# Distributor leaking oil - faulty O Ring. diagnosis required



## sentra_guy (Jul 22, 2004)

Hi, I have a 95 Nissan Sentra that I'm having problems starting. It cranks for a long time before finally starting. Once it starts, it runs fine. If I start it within a couple of hours it doesn't have any problems but if I start it after say 5-6 hours.. it cranks forever before finally starting. 

I think it is due to oil leaking out of the distributor which corroded the distributor cap. My mechanic suggested getting a new distributor cap and spark plug wires to solve the problem temporarily. Does this make sense?  

I was wondering if replacing the distributor O ring will fix the problem for good. The understanding I have so far is that there are two rings - one is a mounting ring that can be easily replaced and another is an 'o' ring somewhere inside the distributor which is not easy to replace. Is there a way I can fix this without buying a new distributor? 

I appreciate your patience in going through this!


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## EvilPotato (Sep 6, 2005)

what's the condition of the battery? my car is the same way, in the morning it cranks for 3 seconds before turning over but not after driving it for 10 minutes or so. i borrowed the battery from my pop's truck one morning and started it with that and it was fine.


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## sentra_guy (Jul 22, 2004)

Hey Thanks for replying. 

My car has the same symptoms. Its hard to get it started in the morning. I have to go and keep starting my car every 3 hours to ensure it will start easily the next time. 

I think it may be the battery after all. The terminals were corroded and I cleaned them up a couple of days ago, but the problem persists. I'll have an electrical test done on the battery. 

The battery is about 2 years old and I think it might be my leaky distributor that drains my batteries (I know nothing about cars and am just repeating what someone else said!)

Thanks!


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## Recian (Sep 30, 2008)

my B14 has that problem. i thought it was the timing chain. ive replaced that (it needed it anyway) that wasnt it. the o-ring on the distributor is a nissan problem on 95-98 alti/sent no that wont cause it that oring only keeps oil from the cams from leaking out of the head nothing more. the long crank time i think is due to insufficient CCA of the battery that nissan designates for this car (425cca) i think a 475 or 500cca battery will fix it.. that's what im gona try for my car next


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## Jopet (Aug 10, 2009)

Hi, I recently had to open up my distributor to re-screw the rotor once again. to my surprise the cap had oil in it and black powder. the stuff was all over the rotor as well. I have not have major issues with starting not engine ceasing (except for the rotor screw that keeps falling off). I cleaned it up as much as I can and re-installed everything. The car runs fine. 
I have searched but it seems that nobody has posted how to fix the oil leak problem. Does anyone have a fix? One thread says its the o-ring. I replace my distriubor about 6 months ago. The o-ring on the base of the distributor was loose. should this be snug? or does it get seated when installed? 
And what's the black powder in the distributor? Is it carbon? I have been playing around with the timing. Could this be the reason for the buildup?
Thanks


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