2001 Pathfinder MAF

[Slaxl]

had sent this to Pwnin O Brien in a PM but didn't get no reply

so here goes

Recently my Pathfinder was really lousy and the acceleration weak. To get the best perfromance you would have to depress the accelerator to about 70% - if you would floor it completely the truck would actually slow down. After some quick research here on Nico i tried to clean my MAF sensor - now i was not able to clean it because i couldn't take out the torx head looking bolts because they have a piece of metal that comes up in the middle like a security feature and my normal set cant fit into the head.

So all i did was disconnect it- now a genius friend of mine told me that to see if it is really your MAF sensor that is faulty unplug it and start it to see if you get better results and so i did - well immediately i new it was wrong. So i hurry shut it down and plugged the sensor back in - now - the vehicle is in fail safe mode - it cant pass 2400RPM.

I pretty much figure i need a new MAF but here is my question - what specific year Maxima MAF sensors work and do i have to do any kind of relearning procedure after i get the new MAF?

**UPDATE** - ok i found out that its supposed to be a 2001 Maxima MAF Part # 22680-2Y001 is this correct?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[QX4ME]

Can you ohm the MAF sensor see if it is bad? the sensing wire is inside and if it is not touched it shouldn't become totally bad so easily.

My RX300 was running very abnormal one time a years back. The sensing wire was so dirty with epoxy looking stuff all over it in the middle. I cleaned MAF sensor and the car became so smooth like the day I bought it new.

[Empty V]

How many miles are on it? Have you changed out your fuel filter?

[asnorton44]

**UPDATE** - ok i found out that its supposed to be a 2001 Maxima MAF Part # 22680-2Y001 is this correct?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Correct

[Slaxl]

@ Empty V - pathfinder currently has 182,000 miles - changed the fuel filter about 5000 miles ago - like i was telling Pwnin - i know my pathfinder is in no way new - but i hate the hesitation and lack of power while accelerating - was also thinking if camshaft position sensors or so would affect performance.

[asnorton44]

After my MAF went bad the crankshaft position sensor went bad (R bank). I am not sure if they are related but I'd think so.

[jpedderson]

It's not the MAF. I've been there too...same issue. I had two dealers stumped on this one. My problem was intermittent...ran well sometime, other times it would only go if I used 50-70% throttle and then it would only accelerate slowly.

Check the swirl valve actuator and linkage down at the front of the engine. I chased around the low power issue and replaced the fuel filter and MAF only to find that if I data logged it through the OBDII port using Proscan I was seeing half the mass airflow when the car was running poorly that was normally there. I also looked for clogged cats to explain the low flow only to find that I had enough miles that they were non-existent - they had disintegrated.

The purpose of the swirl valve is that it restricts the intake port size at low RPM's to give more "swirl" to the combustion chamber (smaller port, higher velocity). It's supposed to open up after 3k to allow for higher airflow to the engine.

It's impossible to see the linkage without removing the plastic engine cover. If the linkage is hung up you will see the MAF register roughly half the airflow that is normally there. After oiling the linkage and manually freeing it the car ran like new, it was like night and day.

I have 205,000 miles on my 2001...still going strong.

[Slaxl]

Hi Guys - well i actually got my problem solved - i got a 2001 maxima maf and swapped it - i disconnected the Negative battery termianl for about half an hour before i started to do the swap - when i was done hooked up the battery and revved the engine and immediately noticed a difference (didn't have to do the idle air relearning procedure)- the engine was actually willing to spin high - it purrs like a kitten at idle but roars at full throttle (i guess the flowmaster series 50 muffler helped with that).

So i had terrible acceleration issues - in all i changed my fuel filter, cleaned the throttle body and then changed the MAF - each helped a bit but nothing like the MAF sensor change - it feels like 100HP was injected into my pathfinder i kid you not - i can't believe i ran for so long having such poor performance - i had a grin on my face for about 2 hours after the first time i took it for a spin and even at 182,000 Mls mines is going strong as well - im amazed that at 182,000 miles i have no transmission issues - other cars that i've had that were automatics always gave trouble once they hit above 110,000 miles - (admitting they were 2 fords and 1 mazda) but this nissan has no issues with the transmission - no slipping, grinding,jerking or leaking. (knock on wood)

The only thing i have is a slight delay (it's almost like lag) right off idle when u want to accelerate - its nothing much but u only notice it if ur moving slowly in traffic and u slowly put ur foot on the gas but if you hit the gas any harder it leaps forward saying "hey - time to run" - but thanks jpedderson - i'll take a look at my cats and the linkage at the top of the engine (is it those 2 circular things that have the cable attached to them?) just making sure before i oil the wrong thing.

SO guys and gals - if you're having trouble with accleration issues - especially where you can only mash the gas to about 75% to get the best (lousy) performance i really suggest checking your MAF - what led me to this was the fact that my OBDII scanner was reading System Bank 1 and 2 as too lean. Maybe this helps out others here in the forum - also when i changed the MAF i put in a new Air Filter - just to be sure. And changing the fuel filter and cleaning yuor throttle body helps as well.

[jpedderson]

Glad to hear you're running better!

The Swirl Valve system has a couple of parts in the front. A black plastic swirl valve solenoid on top with vacuum lines running to it. And then a linkage and rod below.

The linkage is down in the front and kind of hard to see. You need to remove the plastic engine cover to see it and then look down in the front center of the engine. I used a coathanger to reach and move it while spraying it with WD-40.

[nguyenmd]

JPedderson,
Is there anyway you can post some pics? Thanks.

[nguyenmd]

Can you post pic of the MAF sensor and its location on the car? Thanks.

Hi Guys - well i actually got my problem solved - i got a 2001 maxima maf and swapped it - i disconnected the Negative battery termianl for about half an hour before i started to do the swap - when i was done hooked up the battery and revved the engine and immediately noticed a difference (didn't have to do the idle air relearning procedure)- the engine was actually willing to spin high - it purrs like a kitten at idle but roars at full throttle (i guess the flowmaster series 50 muffler helped with that).

So i had terrible acceleration issues - in all i changed my fuel filter, cleaned the throttle body and then changed the MAF - each helped a bit but nothing like the MAF sensor change - it feels like 100HP was injected into my pathfinder i kid you not - i can't believe i ran for so long having such poor performance - i had a grin on my face for about 2 hours after the first time i took it for a spin and even at 182,000 Mls mines is going strong as well - im amazed that at 182,000 miles i have no transmission issues - other cars that i've had that were automatics always gave trouble once they hit above 110,000 miles - (admitting they were 2 fords and 1 mazda) but this nissan has no issues with the transmission - no slipping, grinding,jerking or leaking. (knock on wood)

The only thing i have is a slight delay (it's almost like lag) right off idle when u want to accelerate - its nothing much but u only notice it if ur moving slowly in traffic and u slowly put ur foot on the gas but if you hit the gas any harder it leaps forward saying "hey - time to run" - but thanks jpedderson - i'll take a look at my cats and the linkage at the top of the engine (is it those 2 circular things that have the cable attached to them?) just making sure before i oil the wrong thing.

SO guys and gals - if you're having trouble with accleration issues - especially where you can only mash the gas to about 75% to get the best (lousy) performance i



really suggest checking your MAF - what led me to this was the fact that my OBDII scanner was reading System Bank 1 and 2 as too lean. Maybe this helps out others here in the forum - also when i changed the MAF i put in a new Air Filter - just to be sure. And changing the fuel filter and cleaning yuor throttle body helps as well.

[jpedderson]

I'll try to get a picture up for the swirl valve linkage. You can find a diagram of the acutator in the service manual on page 461 of the pdf document under EC. The linkage is at the front of the engine below that (hard to see - you need to remove the plastic shroud on top of the motor).

The MAF is the black plastic tube just behind the air-filter box. You can tell what it is because it has an electrical connector plugged into the middle of it. The sensor itself is a metal wire inside the tube.

The 2001 Pathfinder MAF can be replaced cheaper with one for a 2001 VQ30 Nissan Maxima, part number 22680-2Y001. Same part, different price.

[nguyenmd]

thank you very much for your reply.

V/R,

MDN

[miamiheat3332]

Hey Slaxl, that traffic issue you said where you hit the gas and im guessing you feel some kind of hesitation. Read my post, as this should help you in terms of performance also.

post5051105.html?hilit=my%20intake%20mod#p5051105


Glad you diagnosed and fixed your issue.

[Slaxl]

Thanks miamiheat - never saw this discussion before - will definitely be doing this lil mod this weekend. And will update if it helped.