After my 2001 Nissan Sentra (four cylinder) with 85,000 miles is warmed up and driven on the highway (especially uphill) car knocks ? (sounds like marbles hitting together) with loss of acceleration power, almost like car was going to stop with grey/white smoke coming out of the tailpipe at the same time. Here?s what was done recently:
- Valve Cover replaced ? smelling oil ? smoke inside car
- Oil Change.
- Two weeks later problem occurs.
- Added ?Dry Gas.?
- Code reader showed #3 cylinder mis-firing.
- Changed spark plugs.
- Changed #3 coil.
- Added ?Techron? to gas.
After applying #?s 4., 5., and 6. above, there was a slight improvement each time, but the problem still exists, so the following was done:
I. Switched coils #?s 3 and 4. II. Did compression test. III. Checked injectors. IV. Checked radiator for loss of coolant or milky appearance ? negative. V. Checked oil for foaming or contamination ? negative. VI. Smelled exhaust ? smelled normal.
THE PROBLEM STILL REMAINS!! However, car runs normal in neighborhood driving, and no overheating. (Does this rule out a head gasket problem?)
I would like to thank those who responded to my first post on this issue.
Any further suggestions would be appreciated.
Larry