After waiting days for my mechanic to replace the clutch in my '05 xterra because it was such a problem for him, I get a call today with him saying it wont start, all the connections have been checked, the computer has been reset, the engine will turn over and over all day long but it will not spark. the crankshaft sensor could be bad but unlikely because it was starting fine before i drove it to the shop to have the clutch replaced.

Any suggestions?

Yeah sounds electrical. Crankshaft position sensor would be my guess. If its anything like when I did mine its at the top where a mechanic would never see it. That is until the trans is about half off the truck and the wires are torn.

yea it turns over and everything. yea the mech said it was a bitch to get to the sensor but he is saying he didnt do anything that could mess it up but it started fine before i took it to him

I would have him take another look at that sensor...if it was working before you took it to him...that is a very likely culprit.

yea thats what i am thinking. does anybody happen to know how the sensor tells when the flywheel is passing, like is there a magnet on the flywheel or what. and is it possible to adjust the sensor so it is closer or farther from the flywheel?

yea thats what i am thinking. does anybody happen to know how the sensor tells when the flywheel is passing, like is there a magnet on the flywheel or what. and is it possible to adjust the sensor so it is closer or farther from the flywheel?
Could be wrong but I believe the sensor produces the magnetic field when the metal teeth on the fw pass by it lowers or raises the resistance. You can adjust it but I'm sure there is a factory spec for the spacing.

okay cool, when the mechanic took a look at my flywheel he said that there was less than a 1/16" groove starting to form in the flywheel from the clutch slipping, he suggested that he could take a grinder and rough up the flywheel to remove the effects of the groove and give the new centerforce II clutch more to grab on too. could this effect the magnetic field or the spacing enough to create the sensor to not tell when the flywheel is passing? or could it just be a bad sensor?

He wants to what? Do not let him grind on your flywheel. Take it and get it properly turned. You want a nice flat surface for that new clutch.
I'm not sure where the sensor ring is for the crankshaft. My guess is that it is on the crankshaft. More than likely you have a bad or out of adjustment sensor. If that is the problem.

well the problem is according to the mechanic the two piece flywheel design that is in the xterras cant be turned by a regular resurfacing tool, so in most cases a new flywheel is installed i think. Is he wrong or what?

From what I've read on the net it has a double mass flywheel. They can be turned but needs to be disassemble and is expensive.

okay so a new crankshaft sensor was just installed and the engine is still not getting a spark. it continues to turn over and turn over but not start. my mech swears up and down that it is a theft deterrent system that activates after the battery has been unmounted but i know thats not true.


any suggestions?