'00 Pathfinder hesitation

[jux]

My 2000 3.3L pathfinder is hesitating after it gets warm and revs above 2500 RPM's. I can describe the hesitation as dropping out for a 1/4 second every few seconds resulting in a drop of a few hundred RPM before catching again. In addition to this I am getting a loud ticking on the back of the engine after it warms up.

Recently I replaced the Idle Air control valve and forgot to connect a vacuum hose. I was still able to drive it and did so for a few weeks but after about 2 weeks the hesitation issues appeared. After reconnecting the vacuum line the hesitation remained so I replaced all spark plugs and wires which did not change the behavior.

There are no codes beyond a knock sensor code which has been there for years. I am considering either the MAF or the distributor being the source of the issue. Are there any tests I can do to narrow this down or should I be looking somewhere else for the source?

[Towncivilian]

Cleaning the MAF sensor using MAF cleaner spray is a good first step. Also look under the distributor cap for excessive dirt or dust buildup as well as scorching. Also change the fuel filter if you haven't within the past 5 years or so.

[jux]

Thanks for the pointers. I cleaned the MAF and contacts, replaced the distributor cap, replaced the fuel filter. The problem remains and seems to correspond to the level of ticking I hear from the back of the engine. I have to run it at about 4K RPM for 8 minutes before the hesitation shows up. That in itself seems electrical in nature to me pointing me towards the distributor or maybe the ECU. I would appreciate any other thoughts.

[Leo1998]

What brand of spark plugs did you install? What brand wires?

[jux]

NGK wireset and plugs. Figured that's what came out, that's what should go in.

[Leo1998]

Sounds like the distributor to me and from what i read it's common to replace them on the VG33E engine.

[Slumpert]

Might also be fuel regulator or fuel filter causing low presure

[jux]

I put in the new distributor today and so far the hesitation hasn't returned under the same short term conditions as before. I believe the timing is horribly off which would explain the ticking I was getting and would be expected with a bad dizzy. Thanks for the help.

[jux]

I should also note for anyone else that looks at this in the future that none of the diagnostics for the coils showed any problem (hayes manual), there was no noise coming from the distributor and there were no codes being set. The only indication that the distributor was bad was the hesitation and possibly the clicking.

[jux]

The VG33E strikes back.

Now I am getting a loud ticking noise after the engine warms up. Sounds like a valve and follows the RPM of the car. I checked the timing and adjusted it a slight bit but it wasn't really off by much. I relocated the knock sensor to get rid of all the codes I had. The ticking wasn't there before the distributor change and now it is. Hoping I don;t have to go in and adjust the valves. Any thoughts on what else I could do?

[Leo1998]

Could it be a tiny leak coming from the exhaust manifold and going tic tic tic tic tic or a noisy injector maybe? Can you post an Audio file? it might help us, help you.

[atraudes]

Try disconnecting the battery for at least 30 minutes to reset things.

What's the code it's throwing? I have a feeling that code is the reason for the tick.