87 pathfinder won't start or idle....

[01mggt]

Ok, so I just bought an 87 pathy for winter driving here in Alaska for the last year I am stationed here. It's got 240k on the clock and still ran pretty smooth with just a slight chug when I bought her a couple days back. I figured I would do a slight tune up to cure the problem. I replaced the plugs with NGK and verified I had them gapped properly. Using a set of feeler gauges I get get .032 in between the gap of them nice and snug. I tried not to over tighten them for fear of stripping the old threads. I replaced all the wires one at a time and also replaced the dizzy cap and rotor. To replace the cap I simply took out the 2 or 4 screws (can't remember) and also change the rotor. it was lined up with a red mark inside so I made sure it was aligned with the same mark when I put it back in but I may have rotated it ever so slightly as there wasn't much resistance. I also removed the MAF sensor and cleaned it with MAF cleaner from the parts store. I sprayed it and let it dry over night. Also replaced the air filter. Put it all back together and it idled horrible. Almost like there was a big cam in it or something. Tried to drive it and at times had no power at all with the pedal to the floor. It even died once and refused to start without the pedal to the floor. I should also add that I put a can of seafoam in the tank and poured a small amount into the throttle body as well. The ECU had no stored codes as I had the battery cable removed. Any help?!?! I also noticed it's backfiring through the intake and I can see smoke coming out. I may have bumped my dizzy becaus eI noticed the adjust ment bolt it a lil loose and it can be turned. The part that's notched for the bolt has a red mark on it so I centered it in the middle of it. If I turn it clockwise it won't start at all but will if I go counterclockwise then jsut backfires and dies basically.

 

Sorry if this seems like a double post but I think I made a newbie mistake and posted in the wrong section the first time!

[87pathy]

you can't screw up the rotor, did you put the screw back in?

 

these things will run out of wack, at one time my was running 10 deg off and still ran good.

[Precise1]

I also removed the MAF sensor and cleaned it with MAF cleaner from the parts store. I sprayed it and let it dry over night.

Some members have had problems with MAF cleaners. What I know works without issue is alcohol and a Q-tip. Try that and make sure you haven't damaged the MAF filament. Also the MAF wiring is a source of problems; make sure the connector is clean, tight and all the pins/wires are in place.

 

I should also add that I put a can of seafoam in the tank and poured a small amount into the throttle body as well.

It shouldn't have so dramatic of an effect other than smoking like a bastage. Could the sea foam have loosened up 22 years and 240k miles worth of tank crud and clogged the fuel filter? I've had a clogged fuel filter on a nissan truck before and it would barely idle and stumble when you gave it (no) gas...

 

I also noticed it's backfiring through the intake and I can see smoke coming out.

Ok, I did this when I was a kid; mixed up 2 coil wires on the distributor. Double check that (do you have the firing order info?) and borrow a timing light to see what it reads.

 

B

[Nismojunky]

sounds like you killed the MAF, go to the wreckers pick one up and put it in and see if that fixes the problem

[MY1PATH]

Any help?!?! I also noticed it's backfiring through the intake and I can see smoke coming out.

yeh, what B said or;

when I replaced my cap my old cap was arranged like this;

 

2 4 6

1C3 5

 

My New cap was arranged like this;

 

2 6 4

1C3 5

 

Since I had the wires arranged in the same order as the old cap: 4&6 were wrong and the spark wasn't happening untill the exhaust valve was open shooting the combustion straight down the headder on 4&6 and partially out the intake. I feared for bent exhaust valves & melted cat cause think it was more than just a deafening BANG that I heard. when I corrected the issue all was fine fortuantely.

 

Hopefully your solution is this simple.

[westslope]

If one is carefully cleaning the MAF sensor wire with alcohol, there is no need to let it dry over night as the alcohol should volatize almost immediately.

 

01mggt, I'm reading your difficulties with interest because you are doing many standard maintenance jobs that older pathfinder owners may wish to eventually perform.

 

Procedural question: Shouldn't a person in 01mggt's position perform maintenance one step at a time and then immediately test run the vehicle?

 

Example from a world I pretend to know better: If I'm writing complex mathematical equations (WinEdt/LaTex), I always right a couple of lines, and then preview the output to make sure there are no coding errors. If I write too many lines of code and I make a mistake such as a silly typo, then it becomes very complicated to figure out where the mistake is. The software reports errors but it is not 100% precise. Better to write a few lines of code, preview, write more lines of code, preview, etc.