# Distributor QUESTION?



## 1986fairladyZ (Jul 17, 2004)

Hey my 1986 300zx just went into a nissan dealer for the fuel injector recall and the called and told me my Distributor went bad, no spark is what the service department told me. They wanted to charge me 491.00 for a new one out of the box, is a junk yard one O.K. One other thing is how do Distributors go bad and is there any signs?? PLEASE HELP i dont want to pay 5 bills for a new one.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

1986fairladyZ said:


> Hey my 1986 300zx just went into a nissan dealer for the fuel injector recall and the called and told me my Distributor went bad, no spark is what the service department told me. They wanted to charge me 491.00 for a new one out of the box, is a junk yard one O.K. One other thing is how do Distributors go bad and is there any signs?? PLEASE HELP i dont want to pay 5 bills for a new one.



Wiat Wait Wait , didn't you _DRIVE_ it to the dealership? Sounds like they owe you a distributor if so. I'd be jumping the service manager. If not , go get a junkyard distributor. If memory serves , any one of the V6 distributors will fit and work , including the V6 Pathfinders and Hardbodies and the 89-91 Maxima.


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## 1986fairladyZ (Jul 17, 2004)

*Yes I Drove IT IN!!!*



[email protected] said:


> Wiat Wait Wait , didn't you _DRIVE_ it to the dealership? Sounds like they owe you a distributor if so. I'd be jumping the service manager. If not , go get a junkyard distributor. If memory serves , any one of the V6 distributors will fit and work , including the V6 Pathfinders and Hardbodies and the 89-91 Maxima.


Yes, i did drive my 300 in to the dealer, and what differance would it be if I did use a pathfinder one. One other Q' they said my idle air control is bad, will that harm anything?? :cheers:


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

1986fairladyZ said:


> Yes, i did drive my 300 in to the dealer, and what differance would it be if I did use a pathfinder one. One other Q' they said my idle air control is bad, will that harm anything?? :cheers:


So far as I know , any of the V6 distributors will work in that engine.

And no , your idle air control will not do much but make your engine run strange. Certainly won't kill a distributor.

And they owe you another distributor. If it was my car and they told me that crap , I'd be like "Well , it drove in here , I'm expecting it to drive out , and I expect it won't cost me a dime." 
I had some joke of a dealership try that with my 3rd gen Camaro once. I told them that since it drove fine INTO their work bay , that they had better make it run again unless they wanted to speak to my lawyer. It was fixed 30 minutes later , no charge to me.  
Make your dissatisfaction known to the service manager. If that doesn't do much , talk to the general manager. If that doesn't work , talk to a lawyer , they should give a free initial consultation at least , most of them do.


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## Marc Z31 (Jul 25, 2004)

the pathy distributor will look a little funny, it sits a bit higher than the factory Z31 style, and hardbodies are the same way. It sounds like they want to jack you of your hard earned cash. You most likely do not need a new distributor, and a bad one will throw off timing, not prevent a spark. If you aren't getting spark, it is a coil wire~$10, a coil~$30, a distributor cap~$20, or a rotor~$10 (sits inside distributor). Tell them to screw themselves, and go to the BBB, they will scare the pants off a dealership. A lawyer is a good idea as well.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

Marc Z31 said:


> You most likely do not need a new distributor, and a bad one will throw off timing, not prevent a spark.


The internal workings of the Z31 distributor are much the same as the Mallory Hi-Lite ignition system , and a number of other types. Basically an LED shines through holes in a rotating disk with a light sensitive pickup on the other side. The ECU can count the number of holes and knows when to fire the plugs based on the number counted , with 6 larger holes indicating the 6 cylinders , and 354 others to indicate degrees of rotation. Now if the LED is burnt out , or the light pickup is , then you'll get a no-spark situation. 

I do agree that the dealership is trying to get his money. At this point , I would say if the injector recall is complete (which IMO was pointless in the first place) , then he should have it towed home and fix it there himself.


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

and pay towing charges! Screw that. Find the manager tell him what is going on. Tell him that you drove it there with no problem. It went into THEIR bay and won't start after they messed with all that. Tell him the consequences if he doesn't fix your stuff free of charge (such as getting a lawyer)


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## 1986fairladyZ (Jul 17, 2004)

*Two weeks later.......*



1986fairladyZ said:


> Hey my 1986 300zx just went into a nissan dealer for the fuel injector recall and the called and told me my Distributor went bad, no spark is what the service department told me. They wanted to charge me 491.00 for a new one out of the box, is a junk yard one O.K. One other thing is how do Distributors go bad and is there any signs?? PLEASE HELP i dont want to pay 5 bills for a new one.


Its been two weeks, i still have not got my car back from the dealership, the dumb ass of a service department says there waiting on two hoses for the fuel filter. Its really pissing me off that it would take two F**King weeks and a new distrubitor later.


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## Marc Z31 (Jul 25, 2004)

don't let them touch your car anymore. High pressure hose is $3 a foot from autozone.


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## Evi|Chicken (Jun 14, 2004)

they try to touch your car again, break ther fingers


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## asleepz (Feb 24, 2004)

Alright now I would tell them to leave your car alone and tow it back. I thought they might have at least made a little progress on it but that is bullshit


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