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Followup To
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Before running off to spend the money I took off the cap, took off the rotor and the plastic cover over what I thought was the sensor and round thin disk and found no oil, completely dry. Is this where the oil should have been?
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Followup To
Question -
My 95 Altima with 125000 miles occasionally, like it has a mind of its own, will idle rough, idle speed fluctuates between almost stalling and running normally. It also hesitates on acceleration and acts like it is either not getting the right mix or not running on all cylinders. Again, this only happens when warmed up and not all the time. I have done all the normal tune-up stuff. Occasionally the check engine light comes on but not always.
Answer -
John,
Change the distributor. There is oil on the pickup as the internal seal has blown and oil is migrating into the optics under the cover inside the distributor. It is under the cover so you would have to take the cap, rotor and rotor post off to get to the two cover screws. I would just change the distributor as that is the common problem with the age and number of miles.
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John,
That is awsome that there is no oil inside the distributor with the age of the car and the number of miles. So, back to the basics. If you have not done it yet pull the plugs and inspect them to see if any are really black in relation to the other plugs. If one is really black you have a stuck fuel injector. Other things that can cause the rough running problem are a dirty fuel filter and a defective fuel pressure regulator. Check the pressure of your car with a fuel pressure gauge and see if it s in normal range. If you unplug the vacuum hose to the regulator the pressure should jump up about 10 to 15 PSI. Also, turn the engine off and see if the pressure drops off really fast. This would indicate a injector that is stuck open causing an over rich condition that would cause the engine to run rough. Also, you did not say if the car was getting really bad mileage. And, look at the back of the car and you should find black soot around the bumper by the exhaust pipe if an injector is stuck or the fuel pressure regulator is stuck.
Have already replaced the filter. Gas mileage doesn't seem much different but not sure. Don't notice any real black soot. Would a bad fuel pressure regulator or fuel injector cause the car to only run rough occasionally and not all the time?
AnswerJohn,
My 350Z had the same kind of probley you are describing and it turned out to be two defective injectors and a bad fuel pump. Now, the pump thres trash into the lines and it plugged up two injectors. So, first it was the injectors and a week later is was a new pump and regulator. So, yes it could be the cause of your problem.
