Need Help: 1991 Nissan 240sx

[Jj Fad]

Heres the thing... i have 1991 240sx and 5 months ago i changed my spark plugs and cables and i messed up with the numbering of cable or in short i mixed it up. after that i took it for spin and while im driving, i saw this smoke came out of my engine and then i found out that the spark plugs cables were not on their correct place. i corrected it then i took it for another spin and then the problems comes out. its not that powerfull as before. i mean, i cant even screech my wheels on 1st gear. and when i shift to 2nd gear, i feel this lose power... i dont know what happened and what to do to fix it. hope you guys can give me advice regarding this matter. thank you very much in advance.

[scotttak]

so is smoke still coming out??? or is it just a loss of power?

[Jj Fad]

no more smoke but the loss of power is pretty obvious... everytime before i go to the next gear there is loss of power.

[scotttak]

hmmmm possibly compression...id get a compression test...if this is so u get to have fun replacing ur piston rings!!!! i think...lol...engine rebuild maybe? it sounds like u shot ur rings when u mixed up the spark plugs

[Jj Fad]

should i change my spark plugs and cables again you think? or check my injectors?

[SeanC]

did you use the supplied di-electric grease when replacing yours plugs and wires. this is a commonly over-looked step.

[scotttak]

could u clarify what u mean by it loses power before you shift? how does ur engine sound? does it sound normal or does it sound like one of the cylinders isnt firing? (sounds like the engine is struggling) id get a compression test to see if its ur rings or valves. compression tests are relatively simple and can tell u alot about ur engine. however, i could be wrong in thinking this...lmaonade. could someone else give some input?

[Z U L8R]

Compression test wouldn't be a bad idea, you could have done serious damage if you get spark combusting fuel and air with an intake or exhaust valve open in the process. If you damaged a valve or where it seats it won't seal correctly and that will show on a compression test.

The other possibility could be your catalytic converter is stopped up. Any time you have a misfire / unburned fuel you risk contaminating the catalytic converter. Usually it'll take more than a 5 minute test drive running like crap to do that however if your cat is old and been through many miles in the first place it may be time for a new one.

Other causes. 1) a loose nut behind the steering wheel <=] 2) cheap autozone crap wires 3) plug gap, 4) it's a sohc KA 5) Your ecu's trying to figure out what the hell's going on and it needs a vacation at the player's club to come back and realize there's no longer a problem 6) All your one tire fire burn outs wore your clutch down a little.

[Jj Fad]

the sounds is normal... its just that when shifting gears, there is loss power. its not that when you shift gear then step on the gas youll feel the power. but my car, 1st gear cant even screech my tires and when changing gears, my gas pedal almost reached the floor but it wont take off fast. not exactly but its the same like when youre on first shift to 4th gear. thats how its feels like then the power will come back after that short loss.i dont know why. one of my friend told me to change the cables and plugs coz it might be bad. or check my injectors... i dont know. my cables are new and my plugs.

[scotttak]

yeah to me it sounds like theres something wrong with ur compression then. maybe bad valve seat or piston rings are messed up. get that compression test. it should be over 150psi at least, i think normal psi is in the 170's i think.

[Jj Fad]

if thats the case for example... how can i fix it? is there any remedy for that?

[pawpaw18_00]

Well...i dont think its the rings...if u had bad rings then the car would most likely not start...no compression= no bang...check for good spark...buy a spark tester from a parts store...if it cant shoot any spark across the tester you probably have a bad coil...does it idle funny??or is it smooth??why dont you put all ur old plugs and wires back on...see if it fixes the problem...

[Jj Fad]

yeah... thats my plan, replace all the plugs and cables. about idle, sometimes it idles really bad especially on the morning its really high. that was funny.