QuestionQUESTION: Hi
I have a nissan altima 1993, someday the car runs perfect, but someday it won't. I don't know exactly where it will die, sometimes it died while driving ,all the lights on the dashboard are lit, and the car won't start right away, have to wait 10-15 mins after then it restart. Sometimes it won't start in the parking lot after i turned it off for 10 mins, then same scenario I have to wait another 10 mins so that it can start. Same problem happened 2 years ago and we changed the distributor, so is there any other reasons why it just won't start, please help me
Thanking you in advance
Richard
ANSWER: Richard,
Sounds like the rebuilt distributor is doing the same thing as the original one. The shaft seal will fail after years of use due to wear and crankcase pressure. Check the distributor for the presence of oil on the optical shutter wheel.
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QUESTION: Hi
Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate your comments. Unfortunately yesterday the car broke down again and that time only , the car won't start, so I have my car towed to a mechanic. We checked the fuel pump and pressure, it was good,remove spark plugs to see if there are sparks coming out, it's good , check if there is oil in the distributor , there is none, but finally the mechanic unscrew the spark plug #1 and put a long screwdriver in it kinda check the timing chain and told me that the screwdriver is going down so this means that the timing chain is broken, now I have to replace the entire engine. Can you please tell me if the mechanic is right or not? Is that the right way to check if timing chain is broken? Now, I need to look for a used engine, not too expensive. Is that the right way to do it ?Please I really need your advice
Thank you
Richard
ANSWER: Richard,
If the chain is broken then it is best to replace the engine. I would go thte wrecking yard route since it is much less expensive than a rebuilt engine. Check on-line and ask your mechanic for sources in your area to get a used engine. greanleaf is a good source on-line.
http://www.everdrive.com/partdetails.aspx?sku=5000835&utm_source=google&utm_medi
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QUESTION: Hi
We changed the engine last week, it has been running perfectly for 1 week, yesterday I went shopping , when I came back after 20 mins , it's back to square 1 , the engine turns but can't start, have tried couple times but in vain, same again I wait for 10 more mins , then the engine starts. What this could it be?, When I drove it home , the engine was stumbled when I pressed on the gas. Please I need your help,
Thank you in advance
Richard
AnswerRichard,
Check for vacuum leaks and to make sure the intake hose has not slipped loose. Any unmetered air will cause problems. Also, ahve the mechanic run the codes for your car to see if any are present. You could do this yourself using the following:
The ECU has a window on one side to view a red LED and a green LED - when checking fault codes, a red flash is worth 10, and a green flash is worth 1. So for example, the code to say that everything is functioning normally would be 5 red flashes and 5 green flashes - the code is 55.
The ECU has 5 modes of operation, for diagnostics codes, it has to be set to mode 3.
1. Make sure the screw next to the viewing window is turned clockwise.
2. Turn the ignition on
3. Both LEDs with flash once, then a pause, then a second time, then a pause, etc. etc. up to 5 times then will repeat the process. After is has flashed 3 times then turn the screw completely anti-clockwise. - this will select mode 3.
4. The LEDs will now flash codes. 55 means that everything is normal. The rest are written below.
5. When finished, turn the screw back to clockwise and the ECU will reset itself automatically.
Don't worry about the '5th cylinder misfire' and '6th cylinder misfire' or anything, the codes are the same for all Nissans.
11 Crank Angle Sensor/Camshaft Position Sensor.
12 Air Flow Meter/Mass Air Flow Sensor.
13 Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor.
14 Vehicle Speed Sensor.
21 Ignition Signal.
22 Fuel Pump.
23 Idle Switch.
24 Throttle Valve Switch.
25 Idle Speed Control Valve.
28 Cooling Fan Circuit.
31 ECM.
32 EGR Function.
33 Heated Oxygen Sensor.
34 Knock Sensor.
35 Exhaust Gas Temperature Sensor.
36 EGR Control-Back Pressure Transducer.
37 Knock Sensor.
38 Right hand bank Closed Loop (B2).
41 Intake Air Temperature Sensor.
42 Fuel Temperature Sensor.
43 Throttle Position Sensor.
45 Injector Leak.
47 Crankshaft Position Sensor.
51 Injector Circuit.
53 Oxygen Sensor.
54 A/T Control.
55 No Malfunction.
63 No. 6 Cylinder Misfire.
64 No. 5 Cylinder Misfire.
65 No. 4 Cylinder Misfire.
66 No. 3 Cylinder Misfire.
67 No. 2 Cylinder Misfire.
68 No. 1 Cylinder Misfire.
71 Random Misfire.
72 TWC Function right hand bank.
73 TWC Function right hand bank.
76 Fuel Injection System Function right hand bank.
77 Rear Heated Oxygen Sensor Circuit.
82 Crankshaft Position Sensor.
84 A/T Diagnosis Communication Line.
85 VTC Solenoid Valve Circuit.
86 Fuel Injection System Function right hand bank.
87 Canister Control Solenoid Valve Circuit.
91 Front Heated Oxygen Sensor Heater Circuit right hand bank.
94 TCC Solenoid Valve.
95 Crankshaft Position Sensor.
98 Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor.
101 Front Heated Oxygen Sensor Heater Circuit right hand bank.
103 Park/Neutral Position Switch Circuit.
105 EGR and EGR Canister Control Solenoid Valve Circuit.
108 Canister Purge Control Valve Circuit
