I have my pickup now. I'm good. I need it more since I have both houses paid for and am accumulating toys.
I have gotten more into motorcycles for off-roading, it's not quite the scene as Colorado but the badlands was a fun tour.
I have my pickup now. I'm good. I need it more since I have both houses paid for and am accumulating toys.
I have gotten more into motorcycles for off-roading, it's not quite the scene as Colorado but the badlands was a fun tour.
In reply to bmw88rider :
Figured as much, that was a joke. Well, mostly, haha. Motorcycles are way better at off roading and I think more fun but the SUV's can bring your whole family out to places you go on the moto's, which is nice.
Well, based on a tip from the previous owner I decided to just replace the rear O2 sensor. Mostly because I had a new one sitting on my bench that he'd given me when I bought the truck. Figured I might as well do it, I've got an appointment with shop in about a week if this doesn't do it. If this does fix it then I probably screwed myself as far as getting some sort of refund from the shop, since they misdiagnosed this and replaced the wrong O2 sensor, but I'll deal with that later.
So removing the O2 isn't that hard but I had to remove part of the aftermarket skid plate to get to it. Noticed that one of the smaller bolts that holds the plate on snapped off inside the captive threads. Awesome.
Then it's an O2 sensor socket to break it free, had to use a breaker bar. So far I'm not impressed with how Nissan put this truck together, they like to hide clips on the back side of things. Like this one
This holds the two O2 plugs onto a metal tang that's mounted to the tranny. You'd think they'd clock the harness so that little tab is facing you, to make it easy to depress and then pull the plugs off the tang, right? Nope, it's literally facing up and towards the tranny.
Then there's this one...
This holds the two parts of the plug together, so sensor to body harness plug. I couldn't figure out a way to separate these harnesses short of sliding a small flat head screwdriver in there and pushing down on that block. Again, why make this so difficult?
Anyways I've got the new sensor in and reset the code. My daughter is going to drive the truck this whole week and I'll see what happens. My scan tool isn't a good one that can log O2 sensor voltages so I don't know if the old sensor was bad or not. Hopefully this fixes it, if it doesn't it goes back to the shop. If it does I'll call them and see if they're willing to refund me for the new O2 sensor and labor to install it since that wasn't what the issue was. Or fix the leaky rear diff cover on the truck for free.
Does it usually take a long time for the code to pop back, or is it back after a drive?
In reply to Slippery :
Seems to take a few days, like 5 or so. That's why I wanted to replace the sensor now, that way I'll know if this fixed it before the appointment to bring it to the shop next week...
It's been a week and no more check engine light! So looks like the rear O2 was bad and I fixed it, which means the shop totally screwed up the diagnosis and I paid them for nothing. I'll be giving them a call today but honestly I'd be surprised if they do or offer any sort of refund. I will be crossing them off the list of shops I use, I can replace parts on my own, I don't need to pay shop rate for someone else to do it, I need them to diagnose stuff I can't, that's what I'm paying for.
A month later and the light is back on, same code. P2A00 bank 1, sensor 1. WTF?! The shop supposedly smoke tested the exhaust and said there were no air leaks but that's my #1 culprit right now since I replaced both O2 sensors. Googling yields other possibilities of vacuum leak, low fuel pressure or a sticky fuel injector. I'm going to get the truck up on the lift this weekend and check for exhaust leaks but if that's not it I'll have to take it to a shop. Not the one it went to before, who didn't know what to do, so either the dealer, or hopefully I can find a good Nissan Indy shop...
Any help here would be appreciated, this is super frustrating!
What brand of O2 sensor did you use? After getting burned a few times, my policy is now OEM or OEM-supplier O2 sensors.
In reply to dj06482 (Forum Supporter) :
Denso, so OEM Supplier. A little googling lead me to a procedure where you reset the fuel trims. Supposedly on Nissan's you need to do this after you replace O2 sensors. Even with a new O2 sensor the code can/will pop back up unless you clear the fuel trims.
So I'll try that tonight and see what happens. Gotta say, I'm pretty close to selling this thing to CarMax/Carvana and going back to what I know a Vw/Audi product for my daughter
docwyte said:In reply to dj06482 (Forum Supporter) :
Denso, so OEM Supplier. A little googling lead me to a procedure where you reset the fuel trims. Supposedly on Nissan's you need to do this after you replace O2 sensors. Even with a new O2 sensor the code can/will pop back up unless you clear the fuel trims.
So I'll try that tonight and see what happens. Gotta say, I'm pretty close to selling this thing to CarMax/Carvana and going back to what I know a Vw/Audi product for my daughter
I have no words of encouragement other than my xterra had the same problem for 4 years I chased it, dumped it for a VW and couldnt be happier.
In reply to TR7 (Forum Supporter) :
:-/ Well that's not encouraging to hear at all! Same code for 4 years and you never got it fixed? I can't get this thing through smog testing here with this code and it has to stay off long enough for the readiness monitor to be set, so it's not like I can just clear it and take the car thru.
There has to be some logical reason for it to be happening. Are you good with a digital multimeter?
In reply to TJL (Forum Supporter) :
Maybe? Apparently this is a very common problem code on Nissan's. However you'd think with such a common problem the solution would be readily found, or that shops would know exactly how to solve it. Neither seem to be the case.
I'm not great with a multi meter sadly...
In reply to docwyte :
It is not that it is a common problem. It is that it is commonly found as a topic of discussion because people don't post help requests for things they figured out.
In reply to docwyte :
I guess I am encouraging you to enjoy your life and buy a VW. Had the same problem with smog. Replaced every o2 sensor, maf, crank position sensor, coolant temp sensor, pretty much any sensor that might have something to do with fuel/spark control. Gave up and told the dealer to figure it out, "you had dirty fuel, here is your inspection sticker, that will be $500", and the light came back on the way home. Next time around I was told it needed all the cats replaced, which were worth more than the truck, promptly dumped it and bought a VW, which has been trouble free for 6 years.
That Xterra and my inlaws Altima has soured my taste for Nissan, which is unfortunate because on paper, that Xterra would have been a cool truck, but all it was to me was a series of problems and disappointment.
I seem to have found a shop that's got a sharp guy. I'm going to drop the truck off with him tonight and let him dig into it tomorrow. One of the things I foung googling is that this code can be caused by a leaky fuel injector, which would also explain why the cats went bad. So he's going to look into that and some other things and hopefully finally fix this thing
Well, looks like the problems solved!
Yeah, that shouldn't be like that. That's the intake boot from the MAF to the throttle body, so post metered air leak. Drove it home, it runs great! While it was there I also had him reseal the rear diff, since it was leaking. Wanted to give him some more work because I finally found a good diagnostician and rear diff fluid always smells like complete ass and I hate dealing with it.
So hopefully that's the end of this saga...
The old air intrusion past the boot trick.
Just drives sensors NUTS!
Suddenly, this post has taken a strange turn. But I am glad the truck is fixed!
Glad its fixed! But happier you found a good mechanic that is not just a parts swapper, that is hard to find nowadays.
In reply to Slippery :
Very happy I've found this guy. Since I'm mostly a euro car guy I know the shops to go to for those cars but was at a loss for this Nissan. Hopefully I won't have to do anything but oil changes on it for awhile now...
So to close the loop on this, about 3 weeks after the intake boot crack was found/fixed the same CEL came back. Back to the shop it went, where he pressure tested the exhaust. Turns out the flange on the factory exhaust, where it meets the back of the cat and cracked free. That was allowing an air leak to happen right before that downstream O2 sensor. He welded that up and it's been fine for the last several months.
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