Idiling and driving Problems with R33

Hi, I am new to this forum.

I have a problem with my R33 Skyline. After I drive it for a period and visit different locations, (constantly starting and switching the car off) then after soem time i could be in the car and it would start idiling really rough.

What i mean is that it will rev at normal 0500-1000 then jump to 3000 the back to 1000 constantly. I thought it was the injectors so i had them cleaned, but it still does it. Furthermore if drive the car when this happens it is really really sluggish and wont go anywhere as good as it should. ATM I am worried bout driving the car anywhere in case it cuts out or starts playing up while far from home.

If anyone has heard of a similar or encountered the same problem could they please let me know of what occured and how it was rectified. It would be very much appreciated.

Thanks
Ismail

Definitely get the Air Flow Meter checked out. This seems to be a very common problem with Skylines. Just about everyone I know with a Skyline has had to have their AFM rewired at some point (including me! :p).

Mine was also running sluggish and rough recently until when I put a new Oxygen sensor in. Problem is now fixed. :D

First step though would be to get your AFM checked out and see how it goes after that. If you are still having problems then check the voltage on your Oxygen sensor.

Let us know how you go.

I second the O2 sensors.

As you are in Australia there are quite a few people over there with Skylines. You could try posting on Skylines Australia (http://forums.skylinesaustralia.com) as there are plenty of people in Queensland with Skylines that could possibly help you out. A good way to check whether the AFM (or indeed any part) is what is causing the problem, is to swap (temporarily :p)your AFM with someone whose AFM works.

O2 sensors can be a real pain to swap (as we found out :p), so you might want to find out if that is the problem before swapping them around. It should read between 0.4 and 0.6 volts. Andy's (Spec2 Girl)was all over the place varying randomly from 0.3 to 0.8 :eek:

From my reading of your post, it sounds as though the problem comes more when the car's warmed up, which does suggest AFM or O2 sensor, as they only come into play really once they've warmed up.

When you say rough, are you just meaning the rpm changing at idle, or is it misfiring; nasty exhaust note (like a Subaru), feels like the engine's "jumping around" a bit :uhoh: Misfires will affect the idle. If so, you should check the plugs and the coil packs (again, substitution is a good way of checking)

Thanks for all who have provided me some information. Regarding the 02 sensor, well that was changed a month after i bought the car which would be february 2002. Surely it must last longer than that. Either way i will be checking the Air Flow Meter and the Oxygen Sensor and see how it goes.

Shouldn't be the O2 sensor then, unless you've been running leaded fuel. I would strongly suggest the AFM. Nissan wiring in these things seems to be a bit bodgy, and since your car is 8 years old, you may well have a few dry solder joints and general crappiness in there. Let us know how it goes.

Out of couriosity is your car modified in anyway? If so what mods including blow off valves, fuel pumps etc.

Hi,
No my car is not modified in anyway apart from and after market greddy boost gauge. The turbo has not been boosted. I left the car for a day with the autoelectrician. He hookeed it up to the computer but found no faults with the o2 sensor or the air flow meter. he reset the computer and tested again after running the car for a while but still notehing.
Problem is i know that everynow and again it idils really rought and then starts running sluggish. can anyone give me any ideas of what to do or who i can see in Brisbane for anyadvice or who may be able to fix my problem. After all the auto electrician is even telling me its fine and I know its not.

Just had another thought: the variable cam timing. The solenoid that controls it was sticking open intermittently on Andy's car. This had the effect of making the cam timing optimised for high-rev operation, which produced a rough idle (which sounded almost like big lumpy cams), and it overfuels and retards the timing to compensate down low, so it was really sluggish. Every so often it would "unstick" (and we could make it unstick by unplugging the bottom of the two plugs on the throttle position sensor while it was idling - I think you'll only have one plug there though, so I dunno if that would work). When it was back to normal, the car went well, then after we got into the high rev range - so the cam timing changed - it would stick open and it would be all rough and sluggish again.

We just pulled it out and eyeballed it and you could see it was stuck open. I don't know if there's any other way to tell. It's a hexagonal jobby which sticks out from the driver's side of the engine right at the front. When we swapped it over for another solenoid - problem fixed :)

Probably worth checking out, anyway. Hope you get it sorted soon.