Nissan Titan Experiences

micrablue · Oct 6th, 2004, 10:29 PM

Hello,

I purchased a new Nissan Titan Crewcab 4x4 Offroad three weeks ago. I have read a couple posts and thought I could shed some light on the Titan for those who have one or may purchase one. These are my experiences thus far.
I have added the following modifications to the truck:

- Skyjacker 2.5inch front lift (leveling kit)
- Trenz top and bottom ss grill
- Nissan front brush guard
- Nissan class IV receiver
- Nissan splash guards
- Nissan bug guard
- Tinted front windows
- Slimline ss tool box
- Banks Monster SS Exhaust
- K&N intake system

Overall, I am pleased with my installations. However, I have had the following occur since I have put these mods on:

- "Thud" under the truck when encountering any bumps at any speed
- "Service Engine Soon" light illuminated
- Erratic idle
- Dash guages "jump" together as if surging, after the truck is shut off

At 3200 miles, I drove the truck to the dealership that I bought it from. They kept it all day. Upon receiving the truck back, they told me:

- Mass air flow voltage for my engine is at 1.06V; it is running in a lean condition, and this is the cause of the rough idle as well
- They swapped in an Armada air box, and mass air flow voltage came up to 1.21V; the service engine light soon went out, and the truck is running as new for the time being
- If the truck runs lean, eventually it goes into a fail safe mode and runs like it did when I brought it in (lean)
- The chassis sniffer found the left front Rancho shock broken

They said to:

- Swap in the stock airbox and see how the truck runs; if it still runs lean or rough, then the MAF sensor is probably malfunctioning; they will replace it free but only if the stock box is back in
- They have ordered a new front left shock and will install it upon receipt for free
- They could not reproduce the "jump" in the guages
- They fixed a seat belt recall in the back seat

Bottom line, I am upset the K&N is causing the engine problems; if, this is the case. I will find out when I put the stock intake back on. If the Skyjacker kit is causing the breakage of the shocks (struts), that is also a disappointment.
No where in the instructions or description does K&N or Skyjacker say their product may cause these problems, or that a new recalibrated MAF sensor or longer shocks are needed.

Has anyone seen this yet? Have I missed something? I suppose the good thing is that I have a dealership that is friendly to mods and warranties. This may NOT be the case for all though! Thanks for your time.

Chief · Dec 7th, 2004, 10:04 AM

I've noticed gauges jumping once or twice since purchased. Probably normal. Also other vacuum noises, slight thuds (haunted?) Little too much technology going on here, at least more than I'm used to. Hopefully the thud you are hearing could be the bad shock and your worries are over on that one.

As far as the check engine light, I've had that happen after installing aftermarket intakes and guess it would be common. More air equals leaner mixture so it seems to point to the K&N.

GoodLuck!!!!

Chief

jadcock · Dec 7th, 2004, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by micrablue

Bottom line, I am upset the K&N is causing the engine problems; if, this is the case. I will find out when I put the stock intake back on....No where in the instructions or description does K&N or Skyjacker say their product may cause these problems, or that a new recalibrated MAF sensor or longer shocks are needed.

No, of course K&N won't tell you their product has the potential to cause problems, but if their filters were a magic cure with no side effects, they'd be factory-installed in everything. I'd say that in most situations, the K&N filters don't cause any problems, but the possibility exists. It sounds like the filter you have may have fouled the MAF, but it's interesting that it went back to normal after swapping to an Armada airbox (or is the MAF integral to the airbox?). Either way, I'd ditch that K&N filter in a heartbeat. It sounds like your dealer is really working with you well though -- that they'll replace the MAF sensor under warranty as long as you bring it in with the stock airbox. If they'll do that for you, I'd jump on it, and then leave the stock airbox on.

As far as the shocks, get the Rancho part number for the OE shocks from Nissan and then go to Rancho with that part number and find out what the specs are...specifically, what the extended length is. Then, jack up the frame near the broken shock until the wheel lifts off the ground and measure the length of the shock at that point (if possible). At that point, you should be able to determine if the shock is the limiting factor. If not...then I'd say the lift kit didn't break the shock -- that may have been coincidence (but probably not).