# 1995 Altima Mother needs help



## heather2257 (Feb 22, 2007)

My Daughter bought a 1995 Altima GXE last week, when she was driving home from school it stalled and would not restart. 

An hour later it started but died again. 

Towed it to a garage where they have replaced the plugs wires distributor cap and rotor. 

It starts but a sputter to a stall is the only way I can describe the problem. 

The mechanic is suggesting a timing chain problem, 

I have read thru the forum could this problem be the distributor. 

Any advise would be appreciated


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

if your car stalls as you drive it's most probably distributor. 80% chance.

usually you can see oil on distributor cap when you take it off. but since the "mechanic" replaced it I don't think there will be any oil on new cap if you haven't driven it since the cap replacement.

if this is the case and you need to replace your distributor, make sure the place you buy distributor from has at least 1 year warranty. a lot of people buy distributors and they fail after 1 month or 2 months. basically right after warranty is out. maybe other people can say where is the best place to buy it.

was battery light on when you were driving. so if battery light was on and there was slow reduction in rpm and power then it's most likely(90%) alternator.


and I assume the engine wasn't overheated when the first stall happened, right? because sputter to stop start could mean your engine overheated and head gasket is wrapped around pistons. --> engine replacement. but it would require a long time of overheat for that to happen. usually you would notice engine temp went up and weird sounds from the engine which would make you stop and open the hood.


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## heather2257 (Feb 22, 2007)

Thanks for your reply! 

I have not been able to drive the car as it sputters. 

So the distributor would cause the car to sputter and stall? 

Why would he say the timing chain? Could that be the problem or am I being sold a bill of goods? I really have no idea about cars at all. 

No the battery light was not on however my son did say the headlights were Dim?


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## heather2257 (Feb 22, 2007)

My daughter was driving home stopped the car at a friends tried to restart and had trouble getting it started. After about 10 tries it started. She drove about a mile and it stopped again. 

An hour later I went with her and it turned over but would not start. That’s when the tow truck was called. 

I have been to see the mechanic and he started for me it just starts and sputters to a stop.


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## heather2257 (Feb 22, 2007)

I called the dealer she bought the car from they cleaned the engine the day before we picked it up, 

After the cleaning said there was hesitation rough idle is what he said exactly. 

There was water in the plugs that caused it to ride rough and they took an air hose to dry off the plugs? 

I just want to fix the problem not replace all parts on the car. LOL


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

distributor is a frequent problem in nissans because of bad distributor design( I think it's the only cons of nissans, they are reliable and good cars)

could you describe sputter to stop in more detail. does the engine keep turning and just can't start? did the engine stall when your daughter was driving or when she wanted to start up the car and it wouldn't start?

you could take out the battery and have autozone check how much juice there is in there. if the battery is the problem --> replace it. then you will most probably need to replace alternator. I think checkers autostore can check how much ampers and volts alternator is producing.


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

well, good thing you described the problem in more detail.
a dealer should have a warranty.
an aquaintance of mine returned the car after 2 weeks of driving because there was a problem (big problem in the engine)

so you have a son right. you could get a manual 15$ in autozone. or download it (there is link on current threads to it). remove starter and battery.
have autozone check both. now that you described the problem it may also be a starter.

distributor is when you drive a car and engine stalls as you drive.


dead battery means either your battery was bad from start or alternator is bad. if alternator is bad you will have a dead battery again since alternator recharges battery when you drive.


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## heather2257 (Feb 22, 2007)

There is no warranty from the dealer we are on our own, my son is away at school he was home for the weekend only. 

Could be the battery but I do not think so all lights work Radio plays tec. 

So it is your opinion that it is not the distributor? 

Could it be the timing chain?


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

heather2257 said:


> There is no warranty from the dealer we are on our own, my son is away at school he was home for the weekend only.
> 
> Could be the battery but I do not think so all lights work Radio plays tec.
> 
> ...


i very seriously doubt it's timing chain. what is the mileage on the car?
if timing chain is torn your engine wouldn't turn at all. i mean there wouldn't have been an hour later start.

but you need to take out starter and battery and have autozone test them(it's free).
it's either those or distributor. distributor is expensive. test starter and battery first. radio playing does not mean battery
is fully powered. if you have the same mechanic replace starter he would most probably connect it incorrectly --> to hide the real problem.
I think this is what he is gonna do lol. if you can you should do it yourself it's not hard at all. it's just unscrewing things and screwing things back.

edit:
and if you lift your car(when removing starter) don't forget to put on hand break or put bricks around rear tires. or better both. I don't know if you hand break is adjusted or not.


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

my bad. it could be timing chain got loosened and then broke. 
compression needs to be done on cylinders to confirm. I am not an expert in that.
It just sounded weird that altima had a broken timing chain. very rare.
if it was ford, or saturn I wouldn't be surbrised.

even if it's the case people usually check starter, distributor, battery.
timing chain replacement is expensive.


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## heather2257 (Feb 22, 2007)

The mechanic now says its the mass air flow sensor so going to replace that tomorrow.

Its not the battery or starter he has tested both.

I mentioned the distributor however he says there is no oil present.

Has anyone else had the mass air flow sensor replaced to solve the problem.


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## MickeyKnox (Jun 17, 2006)

ask your mechanic to clean maf sensor with maf sensor cleaner first.
sometimes cleaning the sensor is sufficient.


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## KA24Tech (Feb 2, 2004)

It is NOT the timing chain or the MAF. Timing chain will not allow the engine to run and the MAF will not allow the engine to start and idle. 
It is the distributor. What happens is the oil seal inside the ditributor hardens and allows small amounts of oil to enter. This leaking oil interrupts the operation of the crank angle sensor inside causing the car to stall. It will restart after a while because the oil clears from the sensor components. Replacing the distributor will fix the problem.

Troy


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## heather2257 (Feb 22, 2007)

Thanks the car is now starting however the record is 7 minutes!

It then sputters to a stall, and will sart up again and do the same thing.

The mechanic says he has checked the distributor and there is no oil?

Any suggestions?


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## KA24Tech (Feb 2, 2004)

heather2257 said:


> Thanks the car is now starting however the record is 7 minutes!
> 
> It then sputters to a stall, and will sart up again and do the same thing.
> 
> ...


Have your mechanic set the ECU to diagnostic mode, start the car and run the engine until it stalls then check the LEDs on the ECU. If they flash one long flash then one short flash it is the crank angle sensor inside the distributor. Thus requiring a new or reman distributor assembly.

Troy


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## heather2257 (Feb 22, 2007)

Thanks everyone it was the distributor, I insisted and voila it purrs like a kitten!


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## KA24Tech (Feb 2, 2004)

I'm glad the problem is fixed. Let us know if we can assist with anything else.

Troy


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## phill (Oct 22, 2006)

Seem like I am having the same problems you have described. Where did you get your new distributor?


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## heather2257 (Feb 22, 2007)

phill said:


> Seem like I am having the same problems you have described. Where did you get your new distributor?



From Nissan Dealer, good luck!


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