I'm going to start this post now for XterraRed, Sunday night her X stalled out and would not start. We called AAA to tow it home and I pushed it into the garage and started to trace down the problem. Didn't look to long at it as the temp was dropping and had reached low 40's so I'll do more tonight.

The X cranks, but wont start, when you turn the ignition to start I hear the fuel pump kick in for 5 seconds.
Checked the fuse's they were good.

Checked the distributer it was good, I had replaced it just before XterraRed and I drove from California to Florida back in the spring and it still looked brand new.

I also checked the fuel pump relay and it was good.

Tonight I will check for spark, pressure to fuel hose and fuel return hose, and the Fuel filter

If i have spark, which I suspect I do, I'll pull the back seat out and take a look at the fuel sending unit,

Anything else I should check out while I'm at it tonight?

I guess the one question I do have is If I hear the fuel pump kick on when the ignition is in start shouldn't there be pressure in the fuel hose to the fuel rail? or would corrosion on the sending unit stop that???

Also, the Xterra has about 130K miles on it, It is not known if the timing belt was changed, its something that I've been meaning to do anyway, How would I check to see if timing belt broke or if teeth are missing/slipped? I'm guessing a timing gun would give me that info while trying to crank the car?

Just pull the distributor cap and see if the rotor turns while she is cranking it over. I have a feeling that's what's up. Thats how you check it. If it doesn't turn then you most likely stripped some teeth off. That's my guess at what happened.

Thanks for the reply, I've already downloaded the "how to" on replacing the timing belt.

Just pull the distributor cap and see if the rotor turns while she is cranking it over. I have a feeling that's what's up. Thats how you check it. If it doesn't turn then you most likely stripped some teeth off. That's my guess at what happened.



Which now brings me to another question, if the timing belt has stripped some teeth, how badly did it damage the engine? am I looking at bent valves? and how will I tell? short of pulling the head apart?

You are fine dude. no bent valves. :)

Thanks, I hate seeing XterraRed cry!

Me too! I don't care what color the Xterra is, I just can't stand to see them sad.

lol, no I'm talking about my Fiancee; Adrienne aka XterraRed

I am talking about my lover Shelby, she is granite.

I knew who you were talking about ;)

I checked the fuel line and yes its getting fuel so I pulled the distributer cap and then cranked the car, The rotor did not move. So I guess that means I have a Timing belt to replace. oh yeah! never done this so I'll read up on it.

I see the timing belt kit comes with the timing belt, water pump, gaskets and seals, tensioner and tensioner spring, and the other 3 belts as well. Is there any other part I might need to purchase and replace while I am doing this? The "DIY How to" mentioned some other part called a slinger? a plate behind the crank pully? anybody got a part number for that?

You Don't have to replace that, it is really an optional thing...some do and some don't. I would replace the water hoses while you are there though.

Ok, I've been reading more about timing belts and "interference engines and have a question. I understand that if the belt skipped the car can be in a no start, Soccerbrace stated that i didnt' need to worry about bent valves? why is that? The VG33E is a interference engine, so if the belt slipped how much can it slip before a valve is getting banged up?

Yeah, you need a timing belt. Yours stripped at the crankshaft.
Get the T-belt, the water pump, and the tensioner. ONLY replace the seals if they are leaking. Get a NISSAN belt, and the rest of the stuff can be whatever :)

Why not worry about the valves? Because that never happens when it is just a cranking issue from start up. I HAVE seen it happen when a T-belt is improperly installed, and I have seen it when a T-belt snapped, but I have never seen it happen with a stripped belt.

Why not worry about the valves? Because that never happens when it is just a cranking issue from start up. I HAVE seen it happen when a T-belt is improperly installed, and I have seen it when a T-belt snapped, but I have never seen it happen with a stripped belt.

Thanks for the reply, now for the "but?" question. When this issue happened Adrienne's son was driving the X. Since the crank was still spinning would the pistons not hit a valve?

I hate asking what might seem to be dumb questions but since I'm dealing with this problem I want to understand as much as I can so if I ever run across this again I'll have the knowledge to carry on a conversation and not stick my foot in my mouth.

and yeah, I was the kid in school that would ask the teacher why everytime they said "do it this way" drove my folks crazy.

That's what this place is for :) No worries :)

You know what? I know it may sound weird, but I have seen the fuel pump AND the timing belt go at the same time. What happens is the fuel pump goes, and then the car dies. You try to crank it and it strips the teeth. What I am saying is that the fuel pump could have gone and that would be why you stalled.

There are ways to check, but it might be intensive. A simple compresssion check would be wise.

quick update and questions! Ive got the radiator out, upper timing cover off. I'm down to the crank pully, bottom timing cover and water pump. I cant get the crank pully bolt off, I used some BP blaster but since the crank pully slips Im stuck?? Any advise to getting the bolt off..