# 88 Nissan Sentra misses after warm up



## Synicasm (Jan 31, 2004)

I have a 88 Nissan Sentra and am having a problem with the engine missing at idle and missing when I am trying to keep a constant speed. 

The engine does not miss when its cold. As it gets warmed up a little the problem starts to show up.

I have changed the cap /rotor plugs, air filter.. I checked the ECU for falut codes and it is reporting a 55 which indicates everything is working normal. I checked some of the various vacumm hoses and didnt find any problems ( could of missed one or two thou ).

Also ( unrelated I think ) I am getting a rattling noise in the engine compartment that is either a water pump going out or something in the Timing chain area.. Going to check that now.

I took the Belt off and spun the water pump and didnt notice any noise.. did the same with the Alternator no noise. 

I then took the timing Chain cover off and the timing belt seemed to be really loose and had slack in it. Tightened the Tensioner and put it all back together. Started the engine and the noise was gone... for about 10 secs.. then it was back.. but sounds a little diffrent now.



Any help would be appreciated. Thanks


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## Myetball (Dec 15, 2002)

Do you have a multimeter? If so check your plug wires, you should have 10k to 25k ohms. May try running it at night, in a dark area, and see if there are any sparks jumping around. How did the plugs look when you took them out? Any smoke out the exhaust? Have you changed the fuel filter?


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## southerntrax (Jan 23, 2004)

i am haveing the same problem with my 89. i pulled each of the plug wires off each sparkplug and the noise went away. hope we can find a solution. also is the timing chain cover the one on the front side of the head?
thanks


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## Myetball (Dec 15, 2002)

You guys should have E16i engines so we can eliminate a noisy timing chain right off the bat. You have timing belts. That should leave water pump, p/s pump, alternator, timing belt tensioner. 9 times outa 10 it's the water pump which gives you a good opportunity to change the timing belt. Also a good opportunity to bust some knuckles and test your patience.


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

Myetball said:


> You guys should have E16i engines so we can eliminate a noisy timing chain right off the bat.



It looks like southerntrax would have a chain since he has an '89 which should be the GA.



southerntrax said:


> also is the timing chain cover the one on the front side of the head?



Yeah, it's on the front of the engine, you've got an '89 sentra right?


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## southerntrax (Jan 23, 2004)

yea i got a 89 sentra.


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## Myetball (Dec 15, 2002)

OOPS, missed that. Plenty of info on GA16 timing chain issues, try a search and you should find what you need.


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## Synicasm (Jan 31, 2004)

*Latest info*

I replaced the Fuel Filter and still have the problem.

I dont have a multimeter anymore but am gonna grab one today (damn thieves) to test the plug wires.

The Sparkplugs looked normal when I replaced them the electrodes were a little rounded and looked like they were wearing normally.

I dont notice any thing special with the exhaust other than it stinks and occasionally I smell burnt matches.

I am wondering if my timing belt jumped the tracks a notch or two since when I took the cover off it was so loose. I dont have a timing light but I did turn the distributor counter clockwise and it seemed to keep the engine from dying at stoplights for the time being.

The thing that baffles me is that it seemingly Runs "OK" when I am accelerating and only gives me grief when idling and trying to maintain a even speed thats when It starts bucking and missing.

Im a little vague on how I can tell if the belt has slipped the tooth without taking the timing cover off... is this possible?


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## Myetball (Dec 15, 2002)

I don't think you can check the timing gear alignment without tearing everything apart. May be worthwhile if you have the time. Of course if you were gonna do the water pump and timing belt you'd already be there.

May be a long shot but have you checked underneath the intake manifold. There are some vacuum hoses there you can't see, you have to wiggle your hand down there from the drivers side and feel around for broken hoses.


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## Synicasm (Jan 31, 2004)

*Spark Plug Wires !???*

Ok I checked the spark plug wires they measured form 8500 - 5500 ohms ( the longer ones had the higher 8500 values) and the Coil to Distributor wire was at 5500 ohms as well. Cleary this is not within the 10 -25k range.

I read some inforamtion about plug They are supposed to increase resistance with age, However there is mention of a low resistance causing radio interferance with computers, modern ignition systems, computers etc. Maybe that is my problem.. Ill stop at the Parts store tomorrow and get some wires.

I noticed on the wires that they have a marking of 1988! ... I wonder if they are the original plug wires. 

As far as the noise I confirmed it was the water pump.. I removed the drive belt and started the car.. NO NOISE!!!  One Mystery solved..


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## Myetball (Dec 15, 2002)

Plug wires are pretty cheap. Even a set of Bosch wires shouldn't be more than around $20. May as well pick up a new water pump, timing belt, and drive belts while you're out shopping.  Oh, and some bandaids :banana:


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## Synicasm (Jan 31, 2004)

*Revisiting a previous problem.*

My problem is back....

After Replacing the Water pump and Using some Fuel injector Cleaner in the Gas Tank all of the sudden the car runs fine for a couple months.. 

Now it is happeining again I have tried the Fuel injector cleaner in tank again but doesnt seem to be helping.. 

The Car bucks and even driving speed and surges and sputters at idle. When accelerating or reving the engine it has no issues..

Any clues.?


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## Red_Coupe (Mar 20, 2003)

> I then took the timing Chain cover off and the timing belt seemed to be really loose and had slack in it. Tightened the Tensioner and put it all back together. Started the engine and the noise was gone... for about 10 secs.. then it was back.. but sounds a little diffrent now.



Have you just put a timming light to the engine to see if you are out of time?

:dumbass: Idea? But does the ga have an air flow meter? maybe the car is getting a mixed reading in the ecu,and giving bad commands/ just a thought.


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## muccman (Aug 24, 2003)

air flow meter would be a good place to check.. i have one in my room right now


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## Madizm620 (May 27, 2004)

So far nobody has suggested replacing the whole distrubutor, most of the time that is the problem if your wires, plugs, timing, etc... all check out fine. I had the same problem in my 90 snetra with Ga16i and tried everything. when the engine was cold it was fine but once it got warm would bogg and stumble when acceleratign or even just trying to keep a certian speed. I noticed to that the dist. always had a fresh drop of oil hanging off the bottom of it, I replaced the Dist. with a brand new one and have never had a problem since. oh yeah and way better gas mileage now too.


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## astreamk1 (Apr 16, 2004)

Does anybody see a problem with cleaning the AFM side of the throttle body with carb cleaner ? My car is doing something similiar right now, bucking a bit when cold, idling just a bit funny too. I have replaced/cleaned everything but the AFM side of the throttle body and the idle control motor. 

i just didn't know if spraying cleaner down through there would cause any problems ?


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

When I spayed carb cleaner down there it didn't mess anything up, it didn't wan't to start up right away and I thought I screwed something up, but it started after a few tries and ran fine.


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## astreamk1 (Apr 16, 2004)

I took my airbox back apart tonight and gave the throttle body a good cleaning with carb cleaner, as long as I kept it revved up a little, it was ok. I am not sure what is causing my on/off again idling problem ? I was blowing into the intake while the car was running, just a little and it would stutter like it wanted to stall, it seems as though the AFM is sensing the slightest change in the airflow, but it was almost like the car couldn't do anything to correct the mixture ? think it is possible it is the idle control servo ? that is about the only thing I haven't taken apart and inspected/cleaned.


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## Madizm620 (May 27, 2004)

Yeah what is with that? I was blowing into my throttle body when i hade my air cleaner off and it would bog way down and i even made it stall by doing that. Is it supposed to do that or is something worng? Im totaly new to all this new throttle body crap and electronics cause my Datsuns have always been nice and simple.


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## minute rice sentra (Mar 21, 2003)

You were probably blowing into the air flow meter portion of the TB and the computer changed the A/F ratio cuz it though there was more air than there actually was.


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## astreamk1 (Apr 16, 2004)

I'm still struggling with my slight idle trouble and the engine feeling like it is cutting out just a bit at like 3000 RPM. Running great other than that and still getting excellent mileage. also it bucks a bit when it is cold ? I was wondering if this car has a MAP sensor ? I had another vehicle with a bad MAP sensor and it kinda acted the same way.


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## Gsolo (Sep 11, 2003)

astreamk1 said:


> I'm still struggling with my slight idle trouble and the engine feeling like it is cutting out just a bit at like 3000 RPM. Running great other than that and still getting excellent mileage. also it bucks a bit when it is cold ? I was wondering if this car has a MAP sensor ? I had another vehicle with a bad MAP sensor and it kinda acted the same way.


my E16i is doing this too, sometimes won't idle and sometimes hesitates acceleration...otherwise good gas mileage and easy cruising. I've only thought of fuel filter and AFM


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## astreamk1 (Apr 16, 2004)

I replaced the ground strap that goes from the exhaust manifold to the frame, and i added another one from the intake to the frame. This morning when I left the house, the car did not buck like it has been when it's cold. I noticed if I hold the gas at a steady position and the RPMs are around 3000, the car pulses a bit ? this happens after it warms up. being I have done a ful tune up, new vacuum lines and grounds, I am going to start taking sensors out 1 by 1 and testing/replacing them. it's somewhat annoying because the gas mileage is still excellent, and the computer says everything if fine ?


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