# 1994 Altima Stalling



## rs98 (Jul 24, 2013)

I've had my 94 Altima since 1998 and about a year and a half ago, the car started to shut off during normal driving. One second it would be driving smooth and perfectly, and suddenly the engine would shut off. There was never a check engine light and things such as the clock were never reset afterwards. What can I do to fix the car? It has been sitting undriven ever since the problems started to occur, though I did take it to a mechanic who was unable to reproduce the problem when he left the car running (but did not drive it). I would prefer not to spend a great deal of money on this car, so if there is a cheap fix that has any possibility of working, I would prefer to try that out first.
Thanks


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## Xmsteel (Mar 6, 2011)

Does it do it every single time you drive it?
Does it shutter when you come to a stop or slow down?
How many miles does it have?


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## altimanum1 (Jun 19, 2009)

A simple tune up should help, if you haven't done one yet. replace the spark plugs, cables, and distributor cap & rotor.

Shop around for prices to get the best deal.


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## rs98 (Jul 24, 2013)

Thanks for the responses. The car has fairly low miles at 85,505. When the car comes to a stop, it is as if the key has been taken out and there is no shudder, and no, it did not happen every time I drove it. Rather, the problem occurred somewhat randomly.

I'll take it in for a tune up sometime soon, as from what I've read in other places, the problem would be a distributor or spark plugs.


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## Xmsteel (Mar 6, 2011)

rs98 said:


> Thanks for the responses. The car has fairly low miles at 85,505. When the car comes to a stop, it is as if the key has been taken out and there is no shudder, and no, it did not happen every time I drove it. Rather, the problem occurred somewhat randomly.
> 
> I'll take it in for a tune up sometime soon, as from what I've read in other places, the problem would be a distributor or spark plugs.


Hmm... Really odd. My little pea brain has passed its knowledge.

3 things that came to mind were blown out of the water when you said it didn't shudder at all.

From my experiences it would sound like an ECM problem (which is common for a high-mileage 1994 Altima) or spark plugs & spark plug wires.

But usually with those two problems the car shudders and spits before dying, and you notice serious power issues in the pedal.

Edit: Come to think of it, it does sound like a distributor problem. I had a similar problem with my mid 90s Chevy S10 pickup. It ran like a dream and all of a sudden it would just stop dead without any shuddering. Turns out the problem was the distributor and distributor cap. I would definitely look into that.


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## rs98 (Jul 24, 2013)

I think I can replace the distributor cap and rotor myself, and I'll probably change the spark plugs while I'm at it with a little help from Youtube. Would you guys recommend doing this before changing the whole distributor? My understanding is that the distributor costs somewhere around $500, which I would not like to spend right away on this car. It's weird because I replaced both the distributor and spark plugs back in 2004 when the distributor was filled with oil so it seems early for this problem to occur again.


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## Xmsteel (Mar 6, 2011)

rs98 said:


> I think I can replace the distributor cap and rotor myself, and I'll probably change the spark plugs while I'm at it with a little help from Youtube. Would you guys recommend doing this before changing the whole distributor? My understanding is that the distributor costs somewhere around $500, which I would not like to spend right away on this car. It's weird because I replaced both the distributor and spark plugs back in 2004 when the distributor was filled with oil so it seems early for this problem to occur again.


You can purchase a whole distributor that includes the rotor and cap for $112.
RockAuto Parts Catalog

WORLD POWER SYSTEMS Part # DST58470


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## rs98 (Jul 24, 2013)

Wow that's cheaper than I expected. Since it seemed like the only possible problem, I ordered the piece and with a few videos on YouTube I think I'll be able to install this thing in myself.
Edit: Will this have all of the integral parts of the distributor such as the cam sensor? In other words, is all I have to do unscrew the distributor and screw in the new one?
Edit 2: I think the rotor is the problem. It looks pretty burnt out.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

I genuine Nissan reman distributor is around $450, which includes the cap and rotor. It's a lot more money, but also is of a lot better quality. Aftermarket remans, especially the cheaper one, tend to be of marginal quality. I've had some bad right out of the box, some that have lasted a few months and some that have lasted years. While I can understand one not wanting to spend several extra hundred dollars on a part for an old car, keep in mind with aftermarket parts, you sometimes take a gamble.


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## Xmsteel (Mar 6, 2011)

smj999smj said:


> I genuine Nissan reman distributor is around $450, which includes the cap and rotor. It's a lot more money, but also is of a lot better quality. Aftermarket remans, especially the cheaper one, tend to be of marginal quality. I've had some bad right out of the box, some that have lasted a few months and some that have lasted years. While I can understand one not wanting to spend several extra hundred dollars on a part for an old car, keep in mind with aftermarket parts, you sometimes take a gamble.


Rockauto actually has a Hitachi for $176. They are the OEM.
Also, rockauto sells both new and reman, and I'm pretty sure what I linked is new.


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## altimanum1 (Jun 19, 2009)

I have to agree with smj999smj about remanufacture distributors. They are crap, personally I would never pay over $100 for a distributor. I usually go to a junk yard an pull 2 or 3 of them out for around 32$ each complete. So far all the ones I have got from a junkyard have been good.... some people might think im cheap but I call it recycling 

An also if your not that familiar with mechanic work you can practice on the junkyard cars.

Back to rs98, I am almost sure its you're rotor only


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## rs98 (Jul 24, 2013)

I've bought and screwed in a new rotor but I still have to drain the gas. I bought a very cheap siphon pump which isn't finding much gas, so is there a drain pipe at the bottom that I can look for?


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

There's no drain plug on the bottom of the tank. Outside of removing the tank, the easiest way would be to remove the back seat and fuel pump access panel and remove the fuel sender assy out of the tank and siphon the gas from there. Make sure you get a new seal and try not to spill the fuel inside the passenger compartment.


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## rs98 (Jul 24, 2013)

smj999smj said:


> There's no drain plug on the bottom of the tank. Outside of removing the tank, the easiest way would be to remove the back seat and fuel pump access panel and remove the fuel sender assy out of the tank and siphon the gas from there. Make sure you get a new seal and try not to spill the fuel inside the passenger compartment.


Alright, I removed the bottom of the rear seat, and there was a black panel that is half shown now, and half is underneath the bottom of the seatback. I've found one screw on each side to remove the seatback, the ones on the bottom left and right, but where are the other screws? Also, what is the risk that I will damage the fuel pump?


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

If you have a fold down armrest on the seat back, fold it down and there will be two plastic plugs that need to be removed to expose the two bolts. If you don't have the armrest, then the only bolts are at the bottom of the seat back. Push the seatback up (you need to use some force to get it to push out of the clips on the top side) and the seat back will lift up and out of the clips. There shouldn't be any risk of damaging the fuel pump if you are just pumping out the old gas and replacing it with new.


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## rs98 (Jul 24, 2013)

Using that information, I have gotten to the point that I have taken off the black plate/cover, but I cannot seem to get the outer rim off of the fuel pump. Is there a release screw or something of the like? I feel so close to getting this done, but this piece doesn't seem to be coming off. I can move it and bend it a little, but I think I'm missing something here.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

IIRC, there should be two hoses to disconnect and move out of the way, a plug or two to disconnect and a black plastic ring that needs to be unscrewed counter-clockwise and removed. Then the fuel pump sender can be pulled straight up and out. There is a special tool used to remove the ring that makes it easier, but it isn't necessary to have it. I recommend cracking the gas cap to relieve any tank pressure, first, as well as removing the fuel pump fuse and starting the vehicle to relieve the fuel pressure in the lines before doing this; it makes for a lot less mess.


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## rs98 (Jul 24, 2013)

What you describe seems right. Before doing anything else, I'll go and give the car a start without the fuse.


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## rs98 (Jul 24, 2013)

I have an update: Before changing a single thing on my Altima (ie distributor cap, rotor, etc.) I pushed the car out of my garage and jump started it with a 2011 Legacy. As expected, since the car was sitting in the garage untouched for a over a year, the engine did not start. Basically, all of the electronics such as the radio, power mirrors, locks, and windows, and even the powered antenna, worked. However, when twisting the key, the starter motor worked but the engine did not totally turn on. I say totally because on each try, the revs went up to 100-200 but then the engine died again with the starter motor still running. Before I go ahead and buy the items everyone recommended above, would you all say I should still replace the distributor cap, rotors, spark plugs, and wires? Also, would old engine oil cause this problem too? Thanks.

Edit: I only put in about half a gallon of new gas after siphoning out all of the old gas. Could that be the problem?


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