[gull sentra]

Reference my Thread:
"2002 Sentra GXE, cold start"

I'm afraid I celebrated victory too soon. The rough idle returned after the third crank up(note - lasts only a few seconds, then smooth).

So back to NOW:
I changed the four coilpacks(plug boots).**
I changed the Crankshaft Position Sensor.*
I changed the Camshaft Position Sensor.


What now?




* - What a duzy it is to get the little buger out.

** - Also, not wanting to buy all four coils, I bought only one and installed it in each of the four cylinder locations. One position per day for four mornings. My thinking here was surely only one coil was bad??

NO CHANGE!

 

[JudoJohn]

Have you been able to rule out the head gasket?

 

[gull sentra]

Head gasket??? Didn't see that one comming

I'll have to do research on the tell tale signs.

 

[i68k]

yea if youve changed both cam and crank, and check sparks and did coils there isnt much left other than say a bad ground somewhere, or either your ecu or headgasket could be bad. you can do a compression test, and a leakdown test if nec, to check your heagasket. the obvious signs would be oil mixing with coolant, and coolant with oil, etc, ever see white/milky crap in your oil or under the oil cap?

 

[gull sentra]

Ok, as much as I hate to face reality:
1. I've noticed, for the past several weeks, a draw down of coolant in the reservoir, with no visible drips. (leaking head gasket?) A little liquid in one or two of the cylinders and there we have rough running for a moment.
2. No oil on the dip stick yet.

Ok, a head gasket runs +$1000.- right!

I was planing on selling this car this summer, but do I repair, or not??

Thank you!

 

[i68k]

Ok, as much as I hate to face reality:
1. I've noticed, for the past several weeks, a draw down of coolant in the reservoir, with no visible drips. (leaking head gasket?) A little liquid in one or two of the cylinders and there we have rough running for a moment.
2. No oil on the dip stick yet.
Ok, a head gasket runs +$1000.- right!
I was planing on selling this car this summer, but do I repair, or not??
Thank you!

well, the headgasket and rest of the gaskets and bolt dont cost that much, maybe $350-400, just labor intensive

how long have you been driving with no oil on your dipstick?

 

[gull sentra]

I meant no water on the dipstick.

Thanks

 

[i68k]

with a bad headgasket, on your dipstick, you would get a white film. you wont really see water/coolant on your dipstick. coolant in oil turns like milky stuff in the oil, normally its easy to see is under the oil cap. you can also check vice versa, and see if theres oil spots floating in your coolant reservoir. the best way to tell if your headgasket is bad is to do a compression test on a cold motor, then a leakdown test if necessary.

 

[johnnyb]

Potential/Probable Cause

If you're slowly losing coolant, but cant find any drip or leak, there's a good chance your head gasket is failing.

Mine acted the same way with the rough idle on cold start, gradual coolant loss...

When I got the head gasket removed, I had visual confirmation of the failure.

I was hesitant to attempt the job in the parking lot of my apt complex, but in the end I'm glad I did.

It's not that difficult really, but for me it was time consuming. I had to work in it a little bit every day for 2 weeks.