2002 sentra misfiring please help

[02 sentra]

hi everyone i need help figuring out whats wrong with my car i have a 2002 sentra se r spec v it started misfiring couple of months ago so i put new plugs in that seemed to have fixed the problem but 2 weeks ago it started misfiring again it misfires sometimes in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon but it only does it for the first couple of seconds when the car is warmed up it runs perfectly fine can someone please help

[pio!pio!]

is the coolant low?
white smoke out the exhaust when it's misfiring?

mgiht be leaking headgasket which seals up when the motor heats up
get the coolant system pressure tested or something

[civiceater]

What do the plugs that you pulled out look like?

[02 sentra]

not sure if white smoke coming out but will check it out the plugs it had before were ngk they looked ok like normal usage when i got new ones they gave me champion plugs they were smaller in lenght but they told me those were the correct plugs i checked the compression and it was ok on all four cylinders

[pio!pio!]

compression would check out OK because the motor would have been warm already, thus sealing leak.

you want to get the cooling system pressure tested. Or alternatively, the place I went to had a chemical test where they took some coolant and added a chemical to it to test for the presence of exhaust molecules in it.

But generally: misfire when engine is cold, to go away when warmed up = leaky headgasket

[GREEN01GXE]

do you have a check engine light?

[djgmsu]

To provide a different view point, I had one cylinder misfire. Took it in under the powertrain warranty and it turned out to be a faulty coil pack.

Car ran fine for another few weeks and then the check engine light came on again.

Checked the code and it turned out to be a multi-cylinder misfire. Took the car back and after two days of diagnostics (including a compression test), it turned out to be the lovely butterfly screw. Lost my car for 2 weeks but at least I got a new engine.

Definitely get it checked out.

[adc100]

Originally Posted by djgmsu

it turned out to be the lovely butterfly screw. Lost my car for 2 weeks but at least I got a new engine.

Definitely get it checked out.

He said he did a compression check but who knows :shrug: Check for white smoke as mentioned

[pio!pio!]

yeah a single cylinder misfire is generally a bad coilpack..but a multicylinder misfire is something worse,.

[02 sentra]

it doesnt have the ses light on. There was no white smoke coming out of the exhaust but I did notice that when you step on the gas, a little bit of black smoke comes out is that normal? I will be checking the coolants presure this week, so around how much pressure should it have? I will post the results *** soon as i get them.

[GREEN01GXE]

Time for a leak-down test.

[spec-venus]

The only time my car has ever misfired (123,000miles) was after it sucked in a butterfly valve screw. The number three cylinder was misfiring and when i took the plug out the electrode and tip of the plug were destroyed! When i took the plenum off to do the recall there were TWO screws missing!! Check your plugs

[SHIFT_Unique]

put the stock ngk r plugs back in

[Klutch0027]

mine is doing the same thing as we speck. there is white smoke coming out... i took out the sparks plugs and one of them had oil on it??? it turns out that one of the pistons oil ring is bad!!! also my engine is drinking coolant like its gatorade. im going to be riding it untill i have to fix it, but the problem is... i have no money. i was also thinking about selling it... its a 1.8 gxe. ive done so much to it. i guess its just time to go

[pollypickle]

Hi, I have a 2005 Sentra doing the exact same thing you described yours doing. It is drinking coolant like gatorade and the mechanic keeps getting a Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire code from the machine.

This all started 3 weeks ago when the thermostat started fluctuating wildly and the heater stopped working for a day or two. So I took it in and the guy told me I needed a new radiator and that the coolant was low. He said he put coolant in, so I decided to wait and see if that fixed it. Well turns out that guy didn't even fill the coolant, so I did and the thermostat was fine after that.

A week later I started it one morning and it rocked and shook like crazy and the ses light came on. I took it to a NEW mechanic who got the P0300 code and changed the spark plugs and cleaned the combustion chamber & some other stuff. Now one week later it is back to doing the same thing but only when it is cold.

AND, the coolant I filled 2 weeks ago was empty last night. The car is at the mechanic's right now but he cannot figure out what it is. Did you have any luck resolving this issue?

Thanks!