This Altima needs to be fixed badly. Any ideas?

[c7scayman]

This 2001 Nissan Altima SE has a 2.4 liter KA24DE 4 cylinder engine with an automatic transmission and it has a few problems. 118,000 miles now.

At 109,000 miles 1 year ago when the car was bought. It had a slight idle fluctuation, but otherwise drove great.

-Check Engine Light read “Random Multiple Misfire”

At 113,000 miles: idle got worse and car occasionally turns off at idle speeds whether in Drive, Reverse, Park, or Neutral. We tried doing a complete Tune Up.

-Sparkplugs changed with correct gap according to owner’s manual.
-Sparkplug wires changed
-Distributor Cap and Rotor Changed
-Fuel Filter Changed and I put some premium fuel in the first tank to prevent engine knock since premium fuel is less likely to combust prematurely.

At 116,000 miles:

-Oil change and oil filter and air filter changed.
-Mechanic notices top front engine mount on passenger side of engine is broken and needs to be replaced. We did not replace due to $$ issues.
-Steering noises start. When wheel is turned at any speed including a complete stop, it makes a LOUD humming/whining noise. The Noise only happened sometimes.

At 117,000 miles to current:

-Steering Noise now happens all the time and it is louder and worse. It wakes people up at night and turns heads because of the loud noise. It happens while turning both in neutral and in gear. Both at a complete stop and while driving. Possibly a pulley or power steering pump? Or maybe the bad engine mount was causing it?
-I manually raised the Engine idle speed by about 200rpm, but it did not help. The engine still turns off at idle speeds in any gear and in neutral.
-Mechanic 1 gave up and told us he did not know what the problem was and gave it back to us. He said there was no exhaust leak and that the O2 sensors were reading correctly and that there was no vacuum leak.
-Mechanic 2 only noticed that cylinder 2 has 20% less compression than the other cylinders, but he gave the car back to us free of charge because he could not find the causes of engine idle and steering noise.
-I removed each spark plug wire one at a time while the engine was running. As expected, the idle speed lowered when I removed each wire except for Cylinder 1(The cylinder closest to the driver side). When I removed the sparkplug wire, the engine seemed to run at the same speed. Possibly cylinder 1 is not working. Please Confirm.
-Transmission does not feel right. Sometimes it shifts normally. Sometimes it shifts early or late. It could be slipping. It might need a transmission oil change. I don’t think the car has ever had a trans oil change and it has over 110,000 miles now so I think it needs one.
-Check Engine Light still reads the same thing. “Random Multiple Misfires”
-When you hit gas to accelerate, the car drives smoothly except for the odd shifting and loud humming noise when you turn the wheel.

I tried many Nissan forums and two mechanics so far, but they have no idea what is wrong with it. Another guy who works on cars and myself also tried to figure it out many times, but we gave up.

[SHOdude]

Does the humming increase in volume and pitch as you turn harder? I had the same problem and it was the power steering pump. It sounds slightly dumb but have you tried cleaning the MAF? That caused weird idle speeds in my SHO and a slight lag when accelerating. Buy MAF cleaner and make sure your very careful not to damage the mesh inside. The trans could be multiple things but I would definitely change the fluid and look into the shift syncro because my brothers car had the same issue

[jpalamar]

-Check the PCV valve since its cheap.
-Trans shifting issue is probally due to needed a fluid/filter change.
Steering noise is probally the pump. I'd get a new one and bleed the piss out of it to get some fresh fluid in the whole system.

[c7scayman]

Originally Posted by jpalamar

-Check the PCV valve since its cheap.
-Trans shifting issue is probally due to needed a fluid/filter change.
Steering noise is probally the pump. I'd get a new one and bleed the piss out of it to get some fresh fluid in the whole system.

Great. The PCV Valve is stuck.

@SHO
It used to, but not anymore. Now it is the same pitch and loudness no matter how much the steering wheel is turned.

[c7scayman]

I just bought a used power steering pump with pulley and a new engine mount for a total of $78.50 with free shipping. Now I got to wait, install them, and see if I solves the problem. I will also try a transmission oil change at the same time.

As for the engine idle, I think it needs an engine rebuild with at least 1 new cylinder or piston rings. I eliminated all other known possibilities:
-No Exhaust Leaks
-No Vacuum Leaks
-New SparkPlugs
-New SparkPlug Wires
-New Distribotor Cap and Rotor
-Idle Control Valve is good.
-New Fuel Filter
-My scanner says Check Engine Light Reads "Random Multiple Misfires"

[jpalamar]

Just courious... do you check the oil level on a regular basis?

Also issues with the cats.

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Nissan/...sumption.shtml

[c7scayman]

Mechanic checked O2 sensors levels and checked for exhaust leaks already. He said everything was good.

Oil was changed 1500 miles ago. Oil level is good and checked monthly.

FYI, this is my girlfriends car. I made her buy it since it was $1000 below value(online price only) and it was the SE model with a bit more power(155HP) and a sporty look and white gauges and the body was in good shape. So she is making me fix it.

[itwillboost]

Check nissanclub and if you want pm me your number and I can help you, these cars are kind of what I build lol. Btw the se had the same hp as all other 98-01 models, that's when they changed cam design and intake manifolds. Otherwise most parts are interchange from 93 to 01. Humming sounds like it could be the pump but it could be a wheel bearing but I would need a video clip. Have you checked the IACV and the dizzy for oil, those are the two biggest issues with these cars.


Also the cats rarely ever have an issue on this car, that's the qr25 in the 02 and 03 sentras.

[jpalamar]

Originally Posted by c7scayman

FYI, this is my girlfriends car. I made her buy it since it was $1000 below value(online price only) and it was the SE model with a bit more power(155HP) and a sporty look and white gauges and the body was in good shape. So she is making me fix it.

Once you fix it she is going to kick you to the curb.

[c7scayman]

Originally Posted by itwillboost

Check nissanclub and if you want pm me your number and I can help you, these cars are kind of what I build lol. Btw the se had the same hp as all other 98-01 models, that's when they changed cam design and intake manifolds. Otherwise most parts are interchange from 93 to 01. Humming sounds like it could be the pump but it could be a wheel bearing but I would need a video clip. Have you checked the IACV and the dizzy for oil, those are the two biggest issues with these cars.


Also the cats rarely ever have an issue on this car, that's the qr25 in the 02 and 03 sentras.

I already asked the question on NissanClub and AltimaForums, but no one answered after 24 hours, so I asked on TST. My GF lives in Hagerstown, Maryland so I am going to drive down there to fix it once the parts come in. If you can make the drive to help diagnose other problems, that would be great. haha.

I thought of the wheel bearing as a possibility, but I listened to youtube video's of wheel bearing noise and it definitely was not it. The power steering noises on youtube sound close, but every car sounded a bit different.

I cleaned the IACV. What do you mean when you say check the dizzy for oil?

[itwillboost]

Well around 100 to 150k the o-ring inside our dizzy tends to go letting oil in. Normally most mechanics miss diagonise the stuttering and idle problems as other issues. A video would help me alot. If you end up wanting any spare parts to test anything the 7th I am in PA and can probably give you just about any part you would need, unforunately I just sold both my a/t's. Post here http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/gen...ion-1993-2001/ and I will make sure people read it. If it's not somewhat figured out later, I will explain how to check more but you should get alot of help.

Also make sure the tcu is fine, shouldn't be an issue but I can give you a low mileage 2000 tcu for 10 dollars if it is. Truthfully the only trans problems you should ever have with the 00-01's is the flexplate unless people manually try "shifting" through the gears.

[c7scayman]

Originally Posted by itwillboost

Well around 100 to 150k the o-ring inside our dizzy tends to go letting oil in. Normally most mechanics miss diagonise the stuttering and idle problems as other issues. A video would help me alot. If you end up wanting any spare parts to test anything the 7th I am in PA and can probably give you just about any part you would need, unforunately I just sold both my a/t's. Post here http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/gen...ion-1993-2001/ and I will make sure people read it. If it's not somewhat figured out later, I will explain how to check more but you should get alot of help.

I will try to take video's and post them tonight.

I did post on that forum asking the question in the New Members Area. For some reason, I could not start a new thread in the General Section Area. I even tried it after I created my New Member thread. But I will try again.

But what is a Dizzy? Is that short for the distributor cap? It was replaced along with the rotor.

[c7scayman]

I was just listening to NPR's "Car Talk" online and someone had similar idle problems in another car. They mentioned the transmission being sluggish and changing at weird rpm's and acceleration being sluggish. They said a new transmission will fix everything including the idle problem. Does that make sense? How can a failing transmission cause an idle problem.

[c7scayman]

Here is the video of the steering sounds and broken engine mount showing how much engine is moving:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSTJMT7BA60

[yellow2000S/R]

Didn't see it mentioned... is your power steering fluid reservoir full?

[c7scayman]

Originally Posted by yellow2000S/R

Didn't see it mentioned... is your power steering fluid reservoir full?

It was at mid-level 3 weeks ago. Now it is just under the "min" level. I also noticed power steering fluid or some other type of liquid all over the hoses and tubes under the power steering reservoir. But I could not find a leak. I think it is leaking somehow. I will add new power steering fluid and tape up all of the power steering related hoses when I get the new power steering pump installed.

[JankyS13]

• leaky power steering line then bleed the damn system.
• replace busted ass motor mount, som play is ok but yeah that needs to be addressed.
• check trans fluid, good time to do a drain and fill, do not do a flush, I repeat stay far away from trans flush. unless you want more problems later down the road.
• rough idle issue, check the base timing.
• over all, teach the woman to start checking over the car regularly or let her ride the bus.

[c7scayman]

Originally Posted by JankyS13

• leaky power steering line then bleed the damn system.
• replace busted ass motor mount, som play is ok but yeah that needs to be addressed.
• check trans fluid, good time to do a drain and fill, do not do a flush, I repeat stay far away from trans flush. unless you want more problems later down the road.
• rough idle issue, check the base timing.
• over all, teach the woman to start checking over the car regularly or let her ride the bus.

I tried to get her to maintain her car, but she does not care. She says she does not want to spend any money on it because she wants to save up for a S60R or STI or EVO.
I am replacing the engine mount. I ordered a new one the other day after my gf refused to buy one herself.

[masterteque]

Needs intake manifold gasket. Gives random misfire codes etc. about a 4-5 hour job. If you need help pinpointing this let me know. I have seen this happen a lot on these


www.FASTofwestchester.com

[1stgenrocks]

since everyone else skipped over it. if you pulled the plugwire for cylinder 1 and the rpm didnt change then that cylinder isnt running right. do you have spark there? if you have spark you may have a injector problem or wiring to the injector.