# R32 GTR Severe Misfire



## protoman (Jun 6, 2009)

This is a cross-post from the Gaijin Drift forums. I just wanted to get some more expert advice before I start spending gobs of money.

So my poor GTR is starting to sputter and stall at random times. Usually I will start to notice the engine start hesitating, then what seems like a missfire in one cylinder that progresses to two, then three, then the entire engine starts to run like crap. I also found that I could drive through whatever this is. By that I mean that if I keep the RPMs up above 2,000 for a few minutes, it will sometimes drive like normal again. There have been about three times where this same kind of thing (but much less severe and no stalling) happened. Each of those times I would pull the cover off the spark plugs to find that some of the plugs were loose. After tightening them down, I would have have the problem for months. I tried the same trick today and the car started acting up again in a matter of minutes. I checked for missfires by pulling the coil pack plug on each cylinder while the car was running and found that cylinders 3 and 4 being pulled had no change on the idle. A mechanic friend of mine said that it might be the fuel pump or fuel filter while another mechanic said it was probably not the filter or pump. I rather agree with it being the filter since when the car is acting up I can rev the engine to over 3,000 and it's smooth again. Drop below 3,000 though, and it runs like only 2 or 3 cylinders are firing. As a final note, I do smell a lot of raw gas coming out the tailpipe when it starts to sputter. Any ideas?

1. I am running Greddy sports plugs (not sure what model though) - edit: changed them over to NGK Iridium plugs yesterday with no improvement.
2. The plugs have been pulled out 4 times since being installed and the crush washer has not been replaced at any point. Makes me wonder if the crush washer is to blame for some of this.
3. Every time the plugs have been pulled was because of a misfire or hesitation. The first time was after the car wasn't getting driven much for 4 months last winter. When I got back the car was misfiring on multiple cylinders and it was discovered that the plugs had come loose. Since then the plugs have come loose 2 times. The time before last I found out that the plugs were gaped wrong by about .0125". I regaped and the last time I pulled the plugs they looked really good.
4. I am using Splitfire coil packs that were put in before I got the car almost two years ago.
5. The fuel filter and pump have not been changed since I have owned it.
6. I know the MAF sensors are good as the voltages are where they should be and I re-soldered the connections last year.


As a side question, is it dangerous to the engine to run it while it is only firing on a few cylinders? I kinda thought that the insane amount of shaking that goes on would hurt the engine.

Any advice is appreciated!!


----------



## MIKEGTR (Jul 8, 2005)

Splitfire coil packs are renowned for being unreliable - best bet is to find someone who has some you can quickly swap and I would say do the same with the ignition amplifier - may also be worth checking the grounding points as R32's aren't known for there reliance on this point either.

Def sounds like spark issues, but could be timing, check all your marks line up (check if belt has slipped a tooth), also check to see if any boost pipes off as this would make it run like a dog and would most definately foul the plugs


----------



## protoman (Jun 6, 2009)

Thanks for the info Mike. I'll definitely check those out in the morning. Stupid garage door is jammed and it's 1 in the morning here. Don't want to wake up the entire neighborhood. I noticed that the ignition wires looked really old and it struck me as odd since I thought the Splitfire packs came with new ignition wires. Someone mentioned to me that I should re-wrap the ignition wires just in case. What doesn't make sense to me is that if it is an electrical issue, why am I able to clear it up for a bit just by revving past 3-4k? Please don't take that as being argumentative, I'm just curious how all this works together.


----------



## MIKEGTR (Jul 8, 2005)

I suspect its unburnt fuel in the chamber and once you get to a certain RPM it will clear it - but its not worth speculating any further until you can rule out the simple and then the probable causes


----------



## protoman (Jun 6, 2009)

Thanks for clearing that up! When you mentioned checking the ground points, do you mean the one at the back of the coil pack and the one on the back of the amp?


----------



## MIKEGTR (Jul 8, 2005)

I'd check all your grounding points throughout the car, you can buy specific ground kits for the 32 on ebay, I dont know how good they are tbh.

I'd just check for lose or broken wires


----------



## Initial F (Jun 21, 2009)

My R32 GT-R has the exact same issues as you described.

I have replaced MAFs, plugs, coil pack harness and a few other things without any luck. I was also running Splitfire's, I tried a set of known working stock coil packs and the car was running fine that day while testing, but then again the issues occurred pretty random.
Received a set of new coil packs yesterday, these will go in the car once I finish replacing the rocker cover gaskets and few other things.

I'll let you know if it was the coil packs after all (sure hope so! )

Thanks Mike for pointing out the possible bad ground issue, haven't looked into that so far.


----------



## protoman (Jun 6, 2009)

Initial, what brand of coil packs did you get?


----------



## Initial F (Jun 21, 2009)

protoman said:


> Initial, what brand of coil packs did you get?


I got a set of Yellow Jackets from Performance Wise through eBay:

YELLOW JACKETS COIL PACKS SKYLINE R32 R33 GTR GTST -NEW on eBay (end time 31-Aug-10 06:57:36 BST).


----------



## jai.vikram (Apr 20, 2006)

It might be some problem with the spark plug wire(s). (Must've worn out) :nervous:


----------



## protoman (Jun 6, 2009)

I just got done disconnecting the coil packs and cleaning everything with parts cleaner. It seems to be running smooth right now, though it has played the waiting game before. 

I think you may be right Jai as my wires look like they have never been changed out. I will definitely ask the mechanic to get a price for a new set. Thanks for the advice!


----------



## old_s13 (Apr 6, 2009)

yeah it sounds ignition related

check your wiring to see if your contacts are clean and secure....


----------



## protoman (Jun 6, 2009)

Well, after cleaning everything she's still running without any misfires. Crossing my fingers that it stays that way!


----------



## tyndago (Oct 24, 2002)

When was the last time you replaced the ignitor harness? They get corroded internally.

Also do you have the contacts in the splitfire coils? The part internal to the boot, that contacts the top of the plug. I have seen the spring/contact be missing.


----------



## protoman (Jun 6, 2009)

To the best of my knowledge none of the harnesses have ever been replaced. I did check the coils to make sure that the strings were in there and everything looked good and clean. I'll ask the mechanic how much he can get a new ignitor harness for. Thanks for the idea!


----------



## tyndago (Oct 24, 2002)

protoman said:


> To the best of my knowledge none of the harnesses have ever been replaced. I did check the coils to make sure that the strings were in there and everything looked good and clean. I'll ask the mechanic how much he can get a new ignitor harness for. Thanks for the idea!


I have had some odd issues with big power cars and it ended up being the harness. The connectors cook, the wires cook, everything gets crispy. 










Hard to see, but there is a lot of corrosion here.


----------



## protoman (Jun 6, 2009)

Wow, I never thought it would get that bad in there. Hopefully my new harness will arrive soon =)


----------



## tyndago (Oct 24, 2002)

protoman said:


> Wow, I never thought it would get that bad in there. Hopefully my new harness will arrive soon =)


I find that the connectors, both corrode, and they get cooked enough to actually break, and rattle around. 

If you grab the wires, you just feel how stiff and cooked they get. 

I had thought about making a more robust harness, but I never really took enough time to look into the harness connectors.


----------

