93' Maxima GTE, Stalling problems, confirmation?

[blakefast]

I've been driving a this maxima for about 3 months. A couple weeks ago, the front motor mount broke, the next day I drove it to work nicely. Everything went just dandy, except for that fact that every once in awhile, the engine would idle at lower rpms and shake the vehicle. Then I got off of work and the car turned on fine, went into drive, then the engine shaked alot and died. Sometimes it wouldn't stall, and the engine would sound alot like a diesel. My dad drove it home using power braking to increase the idle speed so it wouldn't stall. It drives fine once you get it past idleing. We took it to his mechanic who look at it for about 2 weeks then told us it would cost 2400 to fix. He outlined a couple problems here and there as well, but he claimed the main problem was the TCC Solenoid was locked and that was causing the problem. He also said it could possibly be the torque converter.

I decided to take it from the shop and work on it with my car savy friend. My only real question here, is, does this really sound like a TCC Solenoid issue, or do you think it's something else?

This Maxima is my first car and getting it running again would be absolutely wonderful. I guess people always get a connection to their first car, eh?

[coolhand]

Question: Does this happen when the car was drive for a while?(more than an hour)

I seen this happen in GM small cars. The torque converter solenoid does not release the torque at idle and will cause it to stall. This happens when the car is driven for a while. The question is where is the TCC Solenoid and can it be replaced without major transmission disassembly.

Hope this helps and good luck.

[blakefast]

It does not happen after awhile, it happens from the moment the car is first thrown into gear. Could it be a combination of the fact the the motor mount is broken, as well at as the TCC Solenoid being stuck?

This is why I am question this so much, is because after alot of research on the net I am still not 100% sure if the TCC Solenoid is 100% the true problem because my situation is a bit different from any other it seems. If that made any sense.

And yes, the solenoid is actually within easy reach as far as transmissions go. We do not even have to fully remove it.

Thanks for responding, any help is much appreciated. =-)

[coolhand]

One thing to look at is the TPS sensor (Throttle Position Switch) or your Idle Air Control Valve or anything dealing with the idle. I had a problem with my old 87 max's TPS but it may be a long shot.

[hsckris]

if it is the 3.0 engine, it may be fuel injectors. my wife had a 93 SE 3.0 and it started doing that. replaced all 6 injectors and it ran like a top after that.just a thought... tps isn't a bad idea either. i don't know if it has a crank position sensor, but that might have something to do with it if it does, i had a chevy that had one of those go out.

[Chris92SE]

I am assuming that you have a GXE. There is no such trim level as a GTE. The other choice would be an SE. If you have white faced gauges, it's an SE and has a different engine than if you have a GXE, which has black faced gauges.

I don't have any experience with auto trannies, but the motor mount is something you should fix. It is possibly that if you busted a motor mount, it shifted the position of the engine and broke/disconnected a vacuum hose somewhere.

It is odd that a mechanic would have your car for so long and he wasn't even sure of the problem. I don't know if that sounds very good, but this is just my opinion, since I don't know the entire situation or the mechanic.

I would probably take it to another shop, anyway. For less than $2400 you can have your transmission rebuilt, including all of the labor.

[internetautomart]

sounds like injectors or VTC trouble to me.the "diesel" noise you describe sounds like VTCs clacking.does your motor say 24 valve?