not honoring people's warranty due to some stupid reason like lack of proof of maintenance records provided. Some have threatened to sue without success. Nissan will screw people around with doing some band aid work just to get you to forget about the problem and some dealers don't even take the effort to troubleshoot down to the valve covers or springs. They rather get you to pay for a new engine. So do the research and you will find out lots of victims like me suffering from feeding it with a qt of oil every 1k miles. Most cases involve the #5 cylinder with oil covered spark plug and coil, some even find this on multiple cylinders. don't get me wrong I loved the engine before this problem and don't find a better driving experience in this price range and I've owned TL type S before, just not into the weak low end torque deal.

Graberhieny wrote:No Way...I will not get another car, but a maxima...i have already talked to my dad and she said that it would be no problem...we bought my car in 2006 with 106,xxx miles on it....and currently it has 175,xxx miles on it now...this is the only major problem that i have had...and it has been resolved under 200 bucks... this is the only time that I have placed money into my car...ohh yeah I installed a new water pump which any car would call for at these miles and a starter....i think these are excellent cars...The next maxima that I will get will be the 5th gen. with a manual transmission...hope i can find one that has not been abused.