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00 xterra intermittently losing power.

1K views 10 replies 3 participants last post by  B1GJ4Y 
#1 ·
When cold i can put in half way down and spin and take off like a bat even when its hot. It seems to occur when its shut down after a good long drive than its harder to start like 3-4 seconds of cranking and it starts up. But when its cold you just bump the key and she fires right up. This power loss for example is pretty bad. Under normal driving its not too noticable. But when floored from a stop it feels almost like its choking out but its not... Almost a bogging feel like im pulling alot of weight. When its cold though i can nearly break the rear end loose on pavement. Oh and the throttle responce once it start loosing its ponies is sluggish too.

I read somewhere that the starting problem when its hot is most likely due to bearing in the distributor. But any thoughts on what it could be would be appreciated. Doesnt over heat or burn oil runs fine under both conditions just sluggish. It has a vg33e power aid cold air intake and throttle body spacer. I wanted the remove the spacer as its just a noise maker but dont have the original bolts that are shorter for it as it was purchased with these mods already done. Im thinking about also going to buy an oem air box and selling this whole kit as i dont like the open cone filter.
 
#3 ·
Does your idle rpm or character change when its cold vs hot?

Is your MAF fouled?

Is the power aid cold air intake taking in hot engine bay air but using a "Heat Shield" to pretend its really cold air its taking in?

The TBS can be a problem too, as its introducing turbulence exactly where you want laminar flow.
 
#4 ·
Eh it seems to pulse almost but is alternator related. Found out the other night when the strip on my roof rack the seal for the air dam flew off (never found it) The hazard lights pulsing caused the truck to pulse which i think is battery and alternator combination. The tbs i need bolts to man i tryed taking it off but there too long when its not on. Like i cant even spin a wheel in sand with the darn skinny pedal to the floor right now. im thinking it could be tbs but it came installed when i bought it and dont have the hardware. And my muffler broke off Sounds damn good too without it lol but am getting a flow put on it this friday. I did clean the maf with crc maf cleaner and intake is clean too. And yes has a pretend heat shield lol.
 
#5 ·
I feel taking it to the mech would be both a waste of time and alot of money to diagnose a problem that isnt something thats broke it just feels like it chokes on itself rpms are normal etc etc but its like the difference between having a old slow revving big block and a small fast revving engine but when it starts to slow it gets really down on power.
 
#6 · (Edited)
And to note it has bosch platinum plugs which i heard was a no no after i had installed them when i first got it. And bosch wires too as well as cap and rotor.



On another note im gonna take one bolt out and head to lowes to see if they got any bolts of this size but maybe half inch shorter.
 
#8 ·
You might want to inspect your ignition coil too while you're at it. When mine started doing that It was actually arcing through a tiny hole that eventually got bigger. When it was cold it wouldn't arc as much, but once it warmed up it would arc like balls until one day it wouldn't even function correctly and would just arch the whole time.
 
#9 ·
Well fellas I took off the tbs finally bolted up fine with new bolts. Now it's just got a lumpy idle which I'm assuming is due to having used gasket maker on it or the computer is used to the tbs. All I can say is it runs like a scaulded dog now. First time it's ever put me back in my seat from a dead stop. Throttle responce is in between but so far the symptoms dissappeared will post once I get to driving it long trips again maybe tommorow. And doesn't have the useless hissssssss to it which anoyed the piss out of me. So far so good will be posting thoughts once she goed more than a few laps around the block.
 
#10 ·
Well fellas it seems the throttle body spacer may have been goofing with the computer when hot or something cause the problem is now gone. I think this should serve as a reason to not put one on. I can now break the rear loose on pavement with an lsd. Couldn't even if I tryed when it was on. But thanks for the help and ideas everyone I now have one fine driving x!
 
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