[SWmichiganmurano]

Looking quickly at your codes, the problem could be related to the throttle body module going bad or having a bad electrical connection where it won't communicate correctly with the APS. You might want to pull that connector and check the pins/wires for any problems.

Pull the TB connection? I had thought all were related to the APS, but 2123 can result from a bad TB too I see.

 

[Cryogenix1]

Pull the TB connection? I had thought all were related to the APS, but 2123 can result from a bad TB too I see.

I'm just going based on what I've experienced with my 2003, where two throttle bodies failed about five years apart yet never threw any codes showing a problem or the actual failure.

Given the above, I think in your case it's at least possible that the APS can't consistently link to a potentially glitched TB so the system is throwing codes for the APS. Where you car is a 2nd Gen, maybe the codes are triggered differently than in my first-year 1st Gen, meaning now if the APS can't communicate with the TB, some codes are thrown. I could be wrong, but it's at least something to keep in mind.

 

[SWmichiganmurano]

I'm just going based on what I've experienced with my 2003, where two throttle bodies failed about five years apart yet never threw any codes showing a problem or the actual failure.

Given the above, I think in your case it's at least possible that the APS can't consistently link to a potentially glitched TB so the syatem is throwing codes for the APS. I could be wrong, but it's at least something to keep in mind.

I got it apart and not impressed with the previous service. Nonmatching bolts for the engine cover & it looks like the Orig. Nissan/Renault Throttle body has been messed with, the Allen bolts are "used". What TB options do I have, that might be budget friendly & work well? Its a 2nd Project (2009 Acura RDX Turbo) what Online stores offer better than retail auto parts joints? Thanks much for all your help, insight & ability to keep me patient. LOL *The cracked plastic is on the front right side, looks to be where the cover was to bolt to?

 

[Cryogenix1]

58367[/ATTACH]

What the hell... that' looks like a hole in the valve cover. Did something melt it or did a mouse chew into it?

This whole thing looks bad. If you do get the engine running you're going to have a serious oil leak issue and air breather issue. You'd better pull the dipstick to see how much oil is in there. You need to replace that valve cover and see what's going on beneath it before you even attempt to mess with anything else.

Lemon Law...

 

[SWmichiganmurano]

Looks like it cracked off where the engine cover screwed in? Yeah its starting to be a mess. Oil was slightly low.

 

[SWmichiganmurano]

Too me it looks like the TB might have been wrecked if they forced a cleaning, by pulling or forcing it open? The outside looked clean. Or can they be "relearned" procedure? I wonder? The hole looks small enough to JB weld maybe?

 

[Cryogenix1]

Looks like it cracked off where the engine cover screwed in? Yeah its starting to be a mess. Oil was slightly low.

Sure, you could JB weld it to seal the hole, but I would strongly recommend removing the valve cover to make sure there's nothing inside that could harm the camshaft lobes or valves, etc. What if a mouse had nested in there and left behind crap that's being sucked into the valves? The engine will never run correctly. And if something metal like a nut or bolt somehow fell into the hole and is inside the cover, it might bounce around once you start driving and destroy things and possibly cause a camshaft to seize which will throw everything out of whack which might cause the timing chain to break which might cause the engine to seize and cause severe damage everywhere.

If you're not planning to pursue a Lemon Law recovery, I would urge you to protect your investment by being methodical and careful about how you proceed, otherwise you risk destroying the engine and having repair costs exceed the price you paid for the car (or exceed the actual Blue Book value of the car).

You've got a hole in a valve cover that could have something inside that may start a catastrophic series of events if not removed before you possibly get the engine running and take the car for a quick test drive. This isn't a matter of putting new wipers on a busted windshield. You're talking about firing up the engine of an unknown car that appears to have a shady service history. I wouldn't want you to make matters worse by assuming nothing fell into the valve cover. If you can get your hands on an endoscope/snakecam, you could at least take a peek under there to see if there's anything to worry about.

 

[Cryogenix1]

Too me it looks like the TB might have been wrecked if they forced a cleaning, by pulling or forcing it open? The outside looked clean. Or can they be "relearned" procedure? I wonder? The hole looks small enough to JB weld maybe?

Cleaning the TB is a very delicate process that should be done carefully and when the person isn't in a hurry. If you force open the butterfly and tweak it just a smidgen, the engine may never run correctly again with that TB, and that kind of damage I don't believe can be relearned so that the engine will operate normally. The throat and butterfly of your TB look a bit sooty/oily. Don't like seeing those large particles stuck to the butterfly. Hopefully, there's not a cracked head that's allowing oil into places it shouldn't go. Have you checked the coolant in the radiator to make sure it's not contaminated with oil? How do the tailpipes look? Any wetness or caked on oiliness?

I believe I used a Dorman TB in my 2003 around 2015/2016, and it worked great until I had other engine issues in early 2021. I think I paid under $150 for it.

 

[Cryogenix1]

BTW, did you catch this? Looks like the circled area might be a hole in a metal cooling line. The screw above it looks corroded which could be from coolant spraying onto it.
I think it's the metal cooling line that runs along the top-front of the engine, and then a rubber 90-elbow connects to it and goes around the driver-side of the engine where it connects to another metal cooling line. You really need to take your time and slowly look over as much as you can so you know what to repair and in what order.

EDIT: I'm positive it's the metal line that has that rubber elbow on it (outlined in yellow in the below photo) because in your photo that line appears to go inside something on the bottom-left, which looks like the end of a rubber hose. You can refer to the following link which has various pictures of the 2nd Gen engine out of the vehicle. You can click on the pictures to zoom in, etc. It's very helpful in trying to determine how certain things are run. Judging by the online image, your picture is of the grille-side valve cover on the driver's-side corner (#6 cylinder). I can see that corroded screw, bracket arm, the orientation of the ignition coil matches, etc.

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Buy 2009-2014 Nissan Murano FWD/AWD JDM Engine 3.5L VQ35DE 6 Cylinder for only $845.00 at San Antonio JDM Engines!

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[Cryogenix1]

actually under the air filter in the box.

I wonder if the previous owner removed the old filter without actually looking inside the canister box, and slipped in a new filter that concealed the nest. Maybe the old filter actually had a hole in it from where a mouse chomped through from the top. If that's not the case, maybe the rubber air intake boot has a large split or hole underneath (facing the ground or firewall) that allowed the mouse to enter that way. Have you thoroughly inspected the air intake boot? It's also possible since it seems the 2nd Gen has that plastic resonator thing that ties into the air intake boot, that the mouse crawled into the plastic ducting somewhere and made its way through the resonator and into that boot.

EDIT: after seeing pics of the 2nd Gen setup, I doubt the mouse was able to squeeze its way from the valve cover, through the breather hose, through the resonator, into the air intake duct, then into the air canister box. That would be some feat. However, if the air box doesn't have a hole in it, and if the metal snap fasteners are working correctly to hold down the lid, and if the air intake duct isn't torn, and the resonator doesn't have a hole in it... Well, that leaves the broken valve cover as a way for the mouse to have gained entry. It might have even been a mole or a vole, both of which I believe are smaller than a mouse.

 

[Cryogenix1]

Most of the hoses in your pictures look original. The one that I think goes to the heater core looks very cracked and dry and coolant flows through it - unless that's just caked-on dust/grime that's separating. If you can easily pinch coolant hoses and they are soft and collapse under minor force, you're better off replacing them as soon as possible than risking one blowing apart while you're driving and you become stranded or worse.

It does appear that black spray paint may have been used somewhere. Maybe on the old engine cover?

BTW, what's the mileage?

 

[SWmichiganmurano]

I wonder if the previous owner removed the old filter without actually looking inside the canister box, and slipped in a new filter that concealed the nest. Maybe the old filter actually had a hole in it from where a mouse chomped through from the top. If that's not the case, maybe the rubber air intake boot has a large split or hole underneath (facing the ground or firewall) that allowed the mouse to enter that way. Have you thoroughly inspected the air intake boot? It's also possible since it seems the 2nd Gen has that plastic resonator thing that ties into the air intake boot, that the mouse crawled into the plastic ducting somewhere and made its way through the resonator and into that boot.

EDIT: after seeing pics of the 2nd Gen setup, I doubt the mouse was able to squeeze its way from the valve cover, through the breather hose, through the resonator, into the air intake duct, then into the air canister box. That would be some feat. However, if the air box doesn't have a hole in it, and if the metal snap fasteners are working correctly to hold down the lid, and if the air intake duct isn't torn, and the resonator doesn't have a hole in it... Well, that leaves the broken valve cover as a way for the mouse to have gained entry. It might have even been a mole or a vole, both of which I believe are smaller than a mouse.



View attachment 58369

I gave her a good going over, looks like they couldn't get off the engine cover & broke it off, I was surprised to see where the bolt was in these 2nd gens. Anyway looked like a clean break out. I took out the 1st plug & it was fine, although not new, but not circa 2009 ether. The K&N Filter wasn't new, & shook out. The ducting was all in good condition with the clamps looking newer than 2009ish & about finger tight. The #1 Ignitor (?) above the coil pack was new, the rear control arms are new, ice cold AC...I topped off the oil, Im going to try & save her. I saw no evidence of a mouse getting past the filter.

 

[SWmichiganmurano]

Looking quickly at your codes, the problem could be related to the throttle body module going bad or having a bad electrical connection where it won't communicate correctly with the APS. You might want to pull that connector and check the pins/wires for any problems.

They looked fine, with a good connection too.

 

[Cryogenix1]

I saw no evidence of a mouse getting past the filter.

I'm not trying to but heads and make your life hell, but it seems you said two different things about the mouse nest. Where exactly was it located? In the deep, bottom portion of the air breather box, or was it sitting on the top of the filter beneath the cover/lid of the air breather box? I'd just like to know where the mouse was nesting and how it got in. It's possible the air box cover wasn't correctly fastened at one point, and a mouse squeezed into a gap and got under the filter and into the bottom of the box. That makes more sense than having it Andy Defresne its way through that tiny breather hose tunnel.

In any case, I know I'm posting a lot about a lot of things, and I'm going to give it a rest. But in case you missed it, be sure to see if that metal cooling line has a hole in it before you fire up the engine and possibly try to drive the car. And check to see what the coolant looks like.

https://www.nissanmurano.org/posts/787147/

 

[SWmichiganmurano]

I'm not trying to but heads and make your life hell, but it seems you said two different things about the mouse nest. Where exactly was it located? In the deep, bottom portion of the air breather box, or was it sitting on the top of the filter beneath the cover/lid of the air breather box? I'd just like to know where the mouse was nesting and how it got in. It's possible the air box cover wasn't correctly fastened at one point, and a mouse squeezed into a gap and got under the filter and into the bottom of the box. That makes more sense than having it Andy Defresne its way through that tiny breather hose tunnel.

In any case, I know I'm posting a lot about a lot of things, and I'm going to give it a rest. But in case you missed it, be sure to see if that metal cooling line has a hole in it before you fire up the engine and possibly try to drive the car. And check to see what the coolant looks like.

https://www.nissanmurano.org/posts/787147/

The coolant was fine, The mouse got in from the air breather. It couldn't get past the K&N Filter. The fluids are all up to par. Im going to get a Hatachi TB ordered...

 

[SWmichiganmurano]

216k and yes I will further check out those places 1st.

 

[SWmichiganmurano]

I rechecked & the black "holes" are just dirt/grease. No holes and the black spray paint is just grime too. Im now trying to figure out how to remove the TB, the bottom right Allen bolt looks challenging to get any pressure on it. This 2nd gen doesn't seem engineered better than the 1st. The huge air box is crazy.

 

[Cryogenix1]

I rechecked & the black "holes" are just dirt/grease. No holes and the black spray paint is just grime too. I'm now trying to figure out how to remove the TB, the bottom right Allen bolt looks challenging to get any pressure on it.

If you're fortunate enough to have a ball-end Allen wrench, it makes removing those types of bolts/screws much easier, since it goes into the receiving cavity deeper and more securely while allowing you the freedom to angle the tool many ways to get a better position. Looking at the photo you posted, I wonder if the top-right bolt used to be on one of the bottom corners. Looks pretty mangled. If you need to, you can always use an Allen wrench with a pair of pliers/Vice-grips to help give you better force to turn the bolt.

Glad that hole wasn't a hole at all. It looked very Chestburster-made, and I figured that maybe someone had used a pointed screw to try to fasten down that corner of the engine cover, and they accidentally tapped into that cooling line, causing the metal to lift as the screw bore in.

 

[SWmichiganmurano]

Ah yes I do somewhere I do. Im hoping they got it off, cleaned it, and that was the cause of its issues and they are now finger tight! LOL I can dream can't I? How goes your 1st gen? Any hope of saving it?

 

[Cryogenix1]

Given the mileage and numerous original parts involved (big and small) I don't feel it's worth tossing in even a used engine, transfer case and CVT. Too many other things that really should be replaced at this point. It's merely something to look at from time to time. I offered it for sale for $1000 as parts, but everybody kept trying for $700, which is a junkyard buy.

This kind of car has too many things that can go wrong that could really become a money pit very quickly. And once you invest a couple grand into getting it going you're almost stuck throwing more money at the other failing things in order to justify the original investment. IMO, these aren't cars from the 70s and 80s that can be easily and cheaply restored and made to run well for a few hundred bucks (back then)... Far too many electronics and support components to make them cost-effective salvages at this high mileage. If I were a young guy looking to restore a car today, it likely would not be a Nissan Murano.