[CA18DET] Engine misfiring and hesitating at temperature, A/C compressor failing

[sve7nsk]

Just got my 180sx from a dealership in PA, had it shipped 2500 miles to me only for it to misfire like shit with the A/C on when the engine is at temp. Also, the engine hesitates over ~3.5/4k RPM when it's warm, it just doesn't want to accelerate unless I lightly press the pedal down. The other day, I went to my friend's house after a ~25/30 mile drive on the freeway, as soon as I got out and went to the front of the car it looked like all of the oil in the a/c compressor leaked out. He said the compressor pulley wasn't spinning very good so I'm thinking that might be my problem. When the a/c is off the engine still misfires at idle but not horribly. The air blowing out of the vents with the a/c all the way cold is still warm, so it's pretty obvious the compressor isn't working.

I was wondering if I could just remove the a/c compressor pulley belt, maybe it would stop putting stress on the prank pulley and (hopefully) solve my misfiring, or at least make it better?? It doesn't look like anything else runs off the belt so it should be fine, right? I have a CA18DET, thanks guys

[S14rebuild]

yes u can take the belt iff...no it wont solve your misfire.

Pull the coil packs and plugs out and check condition... go from there...

[sve7nsk]

Originally Posted by S14rebuild

yes u can take the belt iff...no it wont solve your misfire.

Pull the coil packs and plugs out and check condition... go from there...

I just changed the plugs the other day, the old ones were bad, worst I've ever seen lol. Didn't really do much for the car unfortunately. We checked the fuel injectors and one of them might be clogged/going out.

[S14rebuild]

Have u narrowed down which cylinder/s are misfiring?

[sve7nsk]

Originally Posted by S14rebuild

Have u narrowed down which cylinder/s are misfiring?

My friend tested it by unplugging each coil wire one by one but the engine bogged down for each cylinder, we tried to listen in on the injectors and think #3 is not working as good as the others. I was thinking about buying some fuel injector cleaner but haven't yet. I'm going to be installing a new fuel pump soon, just because I know the car sat for a long time in japan. Thing only went 100km between 2015 and 2017

Sorry for taking so long to reply, I honestly really appreciate you man. I need to see if I can get emailed when there is a reply because I forget. But seriously man, thank you

[Izento]

Coil packs can get pretty bad for the CA18. Gotta remember that this engine is 30 years old. I had one of my coils giving weak spark, replaced it and the hesitation was gone.


Also, I currently have a bad FPR in mine, so that's going to get replaced since it's running rich, but just remember to keep that in mind if you have rich issues when you install that new pump.

[brndck]

how old is the fuel in the tank? If the car was sitting for a long time, drain the tank, inspect for rust in the tank. Also change the fuel filter. Not a bad idea to have the injectors cleaned. If these things don't clear up the misfire, you'll have to start doing tests like compression test, leakdown test, etc.

Also, yes you can just remove the AC belt and it will disable the AC system, sounds like the compressor needs to be replaced. Hopefully it didn't frag. If it did, the entire AC system will need to be cleaned out before it can be put back in service.

[sve7nsk]

Originally Posted by Izento

Coil packs can get pretty bad for the CA18. Gotta remember that this engine is 30 years old. I had one of my coils giving weak spark, replaced it and the hesitation was gone.


Also, I currently have a bad FPR in mine, so that's going to get replaced since it's running rich, but just remember to keep that in mind if you have rich issues when you install that new pump.

I'll have to look into the coil packs, although when I changed the plugs they seemed fine. My hesitation is only at temperature so I'm not sure if it could be something electrical. Will also try some tests on my FPR, didn't think of it

Originally Posted by brndck

how old is the fuel in the tank? If the car was sitting for a long time, drain the tank, inspect for rust in the tank. Also change the fuel filter. Not a bad idea to have the injectors cleaned. If these things don't clear up the misfire, you'll have to start doing tests like compression test, leakdown test, etc.

Also, yes you can just remove the AC belt and it will disable the AC system, sounds like the compressor needs to be replaced. Hopefully it didn't frag. If it did, the entire AC system will need to be cleaned out before it can be put back in service.

It's probably gone through at least a tank of gas since it came to the US, but I'll see when I replace the fuel pump. I already have a fuel filter, got it before wanting to change the pump but thought it would be better to do both at the same time

I'm gonna try taking the AC belt off soon, but I want to drive around a bit before since I just changed my engine oil. I have no idea if the compressor fragged, I was running it almost full blast for about an hour on the highway until the oil leaked out of it. I usually don't like using AC but I had other people in the car.

(a side note) I changed the oil and used a new washer from the dealership and the plug isn't flush with the pan, I tried looking it up but couldn't find anything so I'm assuming this is normal. Oil isn't leaking, at least it isn't now. The plug is pretty tight but my torque wrenches suck so I don't use them much.

[brndck]

Originally Posted by sve7nsk

(a side note) I changed the oil and used a new washer from the dealership and the plug isn't flush with the pan, I tried looking it up but couldn't find anything so I'm assuming this is normal. Oil isn't leaking, at least it isn't now. The plug is pretty tight but my torque wrenches suck so I don't use them much.

this doesn't sound right to me. is it an oem plug and oem pan? it should bottom out (plug flange against oil pan flange).
Is the plug tight against the washer?

[sve7nsk]

Originally Posted by brndck

this doesn't sound right to me. is it an oem plug and oem pan? it should bottom out (plug flange against oil pan flange).
Is the plug tight against the washer?

The both seem OEM, I even got the crush washer from the Nissan dealership (used one from a 240sx since they both have the same plug size). I tightened it before putting oil in and noticed the space so I took it out to see if the washer was flattened and it was for the most part, but not as flat as the old one. When I put it back on the plug threaded smoothly then I tightened it and it still had the space, I'd say it's probably a little bit tighter than the torque spec but it still has the gap. I really feel I have it as tight as I should go since I don't want to strip the threads on the pan.

So far it hasn't leaked and I took it on the freeway to test it and it's been fine, just a little concerning. I ordered a "Nismo Magnetic Plug" from the dealership, I'm just waiting for them to send me an email saying it's ready to be picked up.

[sve7nsk]

Originally Posted by brndck

this doesn't sound right to me. is it an oem plug and oem pan? it should bottom out (plug flange against oil pan flange).
Is the plug tight against the washer?

I replied to this last night.. and forgot to submit it. Anyways

Yes it's an OEM plug and ban, I have 95% certainty of that. The plug is tight but the washer looked like it didn't squish as much as the old one. The plug is as tight as I can get it comfortably since I don't want to strip the pan, but of course there is a gap so maybe I should give it a little more torque? I've never used a crush washer in an oil change so I'm not sure if that's the problem or if it is right but something is wrong.

I tried to order a magnetic oil plug from my dealership but they're backordered and I wouldn't get it for 3 months, so I'm looking for others.

I've been driving the 180 around for the past couple days and everything seems fine with the oil, nothing is leaking so I'll keep an eye on it until I get a new plug

[sve7nsk]

[Removed.]

[sve7nsk]

Originally Posted by brndck

this doesn't sound right to me. is it an oem plug and oem pan? it should bottom out (plug flange against oil pan flange).
Is the plug tight against the washer?

This is the third time I'm trying to submit this reply. The pan and plug are OEM, the plug is as tight as it should be but when I checked the washer it didn't squish down all the way. I'm getting a new plug in 2 days so hopefully the one I have now holds up, I've been driving it around for a few days and it's stayed with no leaks so I'll just keep an eye on it

[mechanicalmoron]

I'd agree with brndck, could be caused or complicated by bad gas. You say a tank since it came to the US - so 6 months? A year? A sitting car is a sad car.

Year old gas will make you think something's seriously wrong with your engine management, feels like a TPS problem, like how you describe not being able to really put your foot in it without misfiring.

[sve7nsk]

Originally Posted by mechanicalmoron

I'd agree with brndck, could be caused or complicated by bad gas. You say a tank since it came to the US - so 6 months? A year? A sitting car is a sad car.

Year old gas will make you think something's seriously wrong with your engine management, feels like a TPS problem, like how you describe not being able to really put your foot in it without misfiring.

So I dropped the tank last night since I was already doing the fuel pump.. there was so much sediment and rust and I didn't even have time to clean it properly. I was able to reach in and grab a handful of crap from where the pump filter would be and there was still so much left in there after that. The gas itself was piss yellow and the tank is so rusty inside, I'm probably going to get a new tank in a couple months or something

[brndck]

Originally Posted by sve7nsk

The gas itself was piss yellow and the tank is so rusty inside, I'm probably going to get a new tank in a couple months or something

NEW tanks are nowhere to be found.
If you start looking now, you can prob find a decent used one from someone doing a partout tho.

[sve7nsk]

Originally Posted by brndck

NEW tanks are nowhere to be found.
If you start looking now, you can prob find a decent used one from someone doing a partout tho.

I've been able to find a couple on ebay, they're pretty expensive (~600 after taxes) but if I was keeping the car it would be worth it. Sadly, I'm going to have to get rid of it. I don't know what I was thinking getting this car without having a reliable DD, plus I'm just not ready financially for this thing The fuel pump I just installed failed, which was probably my fault, maybe I didn't do something right, I don't know. I'm getting it fixed so it'll run then selling it

Edit: It ran fine for about 2 days after I installed the new pump then just wouldn't start and the fuel pump didn't hum before cranking the engine. It was a TI Automotive/Walbro GSS342

[mechanicalmoron]

Originally Posted by sve7nsk

I've been able to find a couple on ebay, they're pretty expensive (~600 after taxes) but if I was keeping the car it would be worth it. Sadly, I'm going to have to get rid of it. I don't know what I was thinking getting this car without having a reliable DD, plus I'm just not ready financially for this thing The fuel pump I just installed failed, which was probably my fault, maybe I didn't do something right, I don't know. I'm getting it fixed so it'll run then selling it

Edit: It ran fine for about 2 days after I installed the new pump then just wouldn't start and the fuel pump didn't hum before cranking the engine. It was a TI Automotive/Walbro GSS342

If you want to sell it, maybe you should do so as-is, or if you think you'll get enough return, take it to a reputable shop.

Worth more with unknown fuel problems you don't talk about in depth, than with too much info on every rabbit hole you went down.

No offense, but this thread makes me think you don't have the mechanical experience to do this in a cost-effective way, unless you think your time's worth nothing. You could spend hundreds of hours and make the car worth less, through no personal failing but lack of experience.

[sve7nsk]

Originally Posted by mechanicalmoron

If you want to sell it, maybe you should do so as-is, or if you think you'll get enough return, take it to a reputable shop.

Worth more with unknown fuel problems you don't talk about in depth, than with too much info on every rabbit hole you went down.

No offense, but this thread makes me think you don't have the mechanical experience to do this in a cost-effective way, unless you think your time's worth nothing. You could spend hundreds of hours and make the car worth less, through no personal failing but lack of experience.

First of all, thank you. I always appreciate honesty and criticism because it helps me think about things critically.

Turns out I didn't crimp the butt connectors connecting the fuel pump hard enough soo they kind of just fell off while I was at work. I'm thankful it didn't happen anywhere else or even while I was driving because that would have been a hell of a lot worse.

I told my cousin the same night and he said he would come look at it after it was towed home and when he got here he had a complete fuel assembly from a friend who was parting out a 240sx. He wanted $200 for it and since it was a lot less rusty and would make things a hell of a lot easier for him I let him install it (since he wanted to make sure it worked, it hadn't been used for 2 years). It already had a Walbro pump and a working fuel sending unit (for the fuel gauge since mine was done for). Having a working fuel gauge was well worth the $200 anyway.

We got the car running, changed the fuel filter, and hit the road to the nearest Chevron. The old gas in the lines smelled like shit while we were driving but we filled it up, drove it home my 180sx has been running great since . It seems the problem was a combination of old gas, sediment buildup in the tank, pump, and filters, and possibly clogged injectors at times. The fuel filter was so clogged that the "liquid" coming out looked like dark carrot juice.

I wanted to go back to your statement when you said "lack of experience" and yes, that's very true. I did small things with my Civic, mostly just plugs and fluids and that's the extent of my first-hand experience with working on cars. I want to learn and I know the internet can teach me a lot of things but I feel like it isn't enough to understand exactly what I'm doing. I take my time, I make mistakes, and that's just how I learn. I wish I could get more first-hand experience safely (without risking my car) and have someone show me how things are done but that's almost impossible unless you go to school for this kind of stuff or get trained in a shop. I don't want to make this a career, I just like it as a hobby and want to get better.

Sorry for rambling on, I just have some stuff on my mind