# 1995 Altima GXE hesitating



## Kencapel (Nov 5, 2004)

No auto shop or anybody seems to know the problem why my car keeps hesitating while im driving and sometimes it stops. I wanna keep from taking it to Nissan, so has anybody had or know of this problem so I'll know what to get or do? please help


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## jserrano (Oct 27, 2004)

It could be a few dozen stuff that can cause this. Start by scanning for diagnostic codes and getting a tune-up.


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## L J Walker (Aug 3, 2005)

Kencapel said:


> No auto shop or anybody seems to know the problem why my car keeps hesitating while im driving and sometimes it stops. I wanna keep from taking it to Nissan, so has anybody had or know of this problem so I'll know what to get or do? please help


Be sure to look deep into the interior of the distributor for the presence of motor oil. To get deep enough inside the distributor to see if the distributor shaft seal is passing oil into the distributor requires removing the distributor rotor and the cover plate that is behind the rotor. The rotor has a set screw that secures it in place on the distributor shaft, it takes an 8mm [5/16"] socket to remove the set screw. If you find ANY oil at all inside the interior of the distributor, replace the distributor assembly. This is only one of dozens of defects [as mentioned in another reply to your question] that can cause hesitation, mis-fire, skipping, and/or stalling. The reasons I would look there are: #1. Failure of the distributor shaft oil seal is fairly common on the KA24D engine. #2. When this condition occurs, it does not always register a trouble code in the ECU nor turn on the MIL [check engine] lamp on the dash. #3. When the distributor shaft seal failed and ran oil into the insides of the distributor on my 1995 GXE, the engine ran lousy, bucked and jerked, and would die at a stop. The MIL lamp never lit up and a scan showed "No Codes". Apparently the ECU is programmed to ignore some fluctuations in the data it gets from the Hall Effect disc and light emitter in the distributor. This is the disc inside the distributor that has a great number of small slots in it. On one side of the disc there is a light emitter, on the other side of the disc at the same location is a light receiver. As the disc rotates at distributor speed, [same as camshaft speed] the light passing through the slots is chopped into an even series of "blinks", when the solid portion of the disc covers or obscures the light beam. Under normal conditions this information is fed to the ECU as an RPM signal to allow the ECU to synchronize camshaft RPM to crankshaft RPM. This signal also provides the tachometer display information. When oil gets onto the disc, it can be viscous enough to cover or fill up some of the slots, interupting the light beam at different points of the clock. This in turn results in the data being fed to the ECU being chopped up or irregular. When this occurs, the ECU make adjustments in the timing of the sparks. Since the ECU is programmed to do this anyway, it does not recognize the condition as a defect. Even though this compensation by the ECU causes the engine to run terribly, it still is not always recognized as a defect. Sometimes when this condition is present, the effects caused by it can be bad at start-up of the engine, but diminish or disappear after warm up. This is because warm oil will sling off the disc and the engine may run normally. Don't be fooled, the problem only gets worse and you might reach the point where the engine will not run long enough to get warm or start at all. 
Because the signal from the Hall Effect disc drives the information displayed on the tachometer, ANY CHANGE in this signal can show up as a very rapid "bounce" in the tachometer needle. The actual RPM of the engine is not changing as much as the needle seems to indicate, but the signal to drive the tachometer is changing that rapidly. For this reason, if your tachometer is jumping a lot when the engine is running badly, you may have oil leakage into the distributor.
I know this is a rather lengthy reply, but it includes details to help determine if this could be your trouble.


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## L J Walker (Aug 3, 2005)

L J Walker said:


> Be sure to look deep into the interior of the distributor for the presence of motor oil. To get deep enough inside the distributor to see if the distributor shaft seal is passing oil into the distributor requires removing the distributor rotor and the cover plate that is behind the rotor. The rotor has a set screw that secures it in place on the distributor shaft, it takes an 8mm [5/16"] socket to remove the set screw. If you find ANY oil at all inside the interior of the distributor, replace the distributor assembly. This is only one of dozens of defects [as mentioned in another reply to your question] that can cause hesitation, mis-fire, skipping, and/or stalling. The reasons I would look there are: #1. Failure of the distributor shaft oil seal is fairly common on the KA24D engine. #2. When this condition occurs, it does not always register a trouble code in the ECU nor turn on the MIL [check engine] lamp on the dash. #3. When the distributor shaft seal failed and ran oil into the insides of the distributor on my 1995 GXE, the engine ran lousy, bucked and jerked, and would die at a stop. The MIL lamp never lit up and a scan showed "No Codes". Apparently the ECU is programmed to ignore some fluctuations in the data it gets from the Hall Effect disc and light emitter in the distributor. This is the disc inside the distributor that has a great number of small slots in it. On one side of the disc there is a light emitter, on the other side of the disc at the same location is a light receiver. As the disc rotates at distributor speed, [same as camshaft speed] the light passing through the slots is chopped into an even series of "blinks", when the solid portion of the disc covers or obscures the light beam. Under normal conditions this information is fed to the ECU as an RPM signal to allow the ECU to synchronize camshaft RPM to crankshaft RPM. This signal also provides the tachometer display information. When oil gets onto the disc, it can be viscous enough to cover or fill up some of the slots, interupting the light beam at different points of the clock. This in turn results in the data being fed to the ECU being chopped up or irregular. When this occurs, the ECU make adjustments in the timing of the sparks. Since the ECU is programmed to do this anyway, it does not recognize the condition as a defect. Even though this compensation by the ECU causes the engine to run terribly, it still is not always recognized as a defect. Sometimes when this condition is present, the effects caused by it can be bad at start-up of the engine, but diminish or disappear after warm up. This is because warm oil will sling off the disc and the engine may run normally. Don't be fooled, the problem only gets worse and you might reach the point where the engine will not run long enough to get warm or start at all.
> Because the signal from the Hall Effect disc drives the information displayed on the tachometer, ANY CHANGE in this signal can show up as a very rapid "bounce" in the tachometer needle. The actual RPM of the engine is not changing as much as the needle seems to indicate, but the signal to drive the tachometer is changing that rapidly. For this reason, if your tachometer is jumping a lot when the engine is running badly, you may have oil leakage into the distributor.
> I know this is a rather lengthy reply, but it includes details to help determine if this could be your trouble.


In my first reply to Kencapel, I stated that the data from the Hall Effect disc in the distributor furnishes data so the ECU can synchronize camshaft RPM to Crankshaft RPM as well as furnishing data for the tachometer. The most important thing the ECU does with this data is to adjust the spark timing to be appropriate for whatever RPM the engine is turning at any moment. Any interuptions or changes in this data is considered by the ECU as a change in engine RPM, even if it is a chopped up signal caused by oil on the slotted disc. It is the ECU trying to rapidly compensate for what it believes to be changing engine RPM that causes all the hesitation, jumping, bucking, stalling and such.


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## Kencapel (Nov 5, 2004)

ok..I'll have that checked out...thanx


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## ultimatealtima (Oct 5, 2005)

Kencapel said:


> ok..I'll have that checked out...thanx


in my 94 altima gxe i had the same problem and i couldnt figure out what it is. im got so confused. try the tune up and every time you fill your tank put a bottle of lucas injector cleaner in with the gas. do this for three to five tanks and that should do it. pick up the injector cleaner at any napa, checker etc.........
let me know how that works out. :hal:


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## Kencapel (Nov 5, 2004)

well in the past when i was driving it b4 it done it and i had it running good until my step dad started driving it and fucked it up again for working purposes...during this time i was driving my maxima. So yea its doing it again all cuz of him not taking care of it. Im taking it back for good since its fully paid for and im gonna stop all the problems b4 i throw on my aftermarketz


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## ultimatealtima (Oct 5, 2005)

Kencapel said:


> well in the past when i was driving it b4 it done it and i had it running good until my step dad started driving it and fucked it up again for working purposes...during this time i was driving my maxima. So yea its doing it again all cuz of him not taking care of it. Im taking it back for good since its fully paid for and im gonna stop all the problems b4 i throw on my aftermarketz



thats sounds like a good idea what are you thinking a bout for aftermarkets?
im looking for a good deal on a set of 17s let me know if any on heres any thing


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## Kencapel (Nov 5, 2004)

im getting the ibi bodykit and stillen for full cat, headers, and too many to name, with 19's or 20's....im 4 show and go so yea.


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## Cooperman (May 18, 2005)

If you're stuck for ideas about what it could be, the MAF can start to go bad without popping a code on the ECU. The only real way to test it is with a different MAF. If you think it could be the MAF then try a parts yard for a cheap salvaged MAF.


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