96 V6 not running smoothly
 

Guys, First post so please be patient. My new wife has a 96 Maxima with the 6 cylinder engine. It has 173K miles on it so I guess we should just be happy with that. It has a slightly rough idle-mostly when in reverse or drive. The RPM drops from about 750 to 600 every 5 to 10 seconds or so, but when in park or neutral it is not as noticeable presumably because it is idleing a little higher(closer to 1000). Also, it has considerable hesitation when accelerating.

I know for sure that the fuel filter is no more than 5Kmiles old, and the air filter was cleanlast I checked. Also, I changed 5 of the 6 plugs last night - that cylinder 5 stick coil boot came off and I will be fighting that battle this weekend. Still running rough with one plug still in question and soon to be replaced. I definitely do not think it is a bad injector or stick coil, etc. because it seems that it would be running much worse. I have read that the mass airflow meter can cause this and that it is a common problem. What are your opinions or ideas? thanks

RE: 96 V6 not running smoothly
 

We have replaced quite a bit of injectors and mass air flow sensors on that car.... what I would do is buy a fuel injector clening bottle that you can dump in your gastank... see if that helps.

RE: 96 V6 not running smoothly
 

If it has not been cleaned, its small wonder if sooty Idle Aadj Ctrl Valve (IACV) works at all. Clean that & TB first. (This for bad idle)

Tst disconnect MAF. Any change?

Run self diag, what does it tell? ...Knock sensor dead...?

Connectors cleanup: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/14

RE: 96 V6 not running smoothly
 

guys,
I went to Autozone for the free diagnostics check and the results were bad MAS along with 2 or 3 other things that all could have been related to the MAS. I was able to replace that last plug, which did not look bad, and i removed the MAS, cleaned it and replaced it. The engine is running great now! No rough idle and no hesitation whatsoever. So, instead of a +$500 new MAS, I spent $1.99 on a can of carb cleaner and used a Qtip to wipe it.

I went back to Autozone to check again since I still have the check engine light and it shows 4 faults. One still being MAS(although I'm not sure it was the exact same fault as before), one being knock sensor, one O2 sensor, and I can't remember the 4th.

Anyway, with 173K miles and running great, I don't care about the other faults. Thanks for your help.

RE: 96 V6 not running smoothly
 

Have them clear the codes and then recheck a few days later..... see if the codes come back.

RE: 96 V6 not running smoothly
 

Take batt cable off for more that 30min =ECU reset. Its good always to reset ECU after cleaning MAF and/or replacing/adjustin any other sensor; ECU will then build new data table and compensate for new/changed inputs from the sensor(s).

It will pay back in reduced fuel costs to repair until the check engine light will go out, sensor prices 'meaninigless'...

RE: 96 V6 not running smoothly
 

Thanks Burnnout and Reiska - those are two things I had originally planned but had forgotten to do. Now I wrote a reminder for myself and will do it today.

RE: 96 V6 not running smoothly
 

[sm=welcomesign.gif]