Ok guys here is my little bit of input. I am having same problem. Idles fine, runs fine after 1st gear. Sputters from start occassionally backfiring. Changes plugs/wires/seafoamed intake etc within 1k miles. Still same. Now here is the kicker...a local fellow who has the code reader plugged it in one fine day and got code (I failed to write it down). The truck was "telling itself" (this is how he described it to me) that it was doing over 100mpg (at a standstill) and that the engine temp was -39 degrees F. He believed that the ECU might be having trouble. I figured that was a reasonable explanation as the truck won't do 100mph unless airdropped.

Since then (about a month ago) I have not had time to research further and drive the truck daily. Same sputtering/coughing but I just roll throught it for now. If in fact the ECU is acting up...maybe we are all having a similar issue? I am unsure how to check the MAF thingy and the local mechanic did not mention a code for that...

Thoughts?

 

There is a air temp sensor either in the airbox or somewhere near the MAF. Maybe that is bad or really dirty.
Look for that and tryunpluging it and see what happens. It tells the ECUwhat the air temp is so it can adjust the fuel/air ratio.
Maybe that is the culprit.

 

Still racking my brains over this one. I dont think its injectors causing the issue for me, as it smells like its "over" fueling more than anything. unfortunately, I think mine does not even have an OBD port as it was not required in the UK in "95". [:@]

 

Here in the US OBDII wasnt required until '96, but '95's have a OBDI port and a diognostic LED under the hood.
http://www.troublecodes.net/landrvr/
I do not know if this is for th NAS or world wide.
If you are over fueling I would look into the O2 sensors.

 

Mine seems to be "overfueling" too; more than anything else. At least the black soot on the tailpipe and the smell lead me in that direction. I replaced the O2 sensors though - so I don't think they are the blame. I still have misfire codes though - and have read that when the CEL is on, the engine will run rich. Is that correct? None of the hillbillys here will reset the codes for me. THey aren't "allowed" to. If I rent a scanner, could I do it myself? Anyone know how?

Ive ordered the VSS and TPS as well. Not that I like just tossing cash around, but I am definitely experiencing fuel cut issues at speed, very similar to that of a faulty VSS.

I am also pretty sure at 106K I need to yank these cats. They smell somewhat, and are probably near gone if not already.

I WILL figure this out and as soon as I do, I'll post the cure.

Justin

 

Mis fires will cause it ot run rich, NOT the CEL. A mis fire means that the spark plug(s) are only workingpart of the time. When they dont fire on a compression stroke all of that gas that was dumped into the cylinder is just wasted, it doesnt burn and gets dumped into the exhaust, it then overheats the cats and burns them out.
If you just get rid of your cats you will never get good MPG. If you replace them with new then that is a different story.
Fix yourmis fires and your MPG will improve alot.
To get them to reset the CEL, tell them that I was here last week and got the codes read, I fixed the problem and now I need the light turned off.
I had the same problem, I pitched a bitch,"How in the hell can I fix my own car with your parts if you wont turn the damn light off after I fix it? I'll just start buying my parts else where."
They shut the light off.

 

Thanks Spike - I knew the rich mixture was attributed to the misfire. I had heard the CEL being on kept the ECU in limp or some crazy stuff... figured I'd ask. Should have kept the questions seperate.

When I said yank the cats, I meant replace. Sorry I speak out of context a LOT! Ive been looking for a shop to just weld in a set of replacements but by the time I pay for the cats and the fab work I could have just bought OEM replacements for 350 and be done with it!

I'll try that at Autozone or something. Last time I was there I argued with the guy because he told me the codes would go away when the problem was fixed.

Justin

 

The CEL only re-sets its self on some cars, not all. Ususally the newer cars. Our simple GEMS are not smart enough to reset after being fixed.

 

Thanks to the KICKASS service at Atlantic British, I'm headed out to the garage to replace the VSS that came in today. Will let you guys know of any improvements.

Side note, I flushed the tranny, transfer case, and diffs yesterday and added synthetic. Drives like a dream! Hada local shop do it for just over 300 bucks. Little pricy, but my 350z is in the garage broken at the moment...

Justin

 

VSS replaced. Hesitation remains. Hasn't done the abrupt fuel cut business on the highway, so maybe that's fixed.

I've noticed that if I mash the throttle (like, push the pedal to the floor) it will clear right up and run normal. Most of these hesitation issues are at partial/light throttle. So... What goes on at full throttle that doesn't at partial? Or what goes on at partial throttle that doesn't at full? Seems as if it's a voltage/spark type hesitation. Battery checks good, alternator checks good. Grounds are solid. I get no TPS codes in the ECU, but it acts like it's confused unless the throttle is wide open... I suppose at this point it couldn't hurt to replace the TPS too?

I did pull injector plugs one at a time and coldn't really tell if there was any change while driving.

Coils?

Justin