Nissan Maxima: Nissan Maxima 93 runs on five occasionally

"Mika" <fi> wrote in message
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GXE or SE? They had different engines in '92-'94.


which 

Probably a bad injector. Place an ohm meter across the leads on each
injector. If one of the readings is wildly off the other 5, it's almost
certain that it's a bad injector. Did you get a Check Engine light? A
failed injector usually triggers the light.

 

The injector problem can definitely come and go, but will eventually fail
for good. It will probably cost about $600 in parts (if you use Nissan
injectors, and replace all 6, which I recommend), and another $600 in labor.

This car will run on 5 cylinders without damaging the engine. It's very
well balanced. So if you need some time to get the money together, you can
still drive it. If you've got some mechanical aptitude, this is not a
difficult repair, just time consuming. You'll need a manual and a torque
wrench (don't even try it without both).



How does the fuel injector work after all? What causes the 

Whatever the cause, this car is worth fixing. I had a bad injector at about
125K miles, and replaced all 6 (figured I'd be in there anyway). I'm at
168K miles and the car runs fantastic. I expect to get to at least 250K,
maybe 300K. I hate the idea of a car payment.


Bill G
'91 SE Auto
167,939 miles

On 18 Aug 2004 14:05:22 -0700, Mika <fi> wrote: 

I would suspect a faulty fuel injector, which apparently is a common
problem with Nissan (A co-worker had injector problems with older Z cars).
I forget if I have had to replace 2 or 3 on my 95 SE (one under warranty).
Sometimes it may be intermittant and may not show up as a check engine
light for a month, but other times it may be steady and kick out a code
the same day it happens.

But I do not think injector cleaner would help because Nissan blames fuel
additives (or alcohol), which hopefully they have figured out how to stand
up to in current models.

--
David Efflandt - All spam ignored http://www.de-srv.com/

X-No-Archive: yes

Hi Bill! Thanks for you reply. Below is some more information.

The model is neither GXE or SE. Those are probably US versions of
Maxima. My manual says "Maxima series J30" and the engine model is
VG30E.

I took a look at the injector wires but I didn't have a suitable tool
to get them loose, they are locked with a metallic "U-ring" or
whatever the correct term is. To get my hands better on the wires I'd
need to get rid of some stuff attached on top of the engine. And I
don't have a garage..

I didn't get a check engine light, not a single time. That's one thing
I'm curious about. It's like the "box" thinks that everything is all
right.

There are two wires going to the injector(there is a small crack in
the protective cap but the wires itself are intact - that's what I can
see through the crack). So I could place an ohm meter there when the
wires are attached but is there a risk that might break something as
the ohm meter causes a small current and voltage to be in place? And
on the other hand, which way the current would go, through the
injector or the other end of those wires (the "box", I assume)? Or is
the resistance of the "box" so high that doing the measurement this
way would result in correct readings?

On the other hand, if I'd measure the voltage over the injector wires
when the cylinder is working and when it is not (=when the engine is
running), I could probably rule out the possibility of faulty "box"?
Although a basic voltage meter probably can't handle the situation as
the voltage rises and drops during each round... But might be worth a
try, at least if I can get a more sophisticated meter somewhere.
 

I'm hoping that time would give some solution if nothing else will.
Although I don't like driving around with a "broken" car. Changing all
injectors will cost way more than you said, at least here in Finland.
I got one price for a Nissan fuel injector and that's about 200 euros
(around $250). Labor is some cheaper though. If it is the injector,
I'm probably going to replace all of them as you suggested but
hopefully there are also some non-Nissan injectors available. The best
(and luckily, the only) offer I've so far would be about $2000 for
replacing all the injectors. *sigh*

Br,

Mika

"Mika" <fi> wrote in message
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Sorry about the delay replying. I was out of town.

 

It's a GXE. Same engine as my

 
fail 
labor. 

"Mika" <fi> wrote in message
news:google.com... 

Sorry about the delay replying. I was out of town.

 

You have a GXE. Same engine as my '91 SE.

 

First, you can get to them without removing anything off the top of the
engine. It's a pain in the buttocks to get to the front ones, but they are
reachable.

Second, you can use a small piece of tubing to listen to the injectors. Buy
a 2 foot piece of tubing from an auto parts store (or a short piece of
garden hose) and put one end in your ear, and the other down near the
injectors while the engine is running. You should hear a soft
pfft-pfft-pfft sound if the injector is working correctly. You won't hear
anything from the bad one.

Third, you can use a small flat bladed screwdriver to gently ease back the
C-clip. Be careful, or the clip will fly off. It's not the end of the
world if it does, the connector will stay on without the clip. Put the ohm
meter across the 2 leads (it doesn't matter which way, the reading is the
same). Test the bad one, and a known good one. The bad one's reading will
be wildly different. Don't worry, you won't damage anything using the
meter.

 

Oops, didn't look at the header.
 

Damn, you should have someone here in the US send you 6 of them. I'm sure
shipping would be less than $800 (US).
 

For the prices you've quoted, I'd look at an aftermarket injector as well.
My only suggestion is do NOT get rebuilt ones. This component is too
important to go cheap on. I bought a rebuilt water pump once, and had to
replace it 30,000km later.
 

What's "Br" mean? It's not a phrase we Americans are familiar with (not
enough exposure to other cultures in our crappy school systems).

Good luck,


Bill G
'91 SE Auto
167,979 miles