# my se-r is only running on 3 cylinders



## Cheaster (Feb 26, 2003)

ever since i bottomed out on this shitty speed bump tonight my car has been running like shit. i had the music up so i didnt hear what i scraped but now the car is running terrible. right after i hit the bump we started smelling burning oil and exhaust fumes. i thought i might have hit somewhere on the exhaust and pinched the pipe shut but i couldnt see any dents when i looked under the car. now the engine is missing pretty badly and it has trouble finding an idle when its warmed up. u can feel the engine shaking during acceleration. also the exhaust sounds terrible and pops when u rev the engine. i checked all the little stuff that i could like the oil level, plugs, and plug wires. i have no clue what is wrong. i want to try and fix it tomorrow before it gets dark tomorrow. any helpful info would be appreciated.


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## himilefrontier (Jan 21, 2003)

did you bottom out the oil pan?If so, it may have destroyed the engine since there is very little clearence between the pan and oil pickup.Oil starvation may have done the damage.


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

I'd be worried about the oil pan too... Does your exhaust have a color after the engine's warm?


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## Cheaster (Feb 26, 2003)

no the exhaust doesn't have a color too it when the motor is warm but u can smell the fumes. i dont think i cracked the oil pan because the oil level is still normal. unless i pushed the pan up into something else.


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## lovemysan (Jan 31, 2003)

last weekend I installed another JDM engine in my ser after the rod bearings went on the first. The engine was so new and the condition of under the valve was excellent. The main also showed no sign of seepage. I elected not to open the bottem end up. Upon turning the engine up I noticed the oil pan dented. After I removed it to replace it I noticed just what himile has said. There is very little room between the oil pickup and the bottom of the pan. There was a mark left by the pickup. Had I not had my morning caffiene, we would have installed it and cranked with a no way for it to get oil.


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## Schlegs 200SX (Mar 19, 2003)

do u have a cold air intake?


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## Schlegs 200SX (Mar 19, 2003)

if you do i might have an answer for you....


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## insanestvtop (Dec 3, 2002)

hey, at least you didnt run up on a curb cause a tire went out when it was wet outside, i ripped my oil pan and my car beld to death on the street, though its back to working that was around christmas time, wonderful present to myself. oh well, yea, ever since then its kinda run worse, but i think im going to do a se-r swap this christmas, cause my car is in OK at home right now, and im in CA in college


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## Schlegs 200SX (Mar 19, 2003)

how do u know its only on 3 cylinders? or is that how ur describing how it runs? u may want to check ur maf, bc if its still running its prob not oil pan or anything like that....


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## [V]igilant[D]river (Mar 6, 2003)

The car sounds like a lawn mower if its running on 3 cylinders.


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## sentrasersr20de (Jun 1, 2003)

Do you have a header on your car. Spray water on each header tube close to the head and if one of them doesn't vaporize the water quick enough would tell you if it is firing. how much of a dent does your oil pan have? maybe your plug wires came loose. I alway recommend putting duralube in your motor. My 91 ser hit a center divider and drained all the oil from the previous owner. He drove it 15 miles home completely dry and now I own it and I can rev it all the way to redline and the motor runs great. no bearing knock. My 80 Suburban leaked oil from the main rear seal and would run complete out of oil every other week. The duralube kept the motor from being damaged.


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## 180SX-X (Sep 21, 2003)

check it, your oil pan might have been hit but no visible dent, what you should do is remove it, then check the oil pick up...look for scratches on your oil pan, is this is not the case, then check all your fuel lines(only if you had a lil' bit of fuel when you bottomed out).


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## Cheaster (Feb 26, 2003)

my fault fellas...i didnt get on the computer for a few days. well i figured out what the problem is and its stupid as shit. the car was only running on 3 cylinders. i had the motor running the other day and i was pulling out the plug wires to see if all the cylinders were firing. when i pulled one plug wire it was arching off the side and i noticted some white marks on the sides. it wasn't giving the spark plug any spark. when i pulled any of the other plugs the car sounded like junk and almost stalled out. i just put electrical tape over the whole end of the plug wire for the time being. now she runs fine. no more shitty gas mileage(13-15mpg.) i thought it was going to be something more expensive but i guess i lucked out.


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

Don't ya love it when shit like that turns out to be a cheap fix? Glad you were able to fix your car for 5 cents worth of tape.


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