# Noob just bout a 98 SE and would appreciate some help...



## d.caco (Jul 20, 2005)

Hey Guys,

I have now joined the darkside and purchased a 98 240 SE (89k miles) from a friend of mine. It has one small problem that we need to solve, and I thought someone here would be kind enough to help me figure it out...

The car basically stutters semi-violently at low RPM (under 2000 RPM) in 1st and 2nd gear. The car may or may not die, depending on if we engage the clutch, keep the RPM's up, or throw it in neutral. It sounds great at idle, sounds great at high RPM, and all temps are good.

To describe the problem- the car start to shuddder and cut-out at lower RPM kinda like when you keep the car in gear and forget to press in the clutch while coming to a stop. chuggGa chuGga ChuGga! dead.

When my friend owned it, a diagnostic shows that the problem is the Air Mass Sensor/Flow Meter (I think thats what you call it). Before I bought it, he had replaced it, and it still didn't work. So they replaced a bunch of stuff (i.e Plugs, fuel filter, as far as I remember...) They beat on this problem day and night, and still could not find the problem.

Since it was such a mystery to my friends, I decided not to mess with it and see if I can bring it to the local Nissan Dealership for the hope* that they might find something else. But, they said it was the Sensor and please give me 700 bucks to fix it. My friends are positive that the sensor/meter is NOT it. Oh well, I rolled the dice, and came out with nothing knew.... sooooooo....

I was hoping this was a semi-common thing in 240's and someone here knows what it might be, or atleast a place to start (if, in fact it is not the Air Flow Meter/Air mass sensor thingy) My intution keeps going to bad ECU.

Thanks in advance. Any help is appreciated. Hopefully I get to drive my new 240 soon?

Also, I am in the San Diego area, and If anyone knows a reliable/honest place to go- please feel free to let me know. TIA

-Dennis "New to the Nissan World" Caco


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## Nismoist (Oct 18, 2002)

d.caco said:


> Hey Guys,
> 
> I have now joined the darkside and purchased a 98 240 SE (89k miles) from a friend of mine. It has one small problem that we need to solve, and I thought someone here would be kind enough to help me figure it out...
> 
> ...



Since you don't have any sort of hesitation or issue up top, it seems to rule out most electrical issues (such as plugs, plug wires, disty, etc.)...as well as injectors, or a clogged filter. Honestly, to me..it sounds like something IAC related. I believe there should be an idle screw on top of the TB. If you back it out slowly while the car is idling, it should raise the idle RPM. Also, check your air filter and IAC. 

The last thing is..you could try resetting your ECU. Easiest way I've found is to unplug the negative end of your battery, then press on the brakes until the juice bleeds entirely out of your system. Leave it off for another 5-10min to be sure, then plug it back in. Start the car, and let it idle for 10-15min. After that, take it for a drive. In theory, when an ECU resets in this way, it begins with default maps then adjusts accordingly based on idle and driving 'behaviors'. 

Good luck figuring it out. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.


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## MiniMechanic (Dec 31, 2004)

It is a temperature sensor. my friend had the same problem. They told him it was the MAF but he replaced it and it didnt work. He replaced the sensor and it ran fine. 240's are very sensative about temp. sensors!


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## mwsjgb (Jan 20, 2007)

My 95 240SX does the same thing but mainly at higher speeds. I had codes indicating the knock sensor and MAF were both reporting problems. I changed the knock sensor and the problem seemed to go away (My daughter drives the car). However, after 3 days she reported the problem again.
I will try the ECM reset, but if that does not work I woud like to know which temperature sensor that MiniMechanic is pointing to. Is it the EGR temperature sensor?


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

d.caco said:


> The car basically stutters semi-violently at low RPM (under 2000 RPM) in 1st and 2nd gear. The car may or may not die, depending on if we engage the clutch, keep the RPM's up, or throw it in neutral. It sounds great at idle, sounds great at high RPM, and all temps are good.


Do an ECU code readout for fault codes.

Several items to check:
- sticking EGR valve
- possible vacuum leak
- check FPR and fuel pressure


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## liam s14 (Jan 22, 2007)

hey guys
i have a 1994 S14 and i think that i have the same problem though maybe not quite as bad my silvia seems 2 have no power in low revs but as soon as you hit 3500rpm then bam!! it starts 2 feel like a 2L should now im a pretty big noob as far as all this goes but when i asked on the sr20 forum the most common thing i got back was reground your MAF which i have yet to try so yea if what im experiencing is the beginning of what d.cao has then please if you manage to fix it keep me posted

cheers
Liam


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## dr1ft1n240sx (Jan 24, 2007)

sounds like an EGR valve to me. when i put a header on my 95 240 the EGR valve tube that theads in the side of the header would not start, after four hours of trying to start this one piece i said f it and drove it. The car ran fine for a while, but it started to studder at mid rpm. Once i finally got it sealed off and actually changed my plugs and plug wires to, my car ran great again.


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