# 3.5L engine problems



## Retell (Apr 27, 2010)

Hello all. For those of you who haven't seen my first thread I have a 2003 3.5 SE 5 speed.


Engine miles: 100,000
Trans miles: 43,000
Car miles: 150,000
Spark plugs: Previous owner says new, Bosch Iridiums
Coil packs: 100,000

I got the car and noticed it was a little rough idle and terrible on gas. Like 10mpg and had a check engine light. The next day I ran our scan tool which said B1S1 Fuel trim was rich like +20%. I checked for an exhaust leak and there was none so I replaced the sensor with a new one. That got me up to about 16mpg combined driving. Better but still problems so I rescanned and was informed that B2S1 Fuel trim was cutting around -7% but no codes or lights. Just out of curiosity I ran the scan tool in idle and it reported a P0302 and a P0300 (Cylinder 2 misfire and Random/multiple misfire, respectively). I cleared it and told a mechanic buddy of mine and he said okay tell me when it comes back... I went 2 days and no misfire. He tells me to come over to take a look according to the dipstick the oil was off the friggin chart. I empty about a quart and the oil light comes on and you can hear the rockers clicking so I put a new quart in. On the drive home bing CEL is back on, I quickly get the scan tool on and I've got a new P0300. It only misfired once the whole 4 mile drive back. This is truly driving me crazy I am a trainee mechanic so I'm not totally clueless but this is really got me out of my mind. 

Some other things we determined:

Car shakes bad when the heat is turned on to just level 1.
Interior lights flicker with just car running and no other major draw.
It isn't the MAF because only 1 bank is having the issue.
It may be the coil pack cause they have 100k on em
It may be the spark plugs cause Bosch sucks NGK ftw
I can't just swap the coil with another cylinder because I'm not 100% sure the 2nd misfire was from cylinder 2.

Any ideas? :wtf:


----------



## ntech (Apr 13, 2010)

Get some NGK's if you havent yet. Check your oil on level ground but, give it a few min to drain back. Those dipsticks on the 3.5 give crappy readings. It should take 4.3 qts with an LOF. Make sure the air filter isn't allowing the MAF to get crap on it. Make sure your A/F sensors are reading within spec and will change when lean/rich. Coils are not common on that engine. Other than that, check the basics and wait for a dtc to pop up.


----------



## Tony Two-Tone (Feb 18, 2010)

ntech said:


> Get some NGK's if you havent yet. Check your oil on level ground but, give it a few min to drain back. Those dipsticks on the 3.5 give crappy readings. It should take 4.3 qts with an LOF. Make sure the air filter isn't allowing the MAF to get crap on it. Make sure your A/F sensors are reading within spec and will change when lean/rich. Coils are not common on that engine. Other than that, check the basics and wait for a dtc to pop up.


+1. Set some time aside for changing those plugs though. They're a PITA.


----------



## ntech (Apr 13, 2010)

Tony Two-Tone said:


> +1. Set some time aside for changing those plugs though. They're a PITA.


I can get them done in an hour but I have done them several times. You will need an intake gasket too.


----------



## Retell (Apr 27, 2010)

I am currently getting P0300 at idle regardless of engine temp. Milage is fairly poor around 20mpg. It refuses to tell me which cyl its misfiring but does it every idle. Any ideas? My oil light also comes on when braking hard, it used to do this before the oil change and seems to be coming back.

Since getting the car I have since:

Replaced the plugs with NGK double plats, factory gapped.
Oil change with Mobile1 synth and Napa Gold filter
Fixed the o2 sim wiring.
Cleaned the Maf
Replaced Bank 1 O2 sensor 1
Replaced Cam position sensor Bank 2
Replaced coroded battery ground.
Sprayed carb cleaner around engine looking for vacuum leaks


----------



## ntech (Apr 13, 2010)

So you have a P0300? something is effecting all or most cylinders. I am going to assume you properly installed the spark plugs and coils. If the idle speed is high and you can hear an air leak, suspect a vacuum leak. If this is the case you would also get a P0171/2 for a lean code. Might also need to perform an idle air volume relearn. 
Was it misfiring before you cleaned the MAF? Also what is going on with your oil light? 
Did you change the oil and put about 4.3qts in? Are your plugs oil fouled?
If you can get a hold of a scan tool w/ live data, you need to see what the alpha's (fuel trim) looks like.
Make sure your oil sender isn't broken off , consider replacing it too.


----------



## Retell (Apr 27, 2010)

Okay so we discovered the previous owner used masking tape to tape the o2 extension' ground on for B2S1. I quick butt connector stopped my CEL flashing random misfires and drastically improved my MPG. And the oil light has gotten worse and I can hear the rockers clicking which means oil isn't getting to the heads properly. I did an oil change roughly 700 miles ago and before the change it had the same issue with the oil light on during turns and braking after the oil change it was gone for 700 miles. I checked my oil after running the engine and turning it off for 5 minutes. It was slightly above half which means it was good. My plugs also weren't fouled.

All the codes I get now are pending (random misfire at 1500rpm, over advanced cams B1 and B2) I've got pictures of my fuel trim, codes, and sensor readings on my netbook from Scantool, I will put them up tomorrow morning. My main concern is this oil issue. I am wondering if its my oil pump.


----------



## ntech (Apr 13, 2010)

hmmm... haven't heard of any oil pump issues on a 3.5 yet. Doesn't mean its not possible. Check it with an actual guage hooked up. Should be 14psi @ idle and 43psi @ 2000rpm

Over advanced cams? What's the P codes? P0011 and P0021? Intake valve timing codes can be triggered by low engine oil levels/low oil pressure


----------



## Tony Two-Tone (Feb 18, 2010)

I'd hate to say it, but it does sound like the oil pump. Not a typical issue, but it also would have a lot to do on the maintenance by the previous owner/owners.


----------



## Nickaltima (Jan 11, 2008)

see now i have a 03 5spd 3.5..and im getting p0300 codes occasionally usually when its raining or damp out which leads me 2 believe its the coils..i had a rough idle problem a while back and it eventually wound up being my maf sensor b.c it died 1 day on me..replace it and after that i could start the car and it would start fine but rpms would drop to normal then all the way to 0 and shut down i drove it like this for monthssss and finally took a shout in the dark b.c i finally had enough of it and bought a bottle of CRC intake cleaner..sprayed it and it fixed it on the next start it worked great..i also had 2 change the lower oil pan(the altimas are know to have them rott away after time) but after i did it and added oil it started taking close to 5qts..checking it on level ground and cold so its all settled it reads perfect with almost 5qts<<weird right?? and ive been driving it like that for over a year and the car runs perfect still so idk? its a touch but reliable motor..id buy new coils but for a few hundred more id just buy the plasma coils..


----------



## Retell (Apr 27, 2010)

Nick I recently came to a similar conclusion that it is also coils and my plan was to try that. I also have had an issue with it burning oil, like a quart every 500mi. :/ Well today the shit hit the fan. I think I blow a connecting rod. In the last 2 weeks I did about 1200 miles with no major issues mostly highway miles at 100mph. Today I took a ride north about 50 miles on the route home I suddenly lost most of my power and pulled into the local Bestbuy. The engine was making horrid noises near the fly wheel and was shaking and stalling, I couldn't even drive it out of the parking lot.

http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/z4OG5/hash/7qkbs3nb.swf?v=10150226060450221&ev=0

Looks like I'm going to be getting a new motor, or at least a new block.


----------



## ya472 (Feb 10, 2010)

Automatic ? Check your flexplate, it might have cracked at the bolts ??? 

Or 5-speed, could be loose bolts on flywheel ?

That would throw out your timing, rough running, oil consumption, etc.....


----------



## Retell (Apr 27, 2010)

It's a 5 speed. When I can finally get it towed I'll tear it apart asap.


----------



## 03AltimaSE (Dec 4, 2010)

Im having some of the same issues on my 03, engine code PO303 came on so I went to advance auto and purchased bosch double platnium plugs and installed them. Also checked the coils and they looked fine. After installing the new plugs the car ran like crap and engine code PO300 showed up. White smoke, which indicated unburnt fuel, pours out and idle and engine stumbles like no tomorrow. No oil issues other than it leaks like a sive from somewhere around the filter block.
Im going to re-install the plugs I pulled out just so I can drive it to work. Gonna try regular NGK plugs like the ones that came out of it. Any other ideas on what it could be?


----------



## Retell (Apr 27, 2010)

Coolant would be white smoke depending on how much, which would mean your headgasket blew or is leaking, I'd take it to a mechanic ASAP.


----------



## Nickaltima (Jan 11, 2008)

03AltimaSE said:


> Im having some of the same issues on my 03, engine code PO303 came on so I went to advance auto and purchased bosch double platnium plugs and installed them. Also checked the coils and they looked fine. After installing the new plugs the car ran like crap and engine code PO300 showed up. White smoke, which indicated unburnt fuel, pours out and idle and engine stumbles like no tomorrow. No oil issues other than it leaks like a sive from somewhere around the filter block.
> Im going to re-install the plugs I pulled out just so I can drive it to work. Gonna try regular NGK plugs like the ones that came out of it. Any other ideas on what it could be?


bosch plugs:thumbdwn: lol strictly NGK(look in your manual it will tell you what OE replacement is) i get an occasional p0300 gremlin that im still chasing but its deff not burning any fluids or thick smoke..you could have a blown MAF sensor believe it or not i had one go bad in a matter of hours i parked the car for the night and it ran perfect when i parked it then i get in to go to work the next day and its idleing like shit and smells as though pure gas was about to come out of my exhaust also it wouldnt rev good past 2000rpm..what is the temp where you are right now? becuase you could mistake the semi white smoke from it being cold out for white blown head gasket smoke..if the head gasket was blown you would get solid white smoke like a cloud or someone stuck a fog machine in your exhaust...sorry to say man but i dont think just putting your old plugs back in are gonna fix it back to normal..are you sure you didnt unplug something on accident or forget to plug something in or possibly damage a coil or two or three? it just seems crazy to me that this happend as soon as you chenged the plugs but if your leaking anything this most likely a pre existing problem none the less i would get it checked out like yesterday..o and p.s you could be leaking from a bad oil pan..lowe oil pan gasket and or upper oil pan seals because i did have my oil pan rot so bad that it began dripping very heavily to the point where i didnt drive it anymore till the new pan came but if it leaks that bad im sure its a far worse problem


----------



## 03AltimaSE (Dec 4, 2010)

Put the old plugs back in and ran fine at idle for 10 minutes. Went to pull out and instantly it almost stalled, and again more white/blue tinted smoke. It smells like gas though, not oil or coolant. I did find the PCV hose had been split so I replaced it. Coolant level was full in the rad, overall was empty but that due to a pinhole at the bottom. And oil level was right on the money. Trying to find coils cause $73 a coil is friggen insane!!! I hope its not the head gasket.


----------



## Outkast (Jan 29, 2006)

Check the coils for blistering on the sides. If you do find that, you'll need to check the chassic ground on the tranny to the negative battery terminal for a frayed/broken wire. There is a bullatin for that problem with an updated cable and you'll need the replaced the bad coils. If you only have a single cylinder misfire you'll get a P030x but if you have any combination tereafter you just get a P0300.

The oil problem is a totally different issue. More than not you have a sludging issue. You should try a good oil flush first once the passages get clogged they're very hard to get cleaned by regular oil changes and like ntech said it will cause IVT code if oil is low cause that are really the last part to get oil pressure.


----------



## jan grayson (Dec 27, 2017)

what are the vvt values on an 06 nissan frontier truck with a 4.0 engine with 4 wheel drive. Currently we have a 24-27 difference.


----------

