Leo94 Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 (edited) Ok so I have an 89 v6 which had a missfire. I know it had a missfire because it was idling really rough and it had that typical "noise" that engines with a missfire make.I changed all the plugs and it looks like it kinda fixed the problem. By that i mean when I started it up after the plug change it idled much better but still sounded abit rough/beasty. Now I do have a hole in my muffler and according the the previous owner one of the owners before him installed aftermarket cams. With that being said I have never actually herd it run properly. I bought it with a known missfire but it has been sitting in the garage for a while as i hadnt had the time to look at it. Also when its running its really smokey (mostley white maybe a slight blue?). The engine was previously flooded from being cranked to long also i can smell fuel on the dipstick. I check the codes and i got a 13(CTS) and when its running it gets the dashlight in the picture below, Is that a CEL?. The reason I think somethings wrong is because it sounds nothing compared to the pathfinders I have heard on video if anything it sounds abit like a cammed v8? and its really smokey. Also it somes has a miss in idle. When its not missing in idle if i nudge the throttle it does rev like a normal engine would but im scared to rev it because its really smokey and dont want to cause any damage. I cant really do an oil change till i get it on a level surface. To get it on a level surface i want it to run without missing then I can put it in reverse and it will go further up the driveway onto a level surface. Right now it is on a slight incline nose down. I also changed the fuel filter and that helped dramatically with starting. Edited February 27, 2013 by Leo94 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 I check the codes and i got a 13(CTS) There's your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 Can this cause the smoke too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 (edited) It tells the ECU how much fuel to give the engine depending on the temperature and when it goes bad it floods the engine out entirely. Insanely common for this to happen, my '87 did it too. Put a new NISSAN!!! sensor and sub harness in it and you'll be good to go. If the white smoke smells like fuel it's unburned raw fuel. Or you have two issues, bad head gasket/intake manifold gasket and a bad CHTS but I'd start with the sensor and go from there. Edited August 27, 2012 by Kingman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 Yup it smells like fuel. Does it have to be nissan or can it be a brand like Standard Motor Products Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 (edited) That is not the correct part, that's a fuel temperature sensor used on Z cars and whatnot. Look for Cylinder Head Temperature Sensor. I would only use a Nissan sensor. Off brand ones are known to not work properly out of the box. That sensor is the lifeline to the engine next to the MAF. I've installed cheap ones that made my rig run like ass from the get-go. Edited August 27, 2012 by Kingman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted August 27, 2012 Author Share Posted August 27, 2012 Is that the one with two wires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 (edited) Yep, in the driver's side cylinder head behind the rear timing belt cover. You can take the front cover off, bend the back cover out a little, break the connector off the sensor, and use a 19MM socket to get it out. If you have a crows foot that works too. For the new one screw it in with the connector with pliers as tight as you can without breaking it. Sometimes if you're lucky and have just the right wrench you can tighten it a little bit from the topside between the cover and intake manifold. Always buy a new sub harness as well, they get corroded and brittle causing more problems. Alkorahil on here might have one or http://www.courtesyparts.com. Edited August 27, 2012 by Kingman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 And just to throw this in... extreme cam jobs tend to make engines idle rough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 Missing/rough running and camming (slight loping) are two different things. The cams are probably the euro spec Nismo cams the guy got for a good deal on Ebay. But yeah you're right, if the guy stuck retarded cams in it it won't idle well... especially with a bad CHTS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo1dun Posted August 28, 2012 Share Posted August 28, 2012 .... http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/25469-engine-coolant-temperature-sensor/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 (edited) Ive contacted several Nissan dealerships and they want between $100-$123 for the sensor and they dont even know if its the two terminal or one and about $80 for the harness. They also have to ship it from japan Edited September 5, 2012 by Leo94 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 (edited) I think i'll just try an aftermarket brand sensor and use a harness from the wreckers making sure that it has a good connection first because the connector on mine fell apart. If my sensor was yellow does it matter if i get a red or blue one for a vg30e engine? Edited September 5, 2012 by Leo94 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Good Lord your dealerships are effing morons! Talk to Alkorahil on here or http://www.courtesyparts.com/22630-engine-coolant-temperature-sensor-pathfinder-wd21-07/1986-08/1989-vg30i-p-542584.html?cPath=5572& Serious dude, don't try an aftermarket one. Been there done that and it's not worth the headache. And do NOT butt connect the wires together, that's built in resistance and that's exactly what the ECU reads - resistance from the sensor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 I meant getting a harness from the wreckers and cleaning up the contacts so it has a good connection. Considering the link you just sent me is about the price of an aftermarket one here i think i might as well just buy one from courtesy parts then. I'm sure the postage more then makes up for the trouble as well as the price i would have to pay for one from my dealership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 Well I got the new NISSAN sensor and harness installed today. There's a little bit of a difference but not too much. Its still smoking up and idling rough which might just be the cams.I managed to move the nissan onto a level surface where i will soon be able to do an oil change as the oil currently has fuel in it. The smoke is what really concerns me, I'm pretty sure its not a head gasket as the coolant is nice and green and the oil well smells like fuel but doesnt look milky like a typical blown headgasket. I'll check the codes again to see if maybe there is a fault somewhere else in the CTS system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 I started the car today and it didn't smoke and had NO codes but still bogged abit. After I checked the codes I started it again and it smoked and bogged again, so I checked the codes and once again NOTHING. It idles for afew seconds and sounds like it drops a cylinder or two but doesn't die. The smoke smells like fuel and there is allot of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 (edited) I ran it again for a sec today and the smoke is abit blue and when I removed the oil cap it reeked of bad fuel. Could it be possible that when the CHTS went bad it dumped fuel in which mixed with the oil, and now that it's replaced it's working fine but the engine is consuming oil because it is mixed with fuel? If that's the case then hopefully just an oil and filter change will do the trick. But yeh I suppose my question is if the oil and fuel is mixed will the engine start to consume its oil/fuel mixture? Edited October 22, 2012 by Leo94 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I guess adding fuel to the oil would dilute the oil, thin it, and help it get past the rings. Check the oil level and see if it's way high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted November 19, 2012 Author Share Posted November 19, 2012 (edited) I haven't gotten around to changing the oil yet because when i got the chance none of the oil filter tools i tried managed to remove the filter. It's really stuck on there, the filter is blue and im pretty sure its a oem nissan one. I tried starting the car without the chts plugged in and it cranked abit longer but it seemed to run smoother and without a miss although still smoking up allot. Here is a video to show you guys what it's doing I don't know if it helps much but it gives you and idea on how it runs. I'm going to try and clean the maf sensor and see if that fixes it. Edited March 2, 2013 by Leo94 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 (edited) I cleaned the maf sensor today and boy was it dirty. Idle improved abit but not much. I tried starting the car without the maf sensor and it did struggle to start just like unplugging the chts but idle improved greatly this time but then it bogged down as you can see in the video. Edited March 2, 2013 by Leo94 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted November 22, 2012 Author Share Posted November 22, 2012 (edited) Ok so today I managed to change the oil today as my filter removal tool came in the mail. As soon as I removed the drain plug the "Oil" gushed out, not like when you normally remove a drain plug it literally gushed out. It was draining really quickly and had such a low viscosity from all that fuel getting passing through the rings and into the sump. It quickly filled my 6L drain pan so i had to replace the drain plug so I could empty the drain pan into a larger container. I then continued to drain the oil again as well as lowering the car so more fluid would flow out and in total i had about 8L of a oil/fuel mixture. After putting in a new oil and filter I started the car and the smoke slowly went away and was only smoking abit. The idle seems to have improved but when i nudge the throttle it revs then seems to bog down for a second and pickup itself again and start smoking abit more but not as bad as before the oil change. I dont know if you can hear in the video but it sounds like it has an intermittent miss which is probably my distributor cap which needs to be changed. After changing the oil it seems to have picked up a knock which i think is the hydraulic valves which you should hear in the video.EDIT: Actually in my second video you can hear the knock and in the first video you can barley hear it when i rev the engine. Edited March 2, 2013 by Leo94 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted November 23, 2012 Author Share Posted November 23, 2012 Any thoughts on the whole situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 Have you checked the plugs since the oil change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo94 Posted November 23, 2012 Author Share Posted November 23, 2012 Not yet but i'll try that. I might also try some oil flush or something to help clean it up more cause its pretty dirty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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