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Altima Nissan Altima Sedan Discussion Forum

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  #1  
Old 09-16-2016, 11:18 AM
jiju1943 jiju1943 is offline
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Default So many problems I don't know where to start

Our daughter drove to South Carolina from Chattanooga TN. Her 2002 Nissan Altima 2.5 engine started giving her problems, one or two plugs fouled out but her husband continued to drive the car for about 150 miles. He said he had to hold the peddle to the floor to keep up any speed at all.

They drove until the car finally just quit, we were a few miles behind and we stopped. To make the story shorter, I found the valve cover seals had been messed with and was leaking oil into the plug tubes on one or two plugs fouling them out.

I replaced the valve cover and plugs, cleaned the coils and wires. Car is spitting all kind of codes now. The car has a loud hissing noise when accelerating and doesn't have the power it should. One code was for the electronic throttle body so I am starting there.

My main question right now is this, can I do the relearn for the throttle body with the codes cleared if there are other things wrong with the car which I am sure there are?
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  #2  
Old 09-18-2016, 01:21 PM
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bennyb53 bennyb53 is offline
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Please post the codes. The re-learn will do no good if underlying issues are not fixed. Inspect throttle body as it could be Gunk up and throttle valve is stuck. Part of the electric throttle control actuator is the throttle position sensor and may have failed.

However, if you disconnected the electric throttle control harness when you replaced the valve cover, yes, you do the IAVL RE-LEARN.
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  #3  
Old 09-18-2016, 01:27 PM
jiju1943 jiju1943 is offline
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I will do another scan so I can get the codes again. Thank you, I appreciate your response.
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  #4  
Old 09-21-2016, 08:28 AM
jiju1943 jiju1943 is offline
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I did get the throttle body changed out and it does seem to run some better but it still has a miss or skip in the motor. I erased all codes and ran the car until the check engine light came on again, there are only two codes now, P0300 and P0301. I ersaed these codes three times and it comes back the same thing. I will try to see what the cause of the miss is, any suggestions. Oh by the way, when the car warms up it will die when put in gear.
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  #5  
Old 09-21-2016, 10:16 AM
jiju1943 jiju1943 is offline
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I changed out the plugs and one plug is bent. The first thing I thought was a piston slapping the plug but it doesn't do it all the time, just every once in a while. My best guess is something is loose on top of the piston or some carbon has broken loose, but since this is the second time it has bent the plug tang, I think it is something harder than carbon.

After I changed out the plugs, and one coil I saw was leaking spark, the car is running pretty smooth right now. I drove it for about 30 minutes and tried to get it so spit a code but so far it won't. I drove easy, then drove it really hard, still won't spit a code. The main thing right now is it doesn't have the power it should.

My best guess at this point would be the catalytic converter or timing chain. What do you think it may be. The car has 188,000 miles, 2002 Nissan Altima 4 cylinder.
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  #6  
Old 09-21-2016, 01:22 PM
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bennyb53 bennyb53 is offline
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1. The ignition coil that is leaking spark did you replace it. That can cause loss of power. The codes P0300, P0301 can cause loss of power. So I wouldn't be jumping to possible CAT or Timing Chain issue as nothing in your posts suggests that. I saw on Amazon.com an Ad for a set of 4 ignition coils for Altima 2.5 for $43. with Lifetime Warranty.

2. With the bent spark plug I cannot see in my mind any part or element you can bend. The grounding strap is what you bend slightly to adjust the spark gap. So the only thing I can come up with is a broken Piston connecting rod. The piston is tossed around and when reaching TDC it's tossed higher hitting the plug. I suggest you do a Compression Test. So fix the two codes.


P0300 NISSAN Cylinder Misfire Detected Random Cylinders

P0301 NISSAN Number 1 Cylinder Misfire Detected
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  #7  
Old 09-21-2016, 07:02 PM
jiju1943 jiju1943 is offline
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I will do a compression test very soon. Yes I did replace the coil but that is a really good price on a set.

I drove the car after getting it to run smooth for about 45 minutes trying to get the check engine light to come on, it never did. I will give it a try again tomorrow or Friday. Thank you for your suggestions and help it is much appreciated.

Jim
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  #8  
Old 09-22-2016, 05:49 PM
Soapmyster Soapmyster is offline
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I agree on the piston.
If the piston is hitting the plug it is either wrong plug, gapped wrong, or internal problem.
You had a cylinder 1 misfire. Very likely due to a bad COP coil. Did you replace it?
Is the valvetrain noisy at all?
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  #9  
Old 09-22-2016, 06:42 PM
jiju1943 jiju1943 is offline
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The coils have been replaced, no there is no abnormal valve train noise.

I still haven't done a compression check yet. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.
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  #10  
Old 08-07-2019, 05:30 AM
BigJim1 BigJim1 is offline
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Sorry I didn't update this thread. As it turned out the engine was toast from the pre-cat problems. I replaced the engine with a 2.0 engine and it is doing great now. Lot better gas mileage as well. The cat was gutted and use the two spacers for the upstream 02 sensor, went right through inspection. Now they are doing away with the inspections here.

Soapmyster, the problem with the bent tang on the spark plug was where the screws had come out of the power valve and had dropped down into the engine. At that point I knew the engine was gone for sure. One of the butterflies was lodged perfectly in the intake of the head and no gas was able to get in the cylinder at all. Very dangerous situation.

The bad part was I had to use the intake and power valve from the 2.5 over on the 2.0 so I had to buy new screws and a new butterfly. Can you believe the dinky little screws were $3.50 each and there are 8 of them.

Anyway since then I have bought a 2003 Pathfinder and you would not believe all the parts I have put on it $2000 plus and that is just parts.

We also just yesterday bought a 2008 Sentra SE R and it has the 2.5 engine. Now I am researching to find out if this Sentry with the 2.5 engine will have the same problems with the pre-cat problem.

I am also not sure if this 2.5 will have the power valve as it is a 6 speed stick transmission. I am still trying to find that out also. I have written a book here, sorry. One problem I am having with t he Sentry is it seems to stumble at about 3000 rpm so I am researching that also. OK through now. thanks for listening, I appreciate any information anyone can give me.
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  #11  
Old 08-08-2019, 11:02 PM
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smj999smj smj999smj is offline
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The 2008 QR25DE's are much more reliable than the earlier versions. 2002-2004 had some major issues that were eventually worked out.
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  #12  
Old 08-09-2019, 05:09 AM
BigJim1 BigJim1 is offline
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smj999smj, I was hoping you would give me some information, you have sure helped me a ton in the past, you flat out know your stuff. Thanks ever so much.

I started taking the upstream converter off yesterday, that is one heck of a deal, I still haven't gotten it off yet, hopefully today I will, Lord willing. I did clean the air filter, the MAF and the throttle body. I learned the hard way about opening the butterfly manually on or daughter's car. lol This Sentra has a K&N air filter and it was soaked in oil, not just a little oil but a lot of oil. I figure that a mist of that oil got on the MAF and caused some of the problems.

Question, I unhooked the battery last night on the little car, will that cause problems with the battery disconnected for a day or two?



Jim
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  #13  
Old 08-10-2019, 10:19 AM
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If you have idle issues and/or trigger a P0507 code, you will have to do an idle air volume relearn.
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  #14  
Old 08-10-2019, 04:13 PM
BigJim1 BigJim1 is offline
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I really do appreciate you. I took a trip around town this evening and it fired up ok and drove just like it did before, it still bogs down after warming up.
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