Nissan Repair: altima puttering, fuel pressure regulator, altima gxe

Question
Hi My 97 altima GXE has been driving weird for the last 6 months.It jerks when Im driving slow and putters. (automatic altima)but seems to be alright at higher speeds. Now heres the thing I had a friend doing some back seat work on the car and put a hole in the gas tank. The hole is about as big as a pencil hole. ( whitch Im getting fix soon).that what I thought is was intill the other day I changed my spark plugs and one of them had alot of oil on them could that be the promblem does that sound right. I need to know what to do thanks very much. Rory

Answer
Rory,

The driving condition sounds like you have a bad injector or that the fuel pressure regulator is bad.  If is sputters at low speed and runs good at higher speeds it is probably running too rich.  Check the fuel pressure to see if it is within range and also make sure no injectors are leaking down.  Fuel pressure should hold after you turn it off.  Get the gas tank fixed soon.  It is dangerous and if the system does not seal it will set a evap code.