# Good Ol' Stanza. Help Me Bring Her Back. Full Story Within



## Smittyman (Oct 4, 2009)

1991 Nissan Stanza GXE - 241,000 miles.

This Stanza was my first car. I drove this thing everywhere, with minimal problems. Head Gasket repair at 220,000 miles. Drove fine since. Around 230,000 started having leaking fuel injectors. Drove with the leaking fuel injectors for a while. Then one of the plugs started to foul out - put a defouler on. Gave it a rough idle but it drove fine. Then on the way to school one day (last miles) all of a sudden while driving it ran extremely rough for about 5 seconds and died. I rolled into a driveway and had it towed home. She cranks just fine, but doesn't catch. Seems like it really really wants to start, but never does. My friends and I thought that it was the fuel injectors that went - so we replaced them. And spark plugs and spark plug wires. Sounding a lot better, but same thing. Cranks, but never catches. I got another car since then. I kept the good ol' Stanza with the hopes of bringing her back but never got around to it. Now, new car is having issues. And I need some transportation. I want to bring the Stanza back to life and drive her... but not sure where to start. If you guys can give some ideas or pointers, that'd be great. Thanks in advance!!!


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## Stanza~Steve (Sep 26, 2008)

Smittyman said:


> 1991 Nissan Stanza GXE - 241,000 miles.
> 
> This Stanza was my first car. I drove this thing everywhere, with minimal problems. Head Gasket repair at 220,000 miles. Drove fine since. Around 230,000 started having leaking fuel injectors. Drove with the leaking fuel injectors for a while. Then one of the plugs started to foul out - put a defouler on. Gave it a rough idle but it drove fine. Then on the way to school one day (last miles) all of a sudden while driving it ran extremely rough for about 5 seconds and died. I rolled into a driveway and had it towed home. She cranks just fine, but doesn't catch. Seems like it really really wants to start, but never does. My friends and I thought that it was the fuel injectors that went - so we replaced them. And spark plugs and spark plug wires. Sounding a lot better, but same thing. Cranks, but never catches. I got another car since then. I kept the good ol' Stanza with the hopes of bringing her back but never got around to it. Now, new car is having issues. And I need some transportation. I want to bring the Stanza back to life and drive her... but not sure where to start. If you guys can give some ideas or pointers, that'd be great. Thanks in advance!!!


with that many miles it sounds like your having head problems or piston rings. or you might have even lost another head gasket. do a compression test first off. if you got compression check your distributor. or even do a fuel pump test. you might have even lost your timing on it.


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## Smittyman (Oct 4, 2009)

Today, she started. 
We were checking to see if the pins were burned in the distributor. While removing the distributor cap, a small bolt came out. Turns out that the small bolt is what connects to the shaft allowing the distributor to spin. So, in a nutshell my Stanza sat in the backyard because of one bolt. Pisses me off, but... I'm happy she's running. Now... I'm just trying to get her running back to 100%. Gotta remember - that's a year old oil, gas, everything. It has a rough idle, sluggish, and tries to die if not on gas. 

What I've done;
-Put the damn screw back in
-Replaced spark plugs
-Added oil back in
-Put a 1/3 can of Seafoam in oil to loosen things up
-Added a moisture be-gone to gas tank
-Replaced oil cap that shattered (brittle)

I did some talking to the guys at the local Advanced. Sounds like the Fuel Filter. Going to replace that next - along with some new gas. The filter is only $10, so that's doable. I'll keep posted.

I just wanted to thank you guys on here. You brought my Stanza back to life.


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## Stanza~Steve (Sep 26, 2008)

Smittyman said:


> Today, she started.
> We were checking to see if the pins were burned in the distributor. While removing the distributor cap, a small bolt came out. Turns out that the small bolt is what connects to the shaft allowing the distributor to spin. So, in a nutshell my Stanza sat in the backyard because of one bolt. Pisses me off, but... I'm happy she's running. Now... I'm just trying to get her running back to 100%. Gotta remember - that's a year old oil, gas, everything. It has a rough idle, sluggish, and tries to die if not on gas.
> 
> What I've done;
> ...


haha damn dude, aint that a kick in the ass! owell, it happens to us all at one time or another. i was working on a 03 police stage 3 crown vic, and it was misfiring on cylinder #5.. well after replacing the injector, the spark plug, the coil pack and redoing some of the computer configuration bullsh!t.. i found out i wasnt on cylinder number 5.. i was on cylinder number 6.. i felt like a big dumbshit for that. well replaced the spark plug and coil pack on the real number 5 (i wasnt even gonna dare doing another injector again) the car ran like a raped ape. then 3 weeks water i did some spark plugs on it, and i swear to god, there aint a damn thing out there, stock, that would out run this aside from a high performace sports car..:lame:

but yeah, keep us updated on what you do to your car. im hoping to get my stanza back from my little brother someday after he buys his own vehicle and putting some badass rims that i jacked off a old 80's celica supra


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## nano49 (Oct 6, 2009)

Smittyman: I have a 92 stanza that as of this morning has 347,682 miles on it and still going strong...........One thing I highly recomend for you to do after you replace your fuel filter, get fuel injector cleaner and use it once a month and make it a habit, I have tried almost all brands out there and the best one by far is "lucas fuel injector cleaner" sold at most autoparts stores and even walmart. Also since you have 241,000 miles on your vehicle you need a thicker/more viscosity oil other than the regular 20/50 or 5/30 I also use "lucas oil stabilizer" since I live in Florida where is always hot, I use 2qt of 20w/50 oil and 2qt of lucas oil and my ride purrs like a kitten, if you live in cold weather just do 3qt of 20w/50 oil and 1qt of lucas oil. try'em out and you'll notice the difference


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## nano49 (Oct 6, 2009)

My Baby!!! "THE BLACK BASTARD"


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## Smittyman (Oct 4, 2009)

Thanks for replying guys! :thumbup:

Well... replaced the fuel filter. Still running rough and seems to be missing. Has a rough idle, and close to dying. But when driving it you can tell it's not all there and doesn't have the power. Checked the spark plugs (which have been in less than 24 hours. I drove about 30 miles) and the outer two cylinders still looked new. And the inner two spark plugs were pretty crudded up already. This happened before, and we put a defouler on the plug that was fouling. But that was years ago and we took the defouler off. Any clues on what this could be? Should I try the defouler again?


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## Smittyman (Oct 4, 2009)

Also- 

Stanza Steve I hope you get yours back! Got some pics of her? 

nano49 that is incredible! I hope mine gets to rolling around that far. Kudos my friend. Not a bad looking ride either. 

I am glad there are some Stanza people on here. Doesn't seem like there are very many :-(


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## Smittyman (Oct 4, 2009)

Replying once again!

Before when the Stanza was running it had an exhaust leak. Just kinda an extra spuddering sound. No biggie. But when she first started a couple days ago, it was a lot louder. So more of an exhaust leak I guess. Sounds like the tailpipe ends right in the middle of the car. This didn't bother the driving when it was running before... but since it is worse... could this be causing what seems to be a miss? 

The car has been driven to hell and back, then sat for a year immobile. Has a lot of little quirks to it.


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## nano49 (Oct 6, 2009)

Smittyman said:


> Thanks for replying guys! :thumbup:
> 
> Well... replaced the fuel filter. Still running rough and seems to be missing. Has a rough idle, and close to dying. But when driving it you can tell it's not all there and doesn't have the power. Checked the spark plugs (which have been in less than 24 hours. I drove about 30 miles) and the outer two cylinders still looked new. And the inner two spark plugs were pretty crudded up already. This happened before, and we put a defouler on the plug that was fouling. But that was years ago and we took the defouler off. Any clues on what this could be? Should I try the defouler again?


Smitty, few months back my car was doing similar to yours but with only cylinder missing, I found out it was 2 things, one my fuel presure regulator and a vaccum hose, maybe later today I'll take a pic of the vaccum hose location and post it here, also the FPR sensor I got it from another stanza at the junk yard for $3.00 instead of the $116 autozone wanted for it


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## nano49 (Oct 6, 2009)

Smittyman said:


> Replying once again!
> 
> Before when the Stanza was running it had an exhaust leak. Just kinda an extra spuddering sound. No biggie. But when she first started a couple days ago, it was a lot louder. So more of an exhaust leak I guess. Sounds like the tailpipe ends right in the middle of the car. This didn't bother the driving when it was running before... but since it is worse... could this be causing what seems to be a miss?
> 
> The car has been driven to hell and back, then sat for a year immobile. Has a lot of little quirks to it.


Check the nuts on the manifold and the catalytic converter they might be loose and also check you flex pipe (flexi part pipe between the maniflod and the converter) that might be leaking too


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## Smittyman (Oct 4, 2009)

It is acting like a vacuum hose. I've looked though...  I'll look again. I don't know. And the exhaust leak is somewhat amusing how loud it is. Lol. But that's just me :crazy: Sounds like a go-cart.


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## nano49 (Oct 6, 2009)

Smitty check the hoses around this one but pay close attention to this one (see pic) I had a small hole at the bottom had to replace it and car ran fine.....









As far as the exaust leak, yeah mine sounded like a go cart and it was fun, makes it a bit cooler to drive, just wait until it rains and you have to close all your windows while driving......you'll smell it then, you'll also improve horse power and gas milage maybe you are loosing compression thru there, wether it needs it or not always check your manifold nuts......they come loose with time and compression escapes thru there, size 13 socket for manifold nuts and size 17 socket for convertor nuts.


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## Smittyman (Oct 4, 2009)

Well... checked the hose. Good to go. I wish it wasn't... :-( Lol. That way I would know what it was. I'm not sure where to go from here.... and it's sucking the gas. Poor Stanza


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## nano49 (Oct 6, 2009)

Smittyman.....The only other things I can think of is either that lil screw in the distributor threw it out of timing, or your fuel pressure regulator is shot. have you fiddled with the distributor while engine is runing? there is a nut on the side attached to the block that lets you move/adjust the distributor, try that with engine on and at normal operating temp, also go to the junk yard and get a couple of fuel pressure regulators and mass air flow sensors and replace them they also might be the problem, and another thing is your fuel pump mesh filter might be clogged with gas sitting there long time, to check/clean just remove your back seat, remove the lil bolts on the circle lid and remove your fuel pump, attached to the bottom of the pump there is this wire mesh filter covering the inlet hose of the fuel pump, it snaps in so just remove it and wash it make sure is fully dry and snap back on,also when reinstalling the fuel pump pay close attention to the rubber gasket/O-ring that sits on top of the gas tank/fuel pum lid as you take the bolts out, otherwise you'll have a strong gas smell evrytime you fill up 

P.S. I'm not a master mechanic or anything I'm just advising you on what I've done to my ride after having similar symptoms on different ocassions


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## Smittyman (Oct 4, 2009)

I've also been told about messing with the distributor... Hmm... Is that on the side? Or what? I've never done that. And we used some Mass Air Flow Sensor Cleaner. And Fuel Pressure Regulators... how would a car act if one is acting up, or not working?


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## nano49 (Oct 6, 2009)

Smittyman said:


> I've also been told about messing with the distributor... Hmm... Is that on the side? Or what? I've never done that. And we used some Mass Air Flow Sensor Cleaner. And Fuel Pressure Regulators... how would a car act if one is acting up, or not working?


Smitty............ Sorry about the late reply bud, tomorrow (sunday) I'm doing a tune up, oil change and replacing my starter solenoid (went out on me today) I'll take pics of the distributor cap and the location of the bolt I'm talking about and post it here so you get an idea... just bare with me buddy


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## Smittyman (Oct 4, 2009)

Hey Nano, thanks for helping me out man. I appreciate it. Sorry about the solenoid. Lol, always seems to be something. :crazy:


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## nano49 (Oct 6, 2009)

OK buddy, here is the pic with the location of the distributor adjusting bolts (assuming you have the 2.4 KA24E engine)








BEFORE YOU MESS WITH IT MAKE SURE YOU GET A FLAT HEAD SCREW DRIVER AND MARK THE POSITION OF THE DISTRIBUTOR BY MARKING A LINE IN THE ENGINE BLOCK AND DISTRIBUTOR, IN CASE YOU NEED TO SET IT BACK TO THE EXACT SAME POSITION IT WAS BEFORE YOU MESSED WITH IT!
Do not remove the bolts, just loosen them and rotate distributor to adjust iddle, (make sure engine is running at normal operating temp) have fun!

P.S. replaced starter and my ride is back to purring like a kitten!


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## Smittyman (Oct 4, 2009)

Sweet. My friends and I are going to attempt that this afternoon. I also figured out how to run the diagnostic codes, Code 55 - No Malfunction. Just thought it was worth a check. I really hope adjusting this does the trick. I really do. She's a good car.


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## FWD240KA (Sep 26, 2009)

Smittyman said:


> I am glad there are some Stanza people on here. Doesn't seem like there are very many :-(


I agree!!! This is so cool, I can't seem to find any Stanza lovers out here, and then I come across ya'll!

Nano, BEAUTIFUL car, I am hoping to get some stuff done to mine soon.



Smittyman said:


> I've also been told about messing with the distributor... Hmm... Is that on the side? Or what? I've never done that. And we used some Mass Air Flow Sensor Cleaner. And Fuel Pressure Regulators... how would a car act if one is acting up, or not working?


If you're MAF is gone, or going, you're car will have a rough idle and you won't be able to get up to any speeds. It's almost as if you were in a wrong gear, or trying to start in 2nd gear. At least that's my experience with the MAF going out. I could be wrong. 
My car has a low idle as I come to a stop, it feels like it wants to die out, but doesn't. I just think the idle needs to be adjusted unless you all were able to figure out what was wrong with it. Also, my MPG is horrible, maybe I'm expecting too much from a Stanza, but I'm getting 21mpg, city/highway?!? 

p.s.
This is so friggin' cool! Stanza lovers. lol.


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## nano49 (Oct 6, 2009)

FWD240KA said:


> I agree!!! This is so cool, I can't seem to find any Stanza lovers out here, and then I come across ya'll!
> 
> Nano, BEAUTIFUL car, I am hoping to get some stuff done to mine soon.
> 
> ...


FWD240KA... Thanks that's my baby!
Smitty....... FWD240KA is right about the MAF also with a defective MAF, with engine running at normal operating temp, your RPM's wont go past 4000 no matter how much you press the gas pedal and iddle would go from 3000 to 4000 back and forth with gas pedal fully pressed in.

FWD240KA....... 21 mpg's city sucks! my ride's iddle is 900 rpm's wich it normal and it has power and everything but milage also sucked/sucks. last sunday I replaced my starter and noticed alot of my vaccum hoses even tho they were in place they were cracke and actually 2 of them crumbbled in my hands (I'm talking about the hoses under the air filter assambly) so I went to autozone and bought the hoses (3ft) and replaced all my vaccum hoses of the same hose diameter, I'm yet to see a difference in mpg's but then again I haven't driven the car but 3 blocks a day to drop kids off to school
will keep ya updated tho.

Have a good one ya'll.

P.S. Hey Smitty did you ever mess with the distributor??? if so what happenend did ya figured out? let me know:givebeer:


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## Smittyman (Oct 4, 2009)

Awesome! I love seeing activity on here  Stanza lovers indeed! It does sound like it's possibly the Mass Air Flow Sensor... lack of power... hard to get going... rough idle... I can push the RPM's... but it doesn't make it go faster. Lol. I'll check into that. So... is this a piece I can get at a Junkyard, or Autoparts store? Price range? :thumbdwn: 

And we did mess with the distributor timing. Marked where it was, and started to slowly adjust. After messing with it for awhile and listening... the best position is what it was in originally. So we just left it there. I don't know if it's just me... but the Stanza does seems to be driving better. I can somewhat get up to speed normally (unless there is a hill - I'll have no chance). I think things are getting warmed up again since she's sat for a year. I've put nearly 300 miles on her since she started. But still has the same traits as before. I wanna figure this out. I've got some plans for this Stanza:woowoo:


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## Stanza~Steve (Sep 26, 2008)

hey guys sorry im not here as much as all of you are  but i bought myself a 91 audi 90 quattro I5 20v. im waiting for the dealership to fix the ignition switch then shes all mine =)

but yeah, im hoping that my little bro will get his own car so i can have my stanza back. and maybe then ill be able to put the wheels i have sitting in storage on and fix the shift problems. and then i might do new rings and bearings and rebuild the head just so it wouldnt burn oil


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## Smittyman (Oct 4, 2009)

I do hope you get her back Stanza Steve. Still not sure about my Stanza... maybe mass air flow sensor, maybe the loud loud exhaust leak, maybe it's just old. Lol. We'll see


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