# Altima runs fine... then bucks, sputters, stalls and idle's poorly... Help!?!



## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

We have had our 95 Altima for a long time. It has been running great for 230k miles and I do very regimented maintenance on it. I really want to get it to 250k at least but lately it's had another idea.

The Altima runs fine during my 45 minuted commute to work daily up to about the 30 minute mark. At roughly 30 minutes it will start to buck slightly under acceleration, almost like fuel delivery or timing is off. When it starts to do this it will also start to idle poorly to the point of stalling at red lights some times. It's inconsistant and I have started troubleshooting mildly to try and figure it out but the problem on really starts after that 30 mins or so of run time.

So far I have replaced the plugs and gapped them to recommendations and I have added a fuel injection cleaner/additive in hopes that it might be a fuel injector that is clogged, etc.

Any help from anyone that has had this problem before or would know how to best go about fixing it would be greatly appreciated. I have heard good things about this forum from its members and I just joined. Plz Help, I dont want to get rid of 'er, she is a trooper! 

Justa thought... could this be an oil-leaking-into the dizzy issue?


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## ssaemployee777 (Jan 8, 2006)

MoDfatha said:


> Justa thought... could this be an oil-leaking-into the dizzy issue?


Most probably its the oil in the distributor. Search this forum using the search option for how to fix it.


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## gfriedman (Oct 12, 2005)

Yeah sounds like oil in the distributor or else a plugged cat


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## Darktide (Jul 29, 2004)

once again I'll suggest the O2 sensor. I had a friend with a '94 Altima who had the same issue. Watch to see if you start to guzzle gas when it starts to buck and what not. Its a bit of a pain to change with the heat shield in the way but its not too bad. But it seems that there has been a massive flux in the amount of "oil in the distributor" symptoms have popped up. So that's just as likely I'd say. But most of the time people say it just stops working. Good luck with it


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

Do I have to replace the whole distributor or is the seal that is leaking perhaps available for purchase seperatly? I am going to take off the dizzy soon and check for oil. If its there then I may have found my culprit.


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## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

MoDfatha said:


> Do I have to replace the whole distributor or is the seal that is leaking perhaps available for purchase seperatly? I am going to take off the dizzy soon and check for oil. If its there then I may have found my culprit.


You can replace the seal as a temp. fix but don't expect it to last.


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

LONDONDERRY said:


> You can replace the seal as a temp. fix but don't expect it to last.



So you recommend replacing the entire dizzy? Does this new seal come with the purchase/assembly of the new dizzy? I priced a new dizzy at $200


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## ssaemployee777 (Jan 8, 2006)

I recommed just replacing the seal for $5.00. Make sure you clean the distributor with an electric parts cleaner and thoroughly dry it. I had the similar problem.
seal part is # 22131-1e401


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## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

MoDfatha said:


> So you recommend replacing the entire dizzy? Does this new seal come with the purchase/assembly of the new dizzy? I priced a new dizzy at $200


Don't waste your money or time with a rebuilt distributor there too unreliable. I myself have been down that road, as well as others in this forum. They work fine for a few weeks or so then they crap out again. 

As ssaemployee777 mentioned, you can replace the o-ring seal and clean the parts out with electrical contact cleaner and see how that works.


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

LONDONDERRY said:


> Don't waste your money or time with a rebuilt distributor there too unreliable. I myself have been down that road, as well as others in this forum. They work fine for a few weeks or so then they crap out again.
> 
> As ssaemployee777 mentioned, you can replace the o-ring seal and clean the parts out with electrical contact cleaner and see how that works.



Can you recommend a place to get the seal from? Do I have to go to the Nissan Dealer? What is that particular seal called so I can reference it?


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

ssaemployee777 said:


> I recommed just replacing the seal for $5.00. Make sure you clean the distributor with an electric parts cleaner and thoroughly dry it. I had the similar problem.
> seal part is # 22131-1e401



nevermind! so this is something i obviously have to get from the Nissan Dealer


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

MoDfatha said:


> nevermind! so this is something i obviously have to get from the Nissan Dealer


I called the dealer and they said that it would be best to replace the whole distributor. They said that the individual seals are not for sale for purchase alone. And the price for the dizzy is 463 + core! OWW!


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## gfriedman (Oct 12, 2005)

You can get it for $250 less rebuilt but make sure you get at least 1 year warranty


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## LONDONDERRY (May 19, 2004)

Yup the price is about what I paid for. The other alternative is to do what gfriedman menioned. Just to reinerate what he mentioned, MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE WARRENTY!!


Good luck
Frank


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

LONDONDERRY said:


> Yup the price is about what I paid for. The other alternative is to do what gfriedman menioned. Just to reinerate what he mentioned, MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE WARRENTY!!
> 
> 
> Good luck
> Frank



I think im gonna start by tearing it apart this weekend and seeing if I cant just replace the seals first or use a gasket maker compound to fix it; then i will clean up the dizzy really good and use electrical cleaner on it and let it dry out and see where that puts me. If that doesnt do the job I will just replace the dizzy completely.


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## ssaemployee777 (Jan 8, 2006)

MoDfatha said:


> Can you recommend a place to get the seal from? Do I have to go to the Nissan Dealer? What is that particular seal called so I can reference it?



try this:

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=searchCatalogOEM&siteid=214027

put in 221311e401 for the part number

Part Number Search Results : OEM Catalog 
Item Number MSRP Core Price Price 
221311e401 $3.07 $0.00 $2.30 

SEAL-O RING

It will be cheaper if you can get it from local nissan dealer, since you won't have to pay shipping charges. I myself got it from the local dealer in my area. Do you only have one dealer in your area?


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## KA24Tech (Feb 2, 2004)

I recommend checking for oil and cleaning out the distributor with electrical contact cleaner and driving it. If it clears up the seal will probably fix it for a fair amount of time. Check with Performance Nissan http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=214252 or Courtesy Nissan http://www.courtesyparts.com/altima/U13_engine-electrical.html
If it doesn't change with just a cleaning then more diagnosis time is needed.
Just a thought.

Troy


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

ssaemployee777 said:


> try this:
> 
> http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=searchCatalogOEM&siteid=214027
> 
> ...



I ordered two of these. I will pull this bitch apart this weekend and see what I find. THANKS SO MUCH FOR POSTING THE LINK TO THIS [email protected] I could have never done it without this forum and may have spent hundreds more on the whole dizzy just for the seal. TY! :cheers:


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## ssaemployee777 (Jan 8, 2006)

The following link has some instructions which are for different car and the dizzy (i think these are for infinity) but the process is similar:

http://www.g20.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31422&highlight=write+up

Good luck


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

ssaemployee777 said:


> The following link has some instructions which are for different car and the dizzy (i think these are for infinity) but the process is similar:
> 
> http://www.g20.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31422&highlight=write+up
> 
> Good luck


again.. ty for the great material!


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

So today I tore the dizzy apart to find oil and 3 fouled seals. It was a real mess. I have pix I took.. tons of pix that I will post here in a bit. I already ordered the seal online to fix it but the dizzy I found constituted a complete replacement. 

I went to Kragen and bought a NEW dizzy for 200 bux and just got done throwing that into the altima. Seems to run great now. I wont know until I do my 45 min commute on monday for sure though but everything so far leads me to believe that its all fixed and a happy camper. Thanks to this forum for all the help. You guys are great! :cheers:


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)




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## gfriedman (Oct 12, 2005)

Geez what a mess! Crud all over the place and the seals are chewed up. Good job with the pix. I think you should be good fer now. Keep the seals you ordered - ya never know when ya might need em


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

gfriedman said:


> Geez what a mess! Crud all over the place and the seals are chewed up. Good job with the pix. I think you should be good fer now. Keep the seals you ordered - ya never know when ya might need em


Ok WELLLL.. This morning I drove the Altima to work and it ran fine for the first 30 mins like usual then, when I would approach stop signs or traffic lights it would idle very poorly again and sometimes stall. Most of the bucking and jerky behaviour has gone away but there was still some. 

Could this be the O2 sensor now? I was also thinking about increasing the idle by a few 100rpm. How would I go about bumping up the idle?

Any thoughts? The Dizzy seemed to help but its still doing a little of what it was doing last week before I replaced the Dizzy.


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## Darktide (Jul 29, 2004)

like I said earlier, it sounds like a problem with the O2 sensor. It takes a while for it to heat up and when it does it doesn't function properly. Its not too hard to fix... easier than the distributor. The generic sensor should be cheap enough and its just as good. I fixed a '94 that had the same symptoms as you. Good luck

Darktide


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

Darktide said:


> like I said earlier, it sounds like a problem with the O2 sensor. It takes a while for it to heat up and when it does it doesn't function properly. Its not too hard to fix... easier than the distributor. The generic sensor should be cheap enough and its just as good. I fixed a '94 that had the same symptoms as you. Good luck
> 
> Darktide


Dark, I pm'd you but I will post it too...

I will definately replace this as my next troubleshooting step but I am just curious, how can this happen? I dont understand what would be going on with the o2 sensor. Can you explain technically, what would be causing this problem. The dizzy made sense to me; honestly the o2 sensor slightly confuses me as to why it might not be working. TY in advance!


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## ssaemployee777 (Jan 8, 2006)

MoDfatha said:


> Dark, I pm'd you but I will post it too...
> 
> I will definately replace this as my next troubleshooting step but I am just curious, how can this happen? I dont understand what would be going on with the o2 sensor. Can you explain technically, what would be causing this problem. The dizzy made sense to me; honestly the o2 sensor slightly confuses me as to why it might not be working. TY in advance!



How old are your ignition wires? It may be a good idea to check the resistance on the spark plug and ignition wires (all 5 of them).

Site to visit http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question257.htm

. When the engine starts, it uses a pre set fuel mixture until it warms up a bit. if an O2 sensor fails the computer doesn't actually guess anything. The computer quits using the information from the sensor and uses the same pre set fuel mixture used during the first few seconds after starting. O2 sensors become contaminated by the exhaust and more sluggish to send accurate signals.


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

ssaemployee777 said:


> How old are your ignition wires? It may be a good idea to check the resistance on the spark plug and ignition wires (all 5 of them).


You mean my plug wires? They are probably due to be replaced. My plan is to replace the plug wires, fuel filter and o2 sensor and see where that puts me. If that doesnt fix it it might be time to drop 'er off at the Nissan Dealership.


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

MoDfatha said:


> You mean my plug wires? They are probably due to be replaced. My plan is to replace the plug wires, fuel filter and o2 sensor and see where that puts me. If that doesnt fix it it might be time to drop 'er off at the Nissan Dealership.


So from what I found out there are two o2 sensors in my altima.. one before the cat and one after it. Should I replace both?


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## jovanni (Mar 29, 2005)

*w/o mudule*



MoDfatha said:


> So from what I found out there are two o2 sensors in my altima.. one before the cat and one after it. Should I replace both?


trying to figure out the (new) dizzy from kragen for 200 w/o module,is it ok to put in alty with out module?just need to double check before ordering


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## ssaemployee777 (Jan 8, 2006)

MoDfatha said:


> So from what I found out there are two o2 sensors in my altima.. one before the cat and one after it. Should I replace both?


See if you can get the diagnistic codes from the OBDII. 
For 1995 Altima:
Code 33 - front oxygen sensor circuit
Code 77 - Rear heated oxygen sensor circuit


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

ssaemployee777 said:


> See if you can get the diagnistic codes from the OBDII.
> For 1995 Altima:
> Code 33 - front oxygen sensor circuit
> Code 77 - Rear heated oxygen sensor circuit


But the altima isnt throwing any codes.. thats what strange thing!?


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## jserrano (Oct 27, 2004)

MoDfatha,

I see you also created a thread over here similar to the *other* site. Your pictures definitely showed a distributor in distress. In was on it's way out no matter whether it fixed the problem or not.

I'm not entirely sure that the O2 is to blame. I suppose you could totally disconnect the O2 sensor to test whether it will at ANY point. If the problem disappears then you can definitely blame the O2. On my '94, I can run without the O2 all day and it will never stall out. But other ECUs might behave differently, so take this with a "grain of salt".

You've got plenty of other areas to check around and see if you can isolate something. But you'll have to catch this when the engine has warmed. Some other areas to check are the MAF, IACV, fuel pressure, EGR, etc. You can also try wiggling wires and lightly tapping some components with the handle of a screwdriver to see if you can reach a stall point.


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

Guys I think I fixed my problem! 

I took the forums advice and replaced the o2 sensor and I also tested and cleaned the MAF sensor while I was in there. I finally got to drive her today (45 mins to work) and my sputtering, power loss, bucking problem is gone. There was no trace of the problem after I did those two things this last weekend. I will know more over the course of driving it this week but it seems totally cleared up! Just replace the o2 sensor if you are having this problem, even if you think its fine [mine tested fine but I replaced it anyways]. WooHoo!


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## Darktide (Jul 29, 2004)

MoDfatha said:


> Guys I think I fixed my problem!
> 
> I took the forums advice and replaced the o2 sensor and I also tested and cleaned the MAF sensor while I was in there. I finally got to drive her today (45 mins to work) and my sputtering, power loss, bucking problem is gone. There was no trace of the problem after I did those two things this last weekend. I will know more over the course of driving it this week but it seems totally cleared up! Just replace the o2 sensor if you are having this problem, even if you think its fine [mine tested fine but I replaced it anyways]. WooHoo!


like I said... I had a friend who had the exact same problem with her '94. It never threw a single code even while bucking and sputtering like hell. They replaced all sorts of crap and then let me change the o2 sensor and no problems since. Glad to see that the problems have been corrected.


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## MoDfatha (Feb 6, 2006)

Darktide said:


> like I said... I had a friend who had the exact same problem with her '94. It never threw a single code even while bucking and sputtering like hell. They replaced all sorts of crap and then let me change the o2 sensor and no problems since. Glad to see that the problems have been corrected.



Yippppeee, Love ya DARKTIDE!


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## Darktide (Jul 29, 2004)

hah, I'm really glad I could be some help MoDfatha


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## shayak_b (Aug 9, 2006)

Hey Mo.... just had one quick question about the symptoms on your vehicle. Did you at any point observe black smoke from your exhaust or smell gas fumes?


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## jongp3 (Aug 18, 2006)

Question for the OP when you say the car would loss power, was it to the point where the car was not drivable? I'm having the same problem however the car looses so much power and misses so much that it will turn off or i'll have to stop for awhile. 
Im thinking my problem is a fuel pump, but not completely sure after reading this post. 
I've already replaced the Fuel filter, Plugs, Wires, DIzzy cap (had no oil), also ran injector cleaner. Still the same problems. 
In the morning it drives fine, but after its warmed up for awhile 15-20 minutes, it just becomes completely undrivable untill its completely cooled down.


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## phuct (Jan 23, 2009)

which one did you replace? the one before the cat or after?


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