Terrano 3.0 lack of power

[nuffy29]

I have bought a nissan terrano 3.0 van for shooting and pulling the trailer , Every one seems to rave on how well they go and how much power they have and i feel like mine does not fill the criteria !!

It does go well over 3000 revs but below that it seems to have a lot of lag ?? Any one else have this problem ??
in a hurry you need to thump the hell out of it to change gear and not be in that lag , The turbo kicks in about 2 and you feel a bit of power till 2 and half then if seems to ease of then really go for it above 3 . My car audi a4 tdi gets to 2 and pulls like a train all the way up the revs, this seems to pull ease of then go for it .

Only thing i have done is put a new exhorst on it and new heater plugs, dont think that could effect any thing ?

Is this normal ?? Any one else got one of these to compare to ?? Any ideas welcome

 

[solarman216]

Do not know a lot about the 3 but your description indicates either turbo fail or fuel starvation, so first off change the fuel filter, not sure if these have a mini filter on the pump but if so could also be your problem, plenty of stuff on here about the mini filter, Rick

 

[AlexD333]

Firebobby should be able to give you characteristics of the truck, he has a 3.0 :thumb2

 

[firebobby]

I have a 3.0 and it pulls like a train right through all rev ranges.

 

[rayf3262]

It does go well over 3000 revs but below that it seems to have a lot of lag ?? Any one else have this problem ??
in a hurry you need to thump the hell out of it to change gear and not be in that lag , The turbo kicks in about 2 and you feel a bit of power till 2 and half then if seems to ease of then really go for it above 3 . My car audi a4 tdi gets to 2 and pulls like a train all the way up the revs, this seems to pull ease of then go for it .


Is this normal ?? Any one else got one of these to compare to ?? Any ideas welcome

Sounds very much like you have a defective mass airflow sensor (MAF).
Check the output from the MAF as per the manual with a DVM.

Or, as a simple check, unplug it, if there is no significant change in performance, then probably the MAF is the faulty.

If you replace it, DO NOT buy a Chinese copy, or it will be a lottery at best!

 

[exosteve]

Does the turbo kick in with every gear?
There is a switch located on the top of your gearbox.
If that's knackered you will get loss of power so that the engine doesn't get damaged.
Costs about 60 for the switch so find out for sure first

 

[nuffy29]

Right thats great some thing to go on is that !! Mass airflow sensor sounds like a good call , i will unplug that tonight and see if its the same or not , as for the turbo kicking in all the gears it does kick in , It has whistle to so you no its in , ever since we changed the exhorst it has gained a whistle think i read on here that a cheap down pipe will of coursed the whistle

Thanks for all your help

 

[AlexD333]

Right thats great some thing to go on is that !! Mass airflow sensor sounds like a good call , i will unplug that tonight and see if its the same or not , as for the turbo kicking in all the gears it does kick in , It has whistle to so you no its in , ever since we changed the exhorst it has gained a whistle think i read on here that a cheap down pipe will of coursed the whistle

Thanks for all your help

Yep, everyone with a 3.0 says this, as soon as the exhaust is changed this whistle appears :thumb2

 

[firebobby]

Yep, everyone with a 3.0 says this, as soon as the exhaust is changed this whistle appears :thumb2

Except me :lol
I have a new system fitted and the turbo is no loader than before.:thumbs

 

[AlexD333]

Except me :lol
I have a new system fitted and the turbo is no loader than before.:thumbs

same make of pipe perhaps? :nenau

 

[firebobby]

same make of pipe perhaps? :nenau

The one I removed was a Nissan system, the one that I fitted was a pattern system, can't remember the make though.

 

[Barrbeast]

Me neither. Always had a wee whistle but it's not been any different since I replaced the middle section of exhaust. The one I took off was Nissan but the replacement wasn't.

 

[micktheshed]

I have a 3.0 and it pulls like a train right through all rev ranges.

Agreed, floor the throttle & it's red mist time with black tyre marks (though mine's an auto).

Sounds like it's the MAF, but worth changing the fuel filter anyway. Might just possibly be the AGR valve starting to play up but I would expect more symptoms eg. miss-firing, flat-spots etc.

It will be interesting to know the cause when you find it.

 

[nuffy29]

Well tonight i have pulled the maf sensor of and it goes rubbish now lol, so its clearly not that !! When i changed the heater plugs i took the intercoler of and I had to un plug the boost sensor , even with that un plugged it still goes the same is that normal ?? Or have i just found my fault ? Still has a flat spot between 2 and 3 on the rev counter , I dont think it can be the fuel filter because it goes well when you thumo it above 3 k on the revs < its just the lag thats a killer, Any more ideas ??? I am getting tempted to get a plug in chip if i cant get it to run any better, and its only doing 25 mpg on a good long trip to !! A chip might be the way forward ???

Any more ideas welcome

 

[rayf3262]

Well tonight i have pulled the maf sensor of and it goes rubbish now lol, so its clearly not that !! When i changed the heater plugs i took the intercoler of and I had to un plug the boost sensor , even with that un plugged it still goes the same is that normal ?? Or have i just found my fault ? Still has a flat spot between 2 and 3 on the rev counter , I dont think it can be the fuel filter because it goes well when you thumo it above 3 k on the revs < its just the lag thats a killer, Any more ideas ??? I am getting tempted to get a plug in chip if i cant get it to run any better, and its only doing 25 mpg on a good long trip to !! A chip might be the way forward ???

Any more ideas welcome

You have proven that the MAF is not completely goosed.

The MAF plays a strategic part in the initial fueling from above idle to around 2800 rpm, thats why it goes properly when you hit 3K.
Above 3K rpm the MAF signal is pretty much ignored as there is more air going in than it can hope to measure so the ECU provides full fueling at this point.
You should connect a DVM to the MAF output and check the output voltage. It should be around 1.8~2V at idle and rise reasonably linearly to ~4.5V at around 2600~2800 RPM.

You could also try cleaning it with carb cleaner or PCB cleaner, it could be full of crud. (But do not poke anything in it!)

Do also check the air filter, and the associated pipework for leaks, as if there is any possibility of air being pulled in after the MAF that would have a similar effect.

The boost sensor does nothing useful in normal operation, it is an over-boost sensor and the ECU will switch to a safe map if the boost pressure goes much over 17~18 PSI.

 

[nuffy29]

I dont think i explained that last msg well, when i unplugged the maf sensor and went down the road it was worse than before it did not go well at all, with it pluged in it went better but still not as i would expect

Thanks for the help , I will check the voltage today and see what its saying

 

[rayf3262]

I dont think i explained that last msg well, when i unplugged the maf sensor and went down the road it was worse than before it did not go well at all, with it pluged in it went better but still not as i would expect

Thanks for the help , I will check the voltage today and see what its saying

I didn't misunderstand you, your MAF is certainly doing something, but possibly not what it is supposed to, as I said, all you have proven that it's not completely goosed.

A build up of dirt or contaminants will desensitise the MAF to the real airflow, this means you wind up giving the throttle a lot more stomp to get enough airflow which results in the ECU then providing the required fueling. Or in your case once you get to 3K RPM the ECU says to hell with what the MAF says, time to open taps....
The net result of this condition is poor initial torque, flat spot in low to mid RPM, sudden turbo spool up and rubbish fuel consumption.

These MAF's are supposed to be self cleaning, but it is not a perfect process as dirt ends up being baked on. You may have some degree of success cleaning it, but it could be beyond that.

When you are checking your MAF output you may find this helpful, this was taken from my ZD30 taken a couple of years ago:

The thin blue line is MAF o/p voltage and the thicker one is engine RPM. Note how the MAF o/p flattens off over 3K RPM.
The area you are most interested in is the range between 1200 - 2500 RPM.

Anyhow if this all checks out, then start looking at other areas such as EGR valve stuck, it's probably worth removing it anyway, and cleaning out the large amount of black crud that will almost certainly be there.

 

[nuffy29]

right thats great gives me some thing work on, Thankyou and i will keep you posted with the progress

 

[johnb5177]

I have a 3.0 and it pulls like a train right through all rev ranges.

I have the same truck 3.0sve as above.......a road rocket.....actually had one those back in the day.......

 

[nuffy29]

Right tonight i have been for a go in some one else 3.0 lt van just like mine, and theirs flys compared to mine, so deffo some thing a miss I am of to change the air filter, fuel filter and try a maf sensor , or i will test it first with the multi meeter then most likely get one