Hello guys,
I recently bought my second 3rd Gen 2005 Altima QR25de
White
168.5k Miles & Automatic transmission

Long story short, I bought the car and did this work to it:

Installed NGK Iridium Plugs
Oil change to GTX 5w-30
Replaced Camshaft and Crankshaft Position Sensors
Replaced Front/Top/Passenger Engine mount
Flushed Antifreeze and fluids in all resivoirs(as good as I could)

None of this resolved my issue which is this:
Car starts up and runs smooth
When placed into gear (reverse/ drive/ 3 / l2 / l1) and at idle, the engine vibrates enough to drive me mad.
Placing a load on it only makes it worse (ie. heater, r. defogger, headlights)
I've placed a multi-meter on the battery and got normal voltages for idle/ normal/ and under load

another forum suggested a grounding kit and I'm considering giving that a try.

Are there any other things you guys could suggest to cause a rough idle when placed in gear?
Thanks in advance.

Highly doubt this is a grounding related issue. First things I would check would be IACV and TPS.

* By check I mean look to replace or clean.

That's a thought.
I noticed a subtle hissing coming from the intake manifold area, so I'm starting to suspect a leak or vacuum issue there.
I tried spraying carb cleaner in certain areas but I couldn't locate a leak.

Do you have any suggestions regarding checking for vacuum leaks on the manifold?
or any how to's for changing that gasket?
Thanks.

Check the motor and transmission mounts?

Perhaps try running a fuel system cleaner containing polyether amines, which is proven to clean deposits without leaving behind its own residue. Products which are known to contain PEA are Chevron Techron, Gumout Regane, and Redline SI-1.

jpjm132003 wrote:That's a thought.
I noticed a subtle hissing coming from the intake manifold area, so I'm starting to suspect a leak or vacuum issue there.
I tried spraying carb cleaner in certain areas but I couldn't locate a leak.

Do you have any suggestions regarding checking for vacuum leaks on the manifold?
or any how to's for changing that gasket?
Thanks.

On the QR it's easy enough to just pull the IM and run a small bead of RTV around mating surfaces to be sure. Past that I'm sure you inspected all of the vacuum lines. If you rev the car in neutral how does it sound?

Hi there... If it were me, I'd look at the front motor mount. I had similar symptoms, it would shake a lot more than i liked at lights, especially with the air on; and discovered that my front mount was completely broken, this was at 35K miles (about 4Y). The new one, when replaced, smoothed everything out incredibly. I think these particular factory mounts are suspect, because I'm feeling more NVH in the powertrain again, though it's not sloppy yet like when it was broke, I think I'm just wearing out another one. Perhaps they are only designed to last 3-4 years. Could be my right foot. Nahhhh.

^^^

jpjm132003 wrote:Long story short, I bought the car and did this work to it:

Installed NGK Iridium Plugs
Oil change to GTX 5w-30
Replaced Camshaft and Crankshaft Position Sensors
Replaced Front/Top/Passenger Engine mount
Flushed Antifreeze and fluids in all resivoirs(as good as I could)

None of this resolved my issue which is this:

Whoops, somehow I missed that line. Guess that eliminates that then... Thanks!

You might also want to check your tie rods, wheel bearings and drive axles.

Sorry for the long gap in between posts. I've been consumed with school and work.

Yesterday I replaced ALL engine mounts. Front and back and transmission and upper passenger.
I also replaced the front struts.
(side note: strutmasters.com sells quick-struts for 3rd gen L31 Altima for $90 each! I put them in yesterday and I am very happy with them so far)

Due to an accident (long story ... wheel fell off ... -_-) about a month ago
I replaced the driver side
• Lower control arm/ball joint
• Wheel bearing
• Wheel studs
• Outer tie rods (both sides)
• Had an alignment done
• Alternator replaced

After all this work, my altima is still idling rough in gear. Not as bad since the engine mounts but here's another clue as to what might solve some symptoms.

I noticed under electrical load the car idles rough (ie rear defroster or blower running)
When I turn all auxiliary electrical stuff off it idles like a dream
I just replaced the alternator and its putting about 14. V out when its running
I tested the battery with the volt meter too and it was good but I'll test it again to see what it is now.
(I have a Negative (-) 8 gauge grounding kit on my car right now (about 5-7 points of ground I've added)

Anyways, would anyone recommend changing the battery?
My co-worker also mentioned putting in a high output alternator. Any thoughts on that?
He's a 240 guy and said he knows someone running the alternator from the quest because its got higher output.
Would running that be possible?
Thanks
Jake.

Ignoring everything everyone else has said try this. Take the belt off, start it and put it in gear. Does it go away? If so inspect the belt tensioner. If the tensioner is new then, is the alternator a reman or aftermarket? We use load based alternators and when the clutches go bad they will vibrate the belt so bad it will be felt throughout the car.


****
just noticed you replaced the alternator. aftermarket units especially cheap ones are notorious for this issue.

Hey sstroudwku,
Today I went and took the belt off and started it up and it idled very smoothly. I dropped it into reverse and drive and it still idled very smooth.

I checked out the tensioner and there was a tiny bit of play, but very tiny.

I replaced the Alternator with an Ultima Remanufactured from O'Reily auto
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detai ... &ppt=C0330

The Alternator I took out I believe was the exact same thing and it didn't have and changing it had no affect on the problem.

Could it be that the Ultima alternator is no good?

**********************************RESOLVED*********************************************
First of all, a huge shout out to sstroudwku. Thank you so much for your time and input.

The issue was the aftermarket Alternator and worn idle tensioner bearing.

As per sstroudwku's suggestion, I ordered a used but Genuine Nissan Alternator from ebay.

And Went down to Autozone and picked up a replacement Idle Tensioner Pulley.

I put them in and my car runs like new again.

The explanation is this, the aftermarket alternators (which are all remanufactured) have sub-par clutches in them which don't live up to a good standard when the car is at idle. I had just paid $200 at O'reily Auto for an "Ultima Alternator." Because this part was fresh from the part store, I never would have suspected it. sstroudwku enlightened me that the remanufactured Alternators contain poor quality clutches more often than not.

He also suggested I replace the tensioner while I was in there, so I did; good thing too, it had quite a bit of play in the bearing.

Immediately upon first start up, the car was running smooth. This was a very frustrating issue for me as I had done everything I could find in forums that solved it for other people. I am thankful for this community and again a huge shout-out to sstroudwku.

I no longer have to do with discomfort at every light!

I hope this forum finds someone who needs the help!

jpjm132003 wrote:**********************************RESOLVED*********************************************
First of all, a huge shout out to sstroudwku. Thank you so much for your time and input.

The issue was the aftermarket Alternator and worn idle tensioner bearing.

As per sstroudwku's suggestion, I ordered a used but Genuine Nissan Alternator from ebay.

And Went down to Autozone and picked up a replacement Idle Tensioner Pulley.

I put them in and my car runs like new again.

The explanation is this, the aftermarket alternators (which are all remanufactured) have sub-par clutches in them which don't live up to a good standard when the car is at idle. I had just paid $200 at O'reily Auto for an "Ultima Alternator." Because this part was fresh from the part store, I never would have suspected it. sstroudwku enlightened me that the remanufactured Alternators contain poor quality clutches more often than not.

He also suggested I replace the tensioner while I was in there, so I did; good thing too, it had quite a bit of play in the bearing.

Immediately upon first start up, the car was running smooth. This was a very frustrating issue for me as I had done everything I could find in forums that solved it for other people. I am thankful for this community and again a huge shout-out to sstroudwku.

I no longer have to do with discomfort at every light!

I hope this forum finds someone who needs the help!

Hey jpjm

I am new to this forum and to the Altima in general.
I bought my Altima about a year ago and always had a rough idle, it's not so bad now but I feel it and it just bothers me. Other than this everything seems to be running very smoothly.

Since I bought the car I have done the following:
1. Replace 3 motor mounts (at the shop) - except the rear
2. Replace the cranckshaft & camshaft sensors (myself)
3. Replaced plugs (myself)
4. Did the oil changes and oil filter (myself)
5. Did a relearning of the idle (at shop)

Your description above sounds like probably what I am suffering from but I don't know if the alternator was replaced or not in this car and if its an original or not - any tips on how I can identify this myself ?

Do you think that replacing the Idle Tensioner Pulley is something I can do myself?
I am a fast learner and very techi.

I also have an ODB connector that send live information to the Torque application on my phone (great little toy!), is there anything I can look up there that will hint on the source of this issue?

Any help here would be greatly appreciated as I am out here to learn.

Thanks!

Hey doronbra,

I've got an ELM 327 Bluetooth that I connect to my Droid. Sounds like what you were describing, but unfortunately it doesn't help in this situation.

A couple things to test would be to:
1. Get your hands on a Multimeter and make sure your battery has a good amount of Volts when the car is off
• Also that while the car is running, the Volts are around 14
• This will ensure the alternator / battery are okay. But it does not rule it out as the source of your vibration
2. Get the Serpentine belt loosened or off, and check if there is any play in the tensioner bearing (move it up and down side to side)
• If there is any play, I would replace it
• I went with autozone's tensioner pully and I haven't had any issues
• If you did the crank sensor on the firewall side of the motor then I don't think you'll have an issue changing the tensioner lol
• Although a word of advice, If you can get a set of Ratcheting Wrenches, do it for this project
• I must have spent 45 minutes running the lower left bolt out of the tensioner (could get about 1 notch on a 12 point wrench per turn)
• Other than that its pretty straight forward: Definitely take the front right wheel off, move the Antifreeze resoirvoir, fuze box, alternator, and then you're home free
• Give yourself at least an hour and a half to do it.
3. If you want to check if the Alternator is Factory OEM or Aftermarket, look around on it for badges
• The aftermarket alternator I had in the car had a barcode sticker on it with a Model No.
• The OEM Alternator I dropped in had a METAL PLATE with Nissan Badges and a Serial number on it
• I think its safe to assume that if you have a barcode / no Nissan plate on the Alternator, then it is aftermarket

4. If your rough Idle gets worse when you put an electrical load on the car (Fan blower, window motors, headlights / high beams) then I would suspect the alternator / battery

Good Luck! HMU with any more questions

Thanks jpjm!

I can actually follow the volts live with my app, this is one of the values I follow and it is 14 volts.

I will look into releasing the serpentine belt and checking the tension bearing. If you have any link to a step by step guide for this it would be great.

I will keep you posted after I check this.

Btw, I saw many different belts offered by autozone, which would you recommend for the smoothest and quietest drive?

I cannot attest to the belt, mine was in good shape when I bought the car so I haven't replaced it.

Does the app show you volts with the car off? If so what are those values?

And Idk how accurate the sensors in the car are as opposed to a multimeter directly on the battery.

The belt tensioner I went with was the Duralast one

Part no: 305322
should be able to drop that in the search bar on autozone.com

It has been quiet and smooth so far.

While driving it shows between 13 to 13.7 volts, it goes up as i drive faster. When I turn off the engine but leave the switch on "on" it goes down to around 11 volts. I want to but a multimeter to check this further, what are the values I should look for?

Btw, now that the weather is getting warmer the idle vibrates much less sometimes doesn't at all. Does this make sense?
I live in NJ and thinking that its getting less dry and maybe it is related to the battery or alternator conductivity...

One more thing, I saw the alternator is Nissan, had the plaque and here is a vid of it while I go from park to drive and add electrical load to it.
http://youtu.be/NckkQA832xE

I am not getting around to releasing the belt and haven't tried that yet.

jpjm132003 wrote:**********************************RESOLVED*********************************************
First of all, a huge shout out to sstroudwku. Thank you so much for your time and input.

The issue was the aftermarket Alternator and worn idle tensioner bearing.

As per sstroudwku's suggestion, I ordered a used but Genuine Nissan Alternator from <a class="vglnk" title="Link added by VigLink" target="_blank" href="http://www.ebay.com/" rel="nofollow"><span>ebay</span></a>.

And Went down to Autozone and picked up a replacement Idle Tensioner Pulley.

I put them in and my car runs like new again.

The explanation is this, the aftermarket alternators (which are all remanufactured) have sub-par clutches in them which don't live up to a good standard when the car is at idle. I had just paid $200 at O'reily Auto for an "Ultima Alternator." Because this part was fresh from the part store, I never would have suspected it. sstroudwku enlightened me that the remanufactured Alternators contain poor quality clutches more often than not.

He also suggested I replace the tensioner while I was in there, so I did; good thing too, it had quite a bit of play in the bearing.

Immediately upon first start up, the car was running smooth. This was a very frustrating issue for me as I had done everything I could find in forums that solved it for other people. I am thankful for this community and again a huge shout-out to sstroudwku.

I no longer have to do with discomfort at every light!

I hope this forum finds someone who needs the help!

This is the exact problem I have in my 01 pathfinder 3.5L. Are the engines pretty similar to where you think the alternator/pulley could be the problem? I put a multimeter on the battery while the car was running and it tested fine. Would that mean I should check the tensioner?

jpjm132003 wrote:**********************************RESOLVED*********************************************
First of all, a huge shout out to sstroudwku. Thank you so much for your time and input.

The issue was the aftermarket Alternator and worn idle tensioner bearing.

As per sstroudwku's suggestion, I ordered a used but Genuine Nissan Alternator from ebay.

And Went down to Autozone and picked up a replacement Idle Tensioner Pulley.

I put them in and my car runs like new again.

The explanation is this, the aftermarket alternators (which are all remanufactured) have sub-par clutches in them which don't live up to a good standard when the car is at idle. I had just paid $200 at O'reily Auto for an "Ultima Alternator." Because this part was fresh from the part store, I never would have suspected it. sstroudwku enlightened me that the remanufactured Alternators contain poor quality clutches more often than not.

He also suggested I replace the tensioner while I was in there, so I did; good thing too, it had quite a bit of play in the bearing.

Immediately upon first start up, the car was running smooth. This was a very frustrating issue for me as I had done everything I could find in forums that solved it for other people. I am thankful for this community and again a huge shout-out to sstroudwku.

I no longer have to do with discomfort at every light!

I hope this forum finds someone who needs the help!

jpjm132003 can you post a link to the genuine alternator you purchased? or post the actual manufacturer name of the part so i can buy i genuine one from ebay? i'm noticing the same problem in my car.

also can you post the tension pulley you got?

thanks,
sagwa02