New 98 Kouki! Small Issues, HALP

[dabomb665m]

Hi all,

I recently picked up a 98 kouki that's pretty clean minus a few small issues here and there. Need some help from those who know the car better than I do. I'm used to working with S13's.



1st Issue: Smog
Car threw P0440 and P1448... Both Evap related. I believe the first code is small EVAP leak and the second is an Evap vent control valve malfunction. Check engine light is on. P0440 may be a consequence of P1448

I removed the EVAP vent control valve from the evap canister and cleaned it out with some brakleen. Tried testing it with a live battery but got no response from it. My question is: by default, is the vent open or closed with no voltage? I'm guessing it should be closed with no voltage to prevent leakage and open only when asked by the ECU with voltage? It doesn't make sense for it to be open all the time when the car is off.

The reason I'm asking is because mine is default on open without voltage. I'm guessing that it's broken beyond repair and I probably need a new one. Just trying to confirm with someone who knows anything about the valve. If it's supposed to be open by default with no voltage... then it's possible the cleaning might have fixed it and I just need to reset the ECU.

Any other tips on passing smog would be appreciated. I haven't tried it yet since they wont test unless there's no check engine light on but I want to make sure I have most of my bases covered before I go.



2nd Issue: Weird door key problems
I don't know if this is how it's supposed to work... but my key holes are inconsistent. The driver side key hole locks to the left and opens to the right. My passenger side key hole locks to the right and opens to the left. Is this how it's supposed to be? I find it very odd. Perhaps an alarm system was installed and botched? Also... by default, shouldn't the passenger side door lock when I lock the driver side door? This car doesn't do that. Both doors are operated individually. Any idea how to fix these issues or is this normal? My s13 even locks both doors when I lock the driver side:wtf:
EDIT: Apparently this is normal. Cool I guess. Key turn is relative to the front/rear of the car, not the turn direction. I've only owned newer cars or S13s... and My STi is also this way but apparently I never knew because of the remote lock/unlock. S13's I never needed to try the passenger door since the driver door locks both.



Third Issue: Cold Startup Difficult
I've done a few things to troubleshoot... cleaned the MAF with maf cleaner and checked the coolant. The thing runs like a champ and idles perfectly when it properly starts... but on cold start in the morning it can chug so much that it'll stall if I don't give it some pushin on the gas. Could it be the coolant setup? Perhaps it's got too much coolant to water ratio? It may be also a temperature sensor problem... but I have no idea how to troubleshoot that. I have identified two sensor plugs under the front of the intake manifold. I'm pretty sure those are temp sensors but how do I check them?
EDIT: After cleaning O2 and temp sensors, the car no longer has any cold idle issues.



Fourth Issue: Oil Leak thats pretty bad
The engine runs awesome but there is definitely a leak somewhere that is more trouble than it's worth for me to fix. If there's any obvious places you all think I should look, I'll check. Otherwise, I just need it to pass smog and then the SR's going in. Oil leak is so bad that the valve cover has oil on it.


Anyway, happy holidays guys. Here's a pic :squintd:
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/7043/dsc01814o.jpg

[spooled240]

check your vacuum hoses for leaks and check the hoses going to the EGR valve too as those like to disintegrate after a while.

[dabomb665m]

check your vacuum hoses for leaks and check the hoses going to the EGR valve too as those like to disintegrate after a while.

I'll double check those in the morning when i can get some light. I think they are ok at the moment and the ecu isn't throwing and EGR codes either. Any ideas on the other stuff? Like the keys and what not? Does your s14 do the same thing with the locks?

[dabomb665m]

I just did more research and found that the evap vent control valve is supposed to stay open normally and only pull vacuum (close) when the ecu sends voltage/asks for it. So I pulled the evap valve out and tested it with wires... it seals just fine.

Not sure how accurate it is but I read it here:
Codes P0455, P1448, P0011 and P0021 come up when... - JustAnswer (http://www.justanswer.com/questions/2383v-codes-p0455-p1448-p0011-and-p0021-come-up-when-scanned)

After testing the valve against a battery, I think it's right... voltage=close, no voltage=open.

Perhaps I fixed it by cleaning it and just need to reset the ecu codes. Hopefully thats the case. Anyone know how to check if a gas tank cap is borked? I'm thinking of replacing the cap since that may also be a cause for a evap leak.

[DoriftoPnoy]

your keylocks are fine to me.

im guessing a wire is not connected from the driver side to the passenger side that should lock both doors simultaneously with the push of either button

[dabomb665m]

your keylocks are fine to me.

im guessing a wire is not connected from the driver side to the passenger side that should lock both doors simultaneously with the push of either button

the thing is... the button that locks/unlocks both doors (on the door panels) works just fine. But when I use the keys to unlock /lock the car from the driver side, it doesn't lock the passenger side. Pretty annoying.

How about the orientation of my key holes? Does your car do that? Turn opposite directions for open/close for passenger/driver side doors?

[DoriftoPnoy]

the thing is... the button that locks/unlocks both doors (on the door panels) works just fine. But when I use the keys to unlock /lock the car from the driver side, it doesn't lock the passenger side. Pretty annoying.

How about the orientation of my key holes? Does your car do that? Turn opposite directions for open/close for passenger/driver side doors?

oh. if u use the key on the outside it does not lock/unlock the otherside. only my homie's car does that cuz my dad installed an aftermarket doorlock when it was my bro's car.

but yea not depending what side your on, if you turn the key to the front of the car, it will lock. if you turn it to the rear, it will unlock.

[dabomb665m]

Ah one more thing... any s14 guys know a good way to take out the ecu without removing the dash? I want to take it out for diagnostics since I don't have an obd2 scanner... but the top part of the ECU frame gets stuck on the bottom right part of the dash. I tried unscrewing the screw from the dash but it doesn't give me enough slack to clear the "hook" behind the ECU frame:bash::bash: Any ideas appreciated.

[dabomb665m]

oh. if u use the key on the outside it does not lock/unlock the otherside. only my homie's car does that cuz my dad installed an aftermarket doorlock when it was my bro's car.

but yea not depending what side your on, if you turn the key to the front of the car, it will lock. if you turn it to the rear, it will unlock.

I see... I guess it's normal then. My s13 coupe automatically locks both doors if you lock the driver side... as far as I know, nothing was added. shrug. Ok, door issue resolved.

[fos240]

wow. just wow. sorry mango, but some of the statements you made make me wonder if you should even be working on a car. the coolant mixture is not going to affect the way the car runs. as for the oil leak, use your choice of cleaner, clean up ALL the leaked oil. then look and see where the leak starts from again. you already found out that s14's don't lock both sides from the key. this was an improvement from the s13's. while it is nice option, it is really hard on the locking components of the tumbler. i've had 3 different locks crumble/break.

you don't have to take out the dash to remove the ecu. it will be a pita the first time, but after you get it out, fix the bracket where it doesn't tuck up behind it anymore.

the 2 sensors at the front of the intake manifold are the water temp sensor (1 wire), and head temp sensor (2 wire). the water temp sensor only works the gauge. the head temp sensor goes to the ecu. without having a code reader, mdm, or other diagnostic tool, you won't be able to see if that one is working properly. the head temp sensor can cause some goofy issues. but i'd start with the mafs. when the car warms up, try holding the rpms at the spot where it coughs during high idle. mafs can have a bad spot at a certain airflow rate. it's not a catastrophic failure, so it won't register the MIL.

frankie

[dabomb665m]

wow. just wow. sorry mango, but some of the statements you made make me wonder if you should even be working on a car. the coolant mixture is not going to affect the way the car runs. as for the oil leak, use your choice of cleaner, clean up ALL the leaked oil. then look and see where the leak starts from again. you already found out that s14's don't lock both sides from the key. this was an improvement from the s13's. while it is nice option, it is really hard on the locking components of the tumbler. i've had 3 different locks crumble/break.

you don't have to take out the dash to remove the ecu. it will be a pita the first time, but after you get it out, fix the bracket where it doesn't tuck up behind it anymore.

frankie


Not sure what your problem is and maybe according to your standards I shouldn't be working on my car but you don't know shit about me. What I was saying about the coolant is to change it since I have no idea how the previous owner kept the coolant or what he used. In case you don't know, coolant mixture is dependent on ambient temps, and the owner drove the car back from colorado. Doesn't take a genius to figure out the weather conditions are different here in california. Coolant also does affect how the engine behaves... I would assume NOx levels would be lower if the thermostat and coolant are working as intended.

Like I said, I don't care much about the oil leak. It could be a headgasket and that's why I don't plan to spend that much time on the KA. My SR is waiting to go in after I figure out the SMOG.

As for the ECU, I know it would be a pain in the ass to take it out the first time. I know if I messed with it enough it would come out and I would've dremeled some of the metal of the hook to make it easy in the future. That wasn't my question. My question is if there was any tricks anyone here knows of. If not, fine. I can deal with it.

I've owned 4 S13's, 3 of which have been self installed/wired/troubleshooted SR's, 2 of which are still in my garage. I'm not oblivious. However, I am new to smogging in general and new to S14's. I just figured I'd try "properly" smogging the S14 since it's in good shape... instead of greasing someone's palms this time.

[dabomb665m]

Cleaned most of the sensors and wires around it... all filled with old dried oil. +Maf cleaning + driving around has removed the cold start problem. And no, I didn't just drive it around and turn it off and on. Waited another 8 hours before trying and now it just cranks and idles nicely. I used this tutorial to check with multimeter: http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=254375

[dabomb665m]

Another quick question. I'm going to need a manual driveshaft from an S14. I know there is about a 1" difference in length between the abs and non-abs. The non-abs is 1" longer since the diff input shaft has 1" more length for the abs sensor.

I just want to confirm before buying the wrong abs shaft. A blacktop SR from a 180sx is going in to the S14. At the same time, I'm going to use my S13's cusco 2way diff, which is in an open diff housing (which means no abs sensor). Just confirming that what I need is actually the non-abs manual driveshaft in this situation.

[fos240]

easily butthurt?

frankie

[dabomb665m]

easily butthurt?

frankie

bored and abrasive? All I'm saying is don't waste my time posting if you don't have shit to say. Don't waste my time just so you can feel "better" about your shitty life by making idiotic comments in a forum. NOTHING you posted was useful to me, and you are supposedly a "more suitable mechanic". I don't know shit about you and you don't know shit about me. And it'll stay that way. Commenting on my abilities is actually out of your range of abilities. Unless of course, you are god himself and watch over me day and night.

[undercoverdjay]

Any final word on the EVAP check engine light? Mine is intermittent. Before I start digging, I'd like to know what sensors report to the OBD and why the EVAP light kicks on. P0440 and P1448 Plague my kouki from time to time.

Nice car bro!

[dabomb665m]

Any final word on the EVAP check engine light? Mine is intermittent. Before I start digging, I'd like to know what sensors report to the OBD and why the EVAP light kicks on. P0440 and P1448 Plague my kouki from time to time.

Nice car bro!

Thx bud. I fixed it today... or at least I think I did. I took the EVAP vent control valve out. It's on the opposite end of your exhaust canister. It looks like a black snorkel screwed in by two bolts to the evap tank. About the size of a small hand.

Takes 5 minutes to check/fix. Just unbolt the two bolts with a 10mm, pull the vacuum line, and unclip the harness. You might need a clamp to remove the harness, as the old plastic is probably very hard by now.

Once out, check the valve. It should be open. Test by blowing from the hose end. After, spray some brakleen in there... spray it down good. When it's dry, wd-40 it. I took a chopstick and I manually actuated the valve a few times... do this from the bottom hole. After, use two high gauge wires connected to car battery and connect the leads in the harness. If you hear a pop from the valve, that means the valve is working now. If you have finesse, you can hold the current and try blowing into it again. If it seals properly when you blow, then the valve is in good working condition. If not, it's a $100 replacement from nissan... or usually like $10 bucks from someone parting out as they don't know what it does.

Replace the vent control valve and trigger the Evap test by driving about 3 minutes around 55mph-60mph constantly. If your check engine light goes out, its fixed.

Another test you can do is to make sure you have a good gas cap. If you know someone, borrow one. If not, "rent" one from kragens or something. I did all this and reset my obd2... drove around until all the readiness monitors checked out... and now everything is green + check engine light is gone. Gonna try to smog monday after I seafoam the car tomorrow.

[dabomb665m]

Another update... the coldstart issues are back. At this point the only thing I can think of is the coolant mixture. It only has the cold start problems when I fire it up first thing in the morning. Subsequent startups have no problems whatsoever.... even if it let it sit for 8 hours. I assume everything is just too cold in the morning after it has sat overnight.

Gonna try to flush the coolant and try a more "norcal" mixture.

[rb26man]

^^^ sounds good

[dabomb665m]

Question for those who have more experience with year-year model-model differences between S14....

I went with a friend to check out a 97 black kouki today... and noticed a few different things compared to my 98 kouki. His car had a sunroof with 2 buttons... one for lift, one for opening to the back. My 98 has a single button that does both. I think he also had a front dome light (may be wrong on this one). It that just the differences between 97/98?

Also... the 97 was manual... but it had the push button that releases the key, like my S13's. I'm assuming the pushbutton for key release is only on manual cars and not auto? Anyway, I noticed his sunroof was much smoother than mine so I think I'm going to hunt down a newer condition sunroof.

[undercoverdjay]

My 98 has a single button that does both. I think he also had a front dome light (may be wrong on this one). It that just the differences between 97/98?


I can help you out here, my 98 has both sunroof buttons, one for vent and one for moving the whole sunroof back. Also, there is a map light button all the way to the right with a map light next to it, and yes, I also have a rear mounted dome light. The rear mounted dome light is identical in every way to an S13 model, right down to the slide switch OFF/OPEN/ON

Also, I found this thread to be helpful in diagnosing my issues with the valve. My car also does the gas pump shut off issue listed here

EVAP canister vent control valve closed - Nissan Forums: Nissan Forum (http://www.nissanforums.com/sr-series-engines-de-ve/18227-evap-canister-vent-control-valve-closed.html)

I'm going to check on this this weekend. It beats swapping inspection stickers all the time.

[dabomb665m]

That's very interesting. I can't really imagine the front map light would be an option back in 98. Why my car doesn't have it is beyond me. Mine is a rectangular switch that slides forward and back whil pushing it up tilts the back of the sunroof

[undercoverdjay]

Well, I finally got under the car tonight, and sure enough the snorkel looking valve would not work when powered. I cleaned it up and actuated it manually and then hooked it back to power and heard the pop sound I was so hoping for. I also pulled the one off to the right that has 2 hoses going to it, and is normally closed with no power and tested it on my battery as well for good measure, it worked but I may as well check while I'm there. Currently the car sits with the wheel off while I get some more of the clips that hold the filler neck cover on tomorrow. I'll keep this thread updated.

Also, I checked the codes prior to fixing and they are P0440 and P0446

Thanks again man!
Chris

Edit, here are pics of the valve we're talking about for search purposes

http://z.about.com/d/autorepair/1/0/Y/6/79096151.gif

http://z.about.com/d/autorepair/1/0/Z/6/79096159.gif

[projectRDM]

That's very interesting. I can't really imagine the front map light would be an option back in 98. Why my car doesn't have it is beyond me. Mine is a rectangular switch that slides forward and back whil pushing it up tilts the back of the sunroof

You do realize your sunroof is aftermarket right? Why else would it completely different?

The OE roof does both tilt and slide from separate switches, and has the maplight as part of the switch assembly panel. If yours isn't like that at all and has a non OE switch, it has to be aftermarket.

Common sense.

And yes, the key release is only found on manual cars. Autos have to be locked into park before the key can come out.

Again, common sense.

Coolant mixture has nothing to do with starting issues. You could drain the coolant completely out and it will still start fine, it will just get hot quick. The ECU doesn't look for temperature during startup, it only measures the temperature to switch to the hot fuel map, to turn on the cooling fans if needed, and to optimize emissions control. Type of coolant has nothing to do with it. This is true on ALL cars as far as engine operation.

And the ECU problem, wow. Unbolt it, then twist/lift the bracket out of the frame where it's clipped in. You can remove the lower bolt to the dash if it still hangs up, but honestly I've never seen one 'hard to take out' in 15 years of working on these cars.

[dabomb665m]

You do realize your sunroof is aftermarket right? Why else would it completely different?

The OE roof does both tilt and slide from separate switches, and has the maplight as part of the switch assembly panel. If yours isn't like that at all and has a non OE switch, it has to be aftermarket.

Common sense.

And yes, the key release is only found on manual cars. Autos have to be locked into park before the key can come out.

Again, common sense.

Coolant mixture has nothing to do with starting issues. You could drain the coolant completely out and it will still start fine, it will just get hot quick. The ECU doesn't look for temperature during startup, it only measures the temperature to switch to the hot fuel map, to turn on the cooling fans if needed, and to optimize emissions control. Type of coolant has nothing to do with it. This is true on ALL cars as far as engine operation.

And the ECU problem, wow. Unbolt it, then twist/lift the bracket out of the frame where it's clipped in. You can remove the lower bolt to the dash if it still hangs up, but honestly I've never seen one 'hard to take out' in 15 years of working on these cars.


Thanks for the input. Didn't really dawn on me that the sunroof could be aftermarket. Thats a little more work than I'm willing to do if it were my car. Hopefully its done correctly. Sucks. As for the ECU, it really is pretty stuck on the upper right corner. Even with the bolt on the dash taken out, I can't pull it out enough to clear the hook behind it. I'd rather not crack the dash by brute forcing it... since I gotta take the dash out at some point down the line.

Thanks for the input though. You always have the most knowledge here, although not the best tone :barfkiss: I haven't been working on these cars for that long... maybe 2 years max... and have no experience with S14s. Do you know if dealers usually put in these aftermarket sunroofs? I'm wondering if they even sized it right so I can get an OE one installed. If not I guess I'll just weld it back :bash::bash:

[projectRDM]

There is no way to put an OE sunroof in without the matching sheetmetal skin and frame. Drop a headliner in both cars and you'll see, there's an inner frame bonded/welded to the roof skin that holds the sunroof assembly in place. Non sunroof cars don't have this.

The sunroof could have been installed at any time, but dealers would sub that kind of work out to a specialist. I've worked for several places that do such work, sunroofs, window tinting, audio/alarm, leather, anything aftermarket is generally not done by the dealer unless it's an OE part they're using.