tropicalypso

I bought my 1999 Pathfinder when it was new. It has given me 137k miles of unfailing service.

I took it to the shop for an oil change, and they said I needed a new AC belt. I agreed (it was pretty bad).

Anyways, I get it back, and now the idle is jumping around, and the car will "buck" or hesitate every once in awhile while at speed. At idle, the rpm's will bounce from 400 to 1000. I took it back to the shop (a Tire Kingdom, btw) and they proceeded to point out all sorts of things that could be causing it (really easy to do with a 137k on the odometer). Well, I replaced a valve cover gasket (the easy one) and 5 out of the 6 spark plugs, the spark plug wires, and the distributor cap/rotor (this is what they said was the culprit).

Problem is still there.

After reading around on various forums and listening to advice of a my mechanically inclined friend, I have come to theory that I have a bad MAF sensor. The symptoms seem to be dead on... with one exception... the engine is not throwing any codes.

So, I feel that I should throw this problem out to you fine people, as I am sure you are much more versed at these kinds of things then I am.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Ryan

GixxerDan

I'd be interested in people's opinions on this as well. Mine isn't as severe (never noticeable while driving), but when I'm stopped and idling, I'll get a slight 'buck' as well, and you can hear a bit of a 'puff' in the exhaust. No codes on the dash either...

tropicalypso

I have read that I can wiggle the MAF sensor, and if the idle drops, I'll know that it is the sensor. Will be doing that tonight. Some people have gotten by with just reseating the sensor, and one dude on here actually used a zip tie to hold it in better.

Maybe I'll get lucky... a MAF ain't cheap for the pathy.

Xeno

Shut off & unplug the wires to the AC pump(clutch). Does it still happen?

tropicalypso

I will give it a try. Which wires would those be? Thanks