I recently purchased a 1998 Infiniti I30 and have had several problems which I am uncertain how to solve. The vehicle has 68,000 miles and is generally in great shape. It has consistently gotten over 20 mpg in a combination of city and highway.
Shortly after getting the car, the Service Engine Soon light came on solid yellow. I did some research and pulled the codes. The flashing readout was 0304 0309 and 0705 (not necessarily in that order since they keep repeating). I understand that 0304 is the knock sensor and that it generally doesn't turn on the light. The 0309 doesn't seem to appear in any of the listings that I have found for this car. The 0705 is a leak in the evap control system. I reset the system and after about 850 miles the light came on again with the same codes. Further I took it to Auto Zone who used a OBD II code reader and pulled the following codes:
0325 Knock Sensor0440 Evap Control System0325 Knock Sensor1448 Aux Emissions
Looks like a different numbering system but essentially the same issues. I again reset the system and last evening after driving another 250 miles the light again came on and I pulled the same codes as before. Since my gas milage is OK, the Knock Sensor doesn't seem to be having a detrimental effect on the car (most of what I have read indicates that this code does not turn on the light). It seems that the main problem that is likely turning on the light is the emission system.
I hesitate to take this to an Infiniti dealer because I am suspect they will just start changing parts. Also it will be hard to determine if they fixed the problem since the light seems to stay off for substantial periods of time. If the light were not coming on I would have just assumed that all was fine as the car runs extremely well.
I did replace the gas cap the last time the light came on figuring that would be a cheap fix if it were bad but to no avail.
I have a second concern. After driving around 70 mph for a period of time I sometimes hear an intermitant knocking coming from the engine area when the car comes to a stop. This can only be heard when the car is stopped and in drive and even then fades in and out. (The oil is recently changed and all fluids are at their top marks.) This noise does not happen all of the time. Reading some posts on the forums the sound seems similar to those in discussions that I have read related to a timing chain tensioner guide. However, since the noise is so intermittant I am not quite sure if it is a current problem, a future problem, or possibly just how this car sounds from time to time and not a problem at all.
If anyone with experience in any of these areas can shed some light on these issues I would be very grateful. If all else fails I will probably just take it to an independant mechanic and have them scope out these issues. Would an independant be recommmended over a dealer to work on these types of things? Whom ever I go to, I would like to narrow down what I ask them to do to save money and if these things are easy to diagnose would even attempt to fix myself if it can be done without a lot of expertise or equipment.
These seem to be nice cars and hopefully these issues are easily and cheaply resolved. Thanks for any advice that you can provide.
Any assistance would be appreciated...
issue #1I suspect your evap vent control valve is stuck partially open. and has a rusted pintle. the vent control valve is attached to the evap canister under the driver rear quarter behind the tire[easily visable if you lay on your back on the ground looking up under the car. the vent valve is the peice bolted to the canister with 2 10mm bolts. you can remove this and test it your self. if you have it out of the car and disconnected you should be able to blow through it quite easily. if you aply power and ground to it one terminal is power one is ground[doesnt matter on the work bench] once its applied you should hear it click now try blowing thruogh it with the power and ground applied you should not be able to if you can its stuck open. This part only closes during testing and no other time it remains open all the time otherwise.
I just confirmed the po1448 [0309] is in fact vent control valve code.
Your 2nd issue would be hard to give a deffinite answer to but it may be your electric motor mount(s) They adjust for engine movement. The mounts have valving in them much like a shock that is electricaly controlled it will open and close valves to stiffen and relax the mount by allowing fluid to pass from one cavity to another in the mount. At idle the mounts become relaxed to absorb engine vibration and stiffen under accel.
Your 2nd issue would be hard to give a deffinite answer to but it may be your electric motor mount(s) They adjust for engine movement. The mounts have valving in them much like a shock that is electricaly controlled it will open and close valves to stiffen and relax the mount by allowing fluid to pass from one cavity to another in the mount. At idle the mounts become relaxed to absorb engine vibration and stiffen under accel.
I am not sure if they were on your car but I know the maxi has them and that is the same car. some had one electric and some 2. it is the 2 at the front and rear of the engine bay on the cross member the noise is not real loud so if your noise is a very obvious clank noise it may not be the mounts. best way to tell if you have them is to look and see if there is a wire running in to them. if so follow the harness back to its conector should be near the O2 conectors for the front mount and the other should be to the drivers side of the front head. if you find that you have both mounts try disconnecting them and see if it still makes the noise. BTW this might throw an engine code but shouldnt turn on the light.
Got the vent control valve out today. Not too hard and it was located just benind the drivers side rear wheel. Looks in good shape but I know that can be deceiving. Did not do the 12 volt test yet as I need to get some small clips to do that . Did soak the inside with wd40 and placed it back in to see if it still throws codes. It had one two prong electrical connection and a large rubber hose attached to it. Noticed that the rubber hose did not have any clamp to hold it onto the valve. Is this normal? I constructed a make shift one using a #14 copper wire twist to assure that it was not leaking at that connection.
We will see if it still throws codes and if so will do the electrical test next to see if it is stuck open.
We will see if it still throws codes and if so will do the electrical test next to see if it is stuck open.
no it is not suppose to have a clamp on it. if you follow that hose you will find at the end of it it is open. that hose is exactly what it says it is "vent" The valve you are messing with vents the evap system to atmosphere. that valve only close when the ecm is performing an OBDII test on the EVAP system to make sure it can hold pressure and vaccum. once the test completes the valve opens back up and does not close again till The ecm conducts the test again which will only happen once each time the car is driven. sometimes driving conditions will cause the system to not self test. It has to be within certain peramaters to conduct the test. The vent valve doesnt close for more then a min or so when it does test. If it doesnt close or the system detects it isnt opening it will throw the code.