# I was swindled, now I want this fixed!



## dukewayne (Aug 17, 2007)

Greetings all Altima owners.

I bought a 1996 nissan Altima from a guy who told me the car ran well and was a reliable car for my daughter who is going to college in the fall. Needless to say he left out the part about the car stalling after I drove it 15 miles or so.

Here is what it dose. This car runs like a dream for 15 to 25 miles or so and then it stalls out, by this I mean it may chug briefly then kill or it may just kill, stop without much warning at all. 

After it stalls out if I wait a minute or two it will start up and many times it will stall out again and again till I make it home, our on other times it will start up and run as if nothing was ever wrong with it. It runs like new at these times.

Now since I dont have a Nissan dealer near me, (40 to 50 miles away) I have been trying to fix this car on my own. This is what I have done so far, Ignition Module, Coil, Fuel relay, Knock sensor, Rear heated Oxy sensor, Crankshaft Sensor, Roter , New Dist Cap, wires, cleaned the injectors, fuel filter, air filter, etc.

As you can see I have tried really hard and spent a lot trying to get this car going.

I know how to get the codes, and on thing that puzzles me is that I seem to get the crankshaft sensor warning as well as rear oxy sensor warning and I have replaced the items already.

I am so pissed at the guy who sold me this car, I want to fix it just to show it can be saved.

If any one has an idea let me know, like I say it runs great but after awhile it kills out, and suddenly I may add, not a lot of choking and sputtering, just like that it kills.

I would appreciate any ideas!


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## spat (Oct 15, 2005)

dukewayne said:


> Greetings all Altima owners.
> 
> I bought a 1996 nissan Altima from a guy who told me the car ran well and was a reliable car for my daughter who is going to college in the fall. Needless to say he left out the part about the car stalling after I drove it 15 miles or so.
> 
> ...






First off, I always tell myself when buying a used car from anyone- _Nobody sells a perfectly good car_ - So in the future be very thoro in looking at a car you are considering to buy. If you are unfamiliar of what to look for then ask the owner if you or the owner and yourself can go to a local garage to have the vehicle get a good look over. If they decline then there is likely an existing problem.

I recently bought a 94 altima for $200. They originally wanted $600. When I talked to them on the phone they told me that it had a blown head gasket but otherwise it was a great car. As I was looking at it I found many signs that it had been wrecked and several other problems. I told them that if I bought it I would do a more thoro inspection at home before repairing the headgasket. If the car didn't warrant the repairs the best I could scrape it for was $200 so that was all I would offer. They gladly ecepted the $200.

Thats all water under the bridge though so on with your problem!

If you truly want to do the repair(s) yourself go to phatg20.com and download the 96 altima FSM (Factory Service Manual) it is totally free, no gimmicks. You will also need a decent Multi-meter to do any proper diagnosis. If you are not familiar with using a meter or willing to use one your better off taking it to a service technician. There is one common problem with all sentras and altimas both that will cause your symptom. A bad or dirty IACV. However there are many other things that can also give the same symtom so it is best to follow the diagnostic procedures in the manual. Some other things you should do is check all connectors and harnesses with a live wiggle test. This is often my very first step on an intermittent problem. A live wiggle test is basically wiggling wires and connectors with the engine running, just be careful not to get near any moving parts. Remove any loose fitting clothing and conductive jewlry before doing this. Also don't grab any of the ignition wires with the engine running unless you are familiar on how to do that in a safe manner. Another thing to help diagnosis is to be very observant of whats common at the time of a fault. 

Examples: always engine is at normal operating temp. Only when the A/C compressor is engaged, Only when an auxiliary load is applied at idle(A/C, Cooling fan(s), steering pump load due to turning the wheels), only on acceleration, only on deceleration, only when raining, ect...

please post back when you can narrow it down to a more common condition or portion of the many systems. Erratic engine operation can cause all sorts of erroneous codes so don't just replace parts based on a code. You may want to check the Cam sensor I have seen many of them go bad without setting the code. Also look at the bottom of the distributor if it has signs of any oil residue you definitely should look deeper into that. Under the plate below the rotor is a sensor that may be contaminated by oil leaking into the distributor.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Also, check for a leaking intake manifold gasket by spraying carb cleaner around it while running. A noticeable change in RPM while spraying is a good indication that the gasket is bad...a fairly common issue on U13U Altimas. Proper base idle setting and is critical for proper IACV/AAC valve operation. Bosch platinum spark plugs are a big no-no...stick with NGK's.


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## dfreeman616 (Feb 15, 2007)

diagnostic codes only tell you where to look, they don't mean the sensor is bad all the time. with that in mind, get the FSM like spat suggested. which, by the way, that site doesn't seem to work.


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## spat (Oct 15, 2005)

My Bad!! the site is *phatg20.net* instead of .com

I have been trying to remember where all I mad that mistake!

and please do remind all those you talk with about fault codes what they mean. 
Hopefully one day it will become common knowledge. Unfortunatly at this time it seems most people think the codes mean that part is bad. Then they get really frustrated and no one can think rationally when they are frustrated.


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