97 Nissan truck, bad hesitation

[cackalacky]

Hi everyone,I'm having an issue with my otherwise super reliable Nissan hardbody. As of late, I've been having some severe hesitation when I press the gas pedal. It is completely random and happens in any gear at any time, but not consistently. It feels like it's just not getting gas. If I give it some more throttle, eventually it picks back up. But when it does, the whole truck lurches and it feels like something is going to break.

It is at it's worst at a stop light when I'm accelerating in 1st or 2nd gear. In higher gears it is noticeable, but the lurch is not as bad. I can feather the gas pedal and somewhat avoid that, but it is really starting bother me.

It is a 97 4cyl 2wd with 180k on it. I don't believe it's the fuel filter as I replaced that not long ago and it doesn't feel the same (had that happen on another truck) Any tips on what to look for? Stuck throttle cable, clogged cat, fuel injectors? I really don't know where to start...

[seang]

any vacuum leaks?

[nissangirl74]

Stuck throttle cable, clogged cat, fuel injectors?

All of these. The cable is easy to check. The cat can be checked at any muffler shop for free. If your truck has 180K on it and you have never cleaned the injectors, they need it anyway. Try some higher octane fuel.

[cackalacky]

Thanks for the replies. It's funny, I did have a broken vacuum line that I fixed not long ago. Maybe there are more, never thought about that being part of the prob.

Will check all the other stuff too. Dumb question, but how do I check the throttle cable? I don't see anywhere under the hood where I can manually pull the cable or give it gas (like another old truck I had). Also, can you recommend a product for cleaning injectors, or should I just have them serviced? I had been adding seafoam to my tank every once in a while, but haven't done it recently. Thanks guys!

[ahardb0dy]

my Sentra had a really bad hesitation and it turned out to be the aftermarket spark plug wires, (which were fairly new too) put a set of OEM ones on it and it went away

[ydfalcon]

my Sentra had a really bad hesitation and it turned out to be the aftermarket spark plug wires, (which were fairly new too) put a set of OEM ones on it and it went away

That would be my first stop as well. It sounds similar to a problem I had with my '92 Hardbody a few years ago. Just seemed to not want to go, and then all of a sudden it would kick in, in a way that was a little concerning. Replaced the spark plugs and never had it happen again.

[cackalacky]

Well I replaced the plugs not long ago, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to change them again. Got a few years on the plug wires and coil, maybe it's time for those too. But the hesitation feels like fuel starvation to me. When I get a chance to look it over, I'll report back.

[JC87HB]

I had a similar problem with my 87 2wd... id recommend replacing the ignition coil! that cured mine... see what was happening on my motor at least was that i was runnin on only an exhuast set of plugs and those cut out under load at around 2800 rpm... and so i got a sever rev limit at 2.8k rpm... fixed the coil and she purs!!!

[ahardb0dy]

My problem was the wires as I said they were fairly new they were just aftermarket ones, no indication there was any problem with them but I live in Florida and I was back up in NY (where I am from and have connections with the local Nissan Dealer) and I picked up a set of factory wires at a discounted price, when I got back home I swapped the wires and problem was gone. The bog off the line was so bad before like it was getting no gas or something, factory wires on ran like new.

Side note when I had my 87 SE-V6 hardbody took off the original wires and installed a set of aftermarket wires, a number of miles later (60K or so I recall) the aftermarket wires were do to be replaced and I thru the factory ones back on and it ran just fine even though they had a lot of miles on them,

bottom line is certain OEM parts are worth paying more for and don't even think of using any spark plug other than NGK, they may be the cheapest but our Nissans run best with them.

Your best bet is to take the truck to someone who can diagnose it, I hate shops that just keep replacing stuff until they find out what is wrong, it's fine to accept advice on what MAY be wrong but if it doesn't fix your problem it can get expensive doing the trial and error method of auto repair. Example of this below:

My neighbor has a jeep Cherokee that wouldn't start it would just crank, I went online and discovered a LOT of people with the same problem, crank sensor, they were friends with a guy that owned a local shop and had him come over to look at the jeep, he came over with his $20,000 Snap On computer (which he couldn't get to connect with the trucks computer), he tried the redneck method, tapping on the computer with a hammer!!!!, than replaced the ignition pickup thing in the distributor, nothing he did worked, than he said he would bring a new computer to try, few days later he showed up with the computer, still wouldn't run, oh, forgot to mention I told him about the crank sensor and was ignored, anyway few days later I see the jeep was moved, went across the street to ask my neighbor what it was that was wrong, GUESS WHAT it was ?? crank sensor!! A-hole!!

[waynegarcia13]

I had the same problem with my truck i bet it is either the mass air flow sensor or the distributor. The distributor has the coil and cam sensor in it. Both of those parts went out on my truck which is also a 97 hardbody.

[Desert Rat]

Start with a tuneup. Cap, Rotor, Plugs, and Wires. Use the OEM NGKs for the best results.