fuel delivery problem, or worse?

[b0000mst1ck]

i have an 02 spec-v w/79k miles on it. the other day i tried running to the gas station, and upon starting the car the engine bogged down pretty bad, and started kicking out white smoke during idle, and black smoke during rev. it had rained earlier in the evening, so i figured some moisture may have affected it, but while trying to back out of my driveway it stalled on me. i checked the spark plugs and coilovers, as well as the intake system. all are fine. i also ran a bottle of lucas injector cleaner through it. nothing's been resolved, and i'm pretty sure it's something to do with fuel delivery, since there's a very prevelant smell of gas whenever the car's running. i also don't think it's a misfire being that all cylinders sound okay during idle. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

[nametakennow]

Do you have the stock exhaust manifold?

Have you Loctite'd the butterfly screws?

I suspect your engine ate its precat. It's a very common problem. If so, Nissan should give you an engine. Take it to the dealer and see. The may try to make it your fault, so be sure you have your maintenance records handy.

Welcome to NICO! Sorry you had to come here under these circumstances, though.

[RED_DET]

Are you absolutely certain you are getting spark? These motors have issues mentioned already, but also have issues with two sensors. Once main culprit is the crank position sensor, the other is the cam position sensor. I changed out the crank position sensor in the Spec a couple a weeks ago because it had been acting up. Long starts, hesitant starts and then it would not start at all one day. Luckily I could reset the ecu to clear the codes and it fired up. Haven't had any problems since replacing the sensor. Check for any codes the ecu is throwing.

[b0000mst1ck]

the previous owner of my car took it in for that recall in november of 2004, so i doubt that's the problem.

and thanks for the welcome but don't worry, i've had plenty of problems with this vehicle before so i'm used to it. i guess that's what you get when you buy a car whose previous owner abused it.

Do you have the stock exhaust manifold?

Have you Loctite'd the butterfly screws?

I suspect your engine ate its precat. It's a very common problem. If so, Nissan should give you an engine. Take it to the dealer and see. The may try to make it your fault, so be sure you have your maintenance records handy.

Welcome to NICO! Sorry you had to come here under these circumstances, though.

that recall was taken care of in 2004.

[b0000mst1ck]

i bought new spark plugs this past tuesday and put them in. 1, 3 and 2 sparked, and the 4th one hasn't yet. when i removed the 4th plug i could see gas sitting down inside the cylinder, where the other 3 were clear. that's when i figured the coilover might have been bad. after testing all four on an ohm-meter, and in the car itself, i'm out of ideas.

as for the crank position sensor, i doubt that's the problem. it starts right up. how it acts when it's running is a different story. it doesn't hold a steady rpm, whether it's idling or if i'm trying to rev it.

Are you absolutely certain you are getting spark? These motors have issues mentioned already, but also have issues with two sensors. Once main culprit is the crank position sensor, the other is the cam position sensor. I changed out the crank position sensor in the Spec a couple a weeks ago because it had been acting up. Long starts, hesitant starts and then it would not start at all one day. Luckily I could reset the ecu to clear the codes and it fired up. Haven't had any problems since replacing the sensor. Check for any codes the ecu is throwing.

[nismo4life11]

Sounds like the distributer cap to me, all it does is tell your engine when to fire if its not firing on 4 then try a cap its only like $20. Also check to see if the ditributer rotor is good its about $10. You should be able to get both from advance autoparts or autozone. I had this go on my old b13 sentra and sounds like you have the same problem.

WELCOME TO NICO!!!

[nismo4life11]

lol my bad the se-r's engine is distributerless duhhhhhhhhh. sorry guys deedadee moment

[b0000mst1ck]

forgiven.

lol my bad the se-r's engine is distributerless duhhhhhhhhh. sorry guys deedadee moment

[nismo4life11]

well still its either the crank sensor (im assuming its like the rotor on the sr20de) or the coil for the plug, i'd try a new plug first though and make sure the gap is right maybe it fouled with all that fuel in there. Definitely an ignition issue though.

[RED_DET]

the crank position sensor determines when spark is delivered. For piece of mind and only $22 from autozone, I would change it out anyways. They are known to go bad and should be replaced either way. Start with easy and cheap fixes and work from there. If that doesn't work, you may have a leaky injector that is flooding the cylinder, which isn't going to allow combustion because of too much fuel. The car is running on 3 cylinders at this point and thats why it runs like it does.

Try this at your own risk.

Pull the fuse for the fuel pump.Leave all plugs in except for the one that doesn't get spark.Remove that plug.Crank the car over a few times to see if the cylinder compresses any fuel out.If it does, do this a few times to get the excess fuel out of the cylinder.Clean and re-install the plug.Put fuel pump fuse back in and try starting the car.

[b0000mst1ck]

i ordered a crank sensor from autozone yesterday and should have it in sometime this morning. hopefully that's the problem, because i can't afford anything expensive until next week.

[nissantech06]

i ordered a crank sensor from autozone yesterday and should have it in sometime this morning. hopefully that's the problem, because i can't afford anything expensive until next week.

The crank sensor on the 2.5 is normal. The redesigned sensor keeps it from filling with oil. The old sensor has a tendecy to fill with oil, which keeps it from reading the signal correctly.

[b0000mst1ck]

well, after replacing the cam sensor, crank sensor, and spark plugs, followed by testing the coilovers and spark plugs numerous times, i still haven't managed to fix it.

the only difference i've noticed in all this is that all four cylinders are now firing, and the idle is back to normal. i can sometimes get a solid rev out of the engine, but it almost always stalls as the rpms drop back down again. i'm pretty sure i'm just going to have it towed at this point, because i've stretched my knowledge of this car, and i'm out of ideas.

[nametakennow]

Just because it was taken in for the recall doesn't make it immune to precat failure. Nissan's "fix" didn't do much. Unless the precat is completely gone (i.e. aftermarket header), it could still disintegrate.

That said, is the ECU throwing any codes? Actually, it could be a bad computer itself.

[b0000mst1ck]

the ecu hasn't thrown any codes yet, actually. and i doubt it's the ecu. i've had to do the idle relearn a couple of times now and it's worked every time.

either way, it's getting towed to a mechanic. i'm tired of dealing with it, and my frustration level is through the roof at this point.

Just because it was taken in for the recall doesn't make it immune to precat failure. Nissan's "fix" didn't do much. Unless the precat is completely gone (i.e. aftermarket header), it could still disintegrate.

That said, is the ECU throwing any codes? Actually, it could be a bad computer itself.

[RED_DET]

It maybe the MAF as well. I guess once you get the car to a shop they will check it out.

[b0000mst1ck]

it'd be nice if it was. but the MAF sensor is fine. i checked it last week.

It maybe the MAF as well. I guess once you get the car to a shop they will check it out.

[nismo4life11]

let us know what happens it'll be interesting to see whats wrong also sorry your se-r isnt being nice to you

[b0000mst1ck]

well, its like i said before, the previous owner abused it pretty badly. i was specifically looking for a spec-v, and it was one of two available in the area (they're pretty rare around here). the one i originally wanted to buy was sold four days before i had enough money for a down-payment, so i ended up buying this one. i've had it since april of last year, and so far i've replaced the sunroof motor, clutch master cylinder, rack and pinion, bypass valve for the CAI, and soon to be whatever part is bad now. so as you can see, it's been quite an adventure lol.

it was towed to a mechanic today, so hopefully i'll find out by tomorrow evening what the problem is. either way i'll keep you guys updated. and again, thanks for all your help.

let us know what happens it'll be interesting to see whats wrong also sorry your se-r isnt being nice to you

[RED_DET]

Just a heads up, if it is a ECU, those bastards @ nissan have to cover it 8yr/80k. I just found this out and the wifes car is getting a new ecu because of other issues. Although last year they were ready to have me paid 1k for a new ecu and failed to tell me about said warranty.

[nametakennow]

Son of a *****, I bought an ECU a couple years ago at ~5/50ish.

Good info.

[RED_DET]

Yup, you got screwed... Federal emissions warranty covers the cats and ecu.

Speaking of which, I would go back to NISSAN and demand to have your money back, because that is complete b^llsh*t they didn't fix it under warranty.

[b0000mst1ck]

quick update...it was the fuel pump, after all. i had the mechanic order an OEM for 388 (round-about). although, i'm a little confused as to why i already have to get a new one, considering it was just replaced 3 years ago. oh well, either way it's over with.

[nismo4life11]

wow sounds better than what we all thought it was, congrats now go rip it up