Bartered 240, sure need some help getting it to run right...

[TylerW]

Hey guys:

Thought I would register and solicit some help on a Nissan I just picked up since this seems to be a good place for it.

I bartered some work on friend's car recently for a '90 240SX that he also owned. He is disabled and decided to pick one car of the 2 to keep, so I got the Nissan.

It's stock as a rock, automatic, 144,000 miles, has always been an unmodified daily driver.

He had stopped driving it because he claimed it had nearly stranded him a couple times by losing power to the point of barely moving.

I've driven it about 150 miles so far, and there's definately something going on, but it's not tried to die on me or anything..yet.

The most obvious symptom is this;

From just off-idle to about 2500 rpm, it is just REALLY down on power and torque, like something is holding it back. If you try to gas on it harder at lower rpms, it just doesn't pull.It also doesn't run smoothly in the lower rpm range.

However...

Once things get about 2500 or so, it's like a switch being flipped and all the power suddenly shows back up. Then it'll pull hard until about 5000 and starts to choke.

The idle is even at 800 rpm in park.

I've checked for vacuum leaks and found none. I found a spare air meter in the trunk and swapped that on with no change at all. I checked for codes at the ECM and there are none. Check engine light functions but does not illuminate.

It starts right away, all the time. however, after I got gas for the first time today, it started and died 3 times before it would stay running on its own. When I took the cap off, it really whooshed.

The car has had good maintenance and the engine seems strong. It doesn't have chain rattle or lifter noise. It had a new headgasket 40K ago, recent new injectors, fuel pump, plugs and wires.

The service history shows it being back to the dealer at 38,000 to check the timing, back at 61,000 for complaint of a surge.

I rode in this car 2 years ago and it wasn't acting up like this.

Sorry for writing a book, but figure the more info the better.

Thanks!

[volcomskater773]

coolant temp sensor. wont throw a code but it gives those symptoms.