Idle is dropping like crazy, car is shuddering

[4drmadness]

Hey guys my idle seems to be very low. I can almost feel my car give out when im stopped on a light or something. I thnik this is because of a new spacer. what procedures should i do so that my idle is back to normal.

[Jacko3]

Your spacer maybe contributing to it but it s not the cause of the shuddering.

This is a common problem in my little nissan or B13. But now, it is gone. For years, i had no clue what caused those low level rpms when i step on the brake to stop at a traffic light.

Well, after my complete tune up in January, all of that is gone.

Any number of things can cause this symptom---from an improper timing in relation to the BTDC, in relation to the amount of air that the engine is taking in. A leaking hose can also cause this. With all the mods you have on your car, i would suggest you take your car to an Iinfiniti delarship to have all you parameters reset back to stock levels. I would also suggest you change your air filter as well. My little nissan used to choke on OEM air filters until I started using K&N filters. Again, i speak from my experience with my little nissan.

[4drmadness]

im actually thinking it might be due to the fact that i didnot take off the negative battery terminal when i was installing the tb spacer. My throttle body calibration is completely off, and i just cant seem to get the idle procdure. ive done it like 10 times already and it doesnt work. im pissed

[tollboothwilley]

what is your idle at?

[4drmadness]

hmm it seems like it goes under 600 when im just waitn at a stop light. the idle tries to bump a bit and then goes down again. its super weird.

[tollboothwilley]

check the gaskets

[4drmadness]

im thinking there is a small leak somewhere

[Sentientbydesign]

We redid Vivek's throttle close position and idle relearn and it seemed to help at first, but his idle still started faultering.

Vivek,

You MIGHT want to try uninstalling the TB spacer and seeing how your idle goes from there. That's the easiest trouble shoot I can think of right now.

It's possible that the leaking valve cover might be tweaking your idle too, but I wouldn't think it would be that bad.

[tollboothwilley]

In talking, he seems to be missing his TB gaskets for the TB spacer. He needs one on each side of that spacer.

[4drmadness]

thts a good idea as well. ill install the gaskets first and do the relearn. if that doesnt fix it, ill take off the tb spacer and see. if tht doesnt fix it, im gona have no clue. i wanna get my car fixed before my tune.

[Sentientbydesign]

I caught that when we spoke earlier, but removing the TB spacer and testing is free and easy. Buying 2 gaskets and having the dealership tell him he's SOL is kind of expensive (especially considering the drive).

[tollboothwilley]

true...but he is missing gaskets. Those need to be there regardless. I would make sure I have at least one. Removing the TB spacer isn't gonna fix the issue. Its not the TB spacer causing the problem. I have the same one installed, no problems.

[4drmadness]

you know what. I found a bolt on the spacer tht wasnt even on properly it wasnt even torqued at all. i just torques it right now. im gona do the idle relearn and im hoping this fixes it. i will get the gaskets regardless.

[tollboothwilley]

did you check it this AM?

[Sentientbydesign]

true...but he is missing gaskets. Those need to be there regardless. I would make sure I have at least one. Removing the TB spacer isn't gonna fix the issue. Its not the TB spacer causing the problem. I have the same one installed, no problems.

I get the feeling that most of you think I'm out to negate your mods. That's not the case. What we DO need to look at here is that Vivek's car is like Christine. It has a mind of it's own and has probably seen a mechanic more times than any of ours - No offense, Vivek.

As such, the only "unique" mod he has that the rest of us don't is the TB spacers. I believe that a vacuum leak is a very possible culprit, but a lean condition among others could also be causing the erattic idle.

Since the TB spacer is easy to remove, it's the logical first move in troubleshooting.

[C-Kwik]

A cheap leak detector is a propane tank and a valved nozzle for it. Perhaps some hose to go on the end of the nozzle. Simply open the valve to let propane out. Move the end of the hose around in the suspected areas a leak might be occurring. If the idle comes up/smooths out, you've likely found a leak. Given the idle issue seems to stem around the TB spacer install, it would be an easy test to perform if you happen to have a propane tank and some kind of nozzle you can use with it.

[Sentientbydesign]

Butane micro-torch!!!

[tollboothwilley]

I HAVE THE TB SPACER....ITS NOT THE TB SPACER.