Notices
Engine & Drivetrain VQ Power and Delivery

engine gurgles and misfires after changing sparkplugs

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 05-28-2006, 07:32 PM
  #1  
lowtempo
New Member
Thread Starter
 
lowtempo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: San Bruno, Ca
Posts: 334
Received 5 Likes on 3 Posts
Default engine gurgles and misfires after changing sparkplugs

After purchasing 6 oem plugs from nissan, i decided to try to change my spark plugs. I have close to 60k miles on it.

I basiclly left the GAP of the pulgs as is from the box. I checked them and they were about .44 . After swapping the plugs mu car just misfires, and gurgles. When I tryto drive it it has almost no power and misfires. The gurgle happens in a rythm. :

Has anyone else run into this problem after changing their spark plugs? Or have any idea what may be causing my misfires and gurgle noise.


The the idol is bumpy and when I open the throttle ( when idol ) and then release the throttle, the RPMs drop to about 500k ( almost stalling ).

Thanks in advance
Old 05-29-2006, 07:17 AM
  #2  
peptidbond
Registered User
iTrader: (2)
 
peptidbond's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Northern Ohio
Posts: 724
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Sounds like at least one of the plugs is not firing. You said it gurgles with a repeating pattern? I would NOT run the car like that. Get it fixed first. The piston that is misfiring will blow unburned fuel to the cats. The fuel will burn at the cats and you will destroy them. So, don't drive.

If I were you, I would repeat the entire install. Sometimes we make small mistakes that we don't notice the first time. For example, you might have put the wrong ignition wire on the wrong coil. This would cause the car to fire out of sequence. Repeat everything this time and make sure you do it right and then try again.

If that does not reveal the issue and you still have problems, repeat the whole thing again, BUT put your old plugs back in. If that immediately fixes it, then you might have the gap set to high or a bad plug (not likely).

Hope this helps.
Old 05-29-2006, 08:54 AM
  #3  
Sharif@Forged
Sponsor
Forged Performance
iTrader: (92)
 
Sharif@Forged's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Marietta, GA
Posts: 13,733
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

If the only thing you did, was change out the plugs for a fresh set, then you likely missed something on the re-install. I would check that your coil packs are plugged into the proper ignition connector, and that you have no vaccum leaks, disconnected lines, or something of that nature. A defective plug, out of the box...is extremely rare.
Old 05-29-2006, 09:31 AM
  #4  
Audible Mayhem
My350z
iTrader: (48)
 
Audible Mayhem's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 5,165
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Default

sounds like one of the coils isnt plugged in or pushed down good.


also the plugs have a crush washer on them, when they start to get tight you actually have to go another 1/3 to 2/3 s turn till they get nice and tight.

i had a plug back out a while ago and it ran the same way...
Old 05-29-2006, 02:09 PM
  #5  
lowtempo
New Member
Thread Starter
 
lowtempo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: San Bruno, Ca
Posts: 334
Received 5 Likes on 3 Posts
Default

I checked them again. and The wires were inded feeding to the right cyclinders. The cumbustion sequence is indeed 1,2,3,4,5,6. This is from the manual. I rechecked the gap and even gapped the spacing a little lower to .040. I gapped it with a gapping tool that only goes to .040. I know that the gap is supposed to be .043 but the tool I used could measure that precisely.

I wondering if it could be a problem with one of the plugs or even one of the coils. I'm going to call into work tomorrow and get new plugs and coils from the dealer ship and try it again.

I suspect one of the plugs because I did try to regap the plugs intially when I first installed it. While trying gap I may have damaged it. I used this gapping tool and I may have pushed down on the electrode ( while using that tool incorrectly) . My brother also opened one of the ignition coils to look at it abnd made sure that it can seat a plug.

I do have straight pipes and true dual exaust and I found that one side of my exuast system does misfire. Since I have a direct connection from the headers to the tip of the exhaust, could that help me pinpoint the ( bad sparkplug or bad coil problem) or at least pinpoint which bannk of plug is causing the problem?

Thanks you all for you help.
Old 05-29-2006, 03:16 PM
  #6  
Sharif@Forged
Sponsor
Forged Performance
iTrader: (92)
 
Sharif@Forged's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Marietta, GA
Posts: 13,733
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

Do you have the coils connected as follows....front of engine to back of engine.

passenger side 1,3,5
driver side 2,4,6
Old 05-29-2006, 05:39 PM
  #7  
lowtempo
New Member
Thread Starter
 
lowtempo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: San Bruno, Ca
Posts: 334
Received 5 Likes on 3 Posts
Default

I think so. Unfortunatly there isnt an number of the 4 &6 wire. The 6 coil is upside down compared to the rest but it looks like its supposed to be that way. I can try to switch those two tomorrow and hopefully they wires when switched will reach the coils.

Thanks
Old 05-29-2006, 06:23 PM
  #8  
Audible Mayhem
My350z
iTrader: (48)
 
Audible Mayhem's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 5,165
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Default

my number 6 has a tag on it, hmmm.... yeah it sounds like some simple problem. the plugs you got should have been gapped properly to start with.

good luck!!
Old 05-30-2006, 05:50 AM
  #9  
Sharif@Forged
Sponsor
Forged Performance
iTrader: (92)
 
Sharif@Forged's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Marietta, GA
Posts: 13,733
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

Originally Posted by lowtempo
I think so. Unfortunatly there isnt an number of the 4 &6 wire. The 6 coil is upside down compared to the rest but it looks like its supposed to be that way. I can try to switch those two tomorrow and hopefully they wires when switched will reach the coils.

Thanks
On the driver side, middle ignition connector actually goes to the rear cylinder#6. The connector closest to the firewall should connect to the middle cylinder #4 on the driver side.

Perhaps these are switched?
Old 05-30-2006, 09:19 AM
  #10  
lowtempo
New Member
Thread Starter
 
lowtempo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: San Bruno, Ca
Posts: 334
Received 5 Likes on 3 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by Sharif@Forged
On the driver side, middle ignition connector actually goes to the rear cylinder#6. The connector closest to the firewall should connect to the middle cylinder #4 on the driver side.

Perhaps these are switched?

Thanks Sharif! this suggestion worked !!!!!!!! I did get them crossed. Now its purring like a healthy Z.


Thanks for everyones helps and replies........ this forum rocks!
Old 05-30-2006, 10:28 AM
  #11  
Sharif@Forged
Sponsor
Forged Performance
iTrader: (92)
 
Sharif@Forged's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Marietta, GA
Posts: 13,733
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

Originally Posted by lowtempo
Thanks Sharif! this suggestion worked !!!!!!!! I did get them crossed. Now its purring like a healthy Z.


Thanks for everyones helps and replies........ this forum rocks!
Glad I could help, and that it was a simple fix.
Old 05-30-2006, 11:25 AM
  #12  
superchargedg
Damn Noobs
iTrader: (4)
 
superchargedg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: timonium,md.
Posts: 7,275
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by Sharif@Forged
Glad I could help, and that it was a simple fix.
damn sharif nice job on internet diagnostics.
Old 09-19-2016, 04:08 PM
  #13  
Abe_Froman
Registered User
 
Abe_Froman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Arizona
Posts: 21
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

This thread just saved me a lot of BS. Big thanks if posters are still around!
Old 01-18-2017, 08:16 PM
  #14  
Juan Altamirano
Registered User
 
Juan Altamirano's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by lowtempo
Thanks Sharif! this suggestion worked !!!!!!!! I did get them crossed. Now its purring like a healthy Z.


Thanks for everyones helps and replies........ this forum rocks!

Can u plz add a picture of both sides of how it should look. Im having the same exact trouble on mines and i miss driving it
Old 01-19-2017, 05:02 AM
  #15  
travlee
Master
iTrader: (8)
 
travlee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Texas
Posts: 48,606
Received 9,046 Likes on 6,512 Posts
Default

he hasnt logged in for over a year, may be waiting a bit for a pic


Old 09-30-2019, 12:07 PM
  #16  
Rwhowsden
Registered User
 
Rwhowsden's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by Sharif@Forged
On the driver side, middle ignition connector actually goes to the rear cylinder#6. The connector closest to the firewall should connect to the middle cylinder #4 on the driver side.

Perhaps these are switched?
I know this forum is old. I'm having the same issue. I broke the coil to cylinder 6 and bought just a single one to replace it.. the wires are in the right places and still cant figure it out

Last edited by Rwhowsden; 09-30-2019 at 12:07 PM. Reason: Didnt finish
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Swaglife81
Engine & Drivetrain
2
06-21-2017 10:55 AM
dudegetalife
Maintenance & Repair
37
02-25-2016 03:21 PM
vh5150
Maintenance & Repair
15
04-04-2014 04:32 AM
Cspears1411
Maintenance & Repair
14
09-30-2013 10:32 AM
jdm3fiddyZ
Forced Induction
1
09-02-2004 10:15 PM



Quick Reply: engine gurgles and misfires after changing sparkplugs



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 02:02 PM.