2002 Supercharged Xterra w/ 105,000 miles.

I bought this from a friend. He said it ran fine until he changed the plugs. It wouldn't start after the spark plug install.

When cranking, it sounds like timing is off a bit. Meaning, it doesn't have a smooth sounding crank if you know what I mean.

So, I looked around under there at the plug wires and it appears everything is routed correct.

I also checked the fuel pump. It's priming when the key is cycled. I also check the plug for corrosion and it looks good. When cranking, I sniffed the tail pipe and smelled unburned fuel.

Next, I pulled the distributor out and checked for shaft for play. It's tight. I didn't open it up though.



SO GUYS, what should I check now? :wink-big:


2002 Supercharged Nissan Xterra
1996 Supercharged Acura NSX

try this...http://youtu.be/UpQDYqYHT8c

try this...http://youtu.be/UpQDYqYHT8c

I checked, my distributor moves when cranking.

either the distributor or the timing belt? but if you smell fuel in the tail pipe that could mean the valves are turning.

either the distributor or the timing belt? but if you smell fuel in the tail pipe that could mean the valves are turning.

What do you mean by "Valves are turning" ?

Ok your timing belt is connects your cam shafts with your crankshaft. When you go to crank the x the starter turns the flywheel and that turns your crankshaft. If your timing belt was broken your camshafts wouldnt turn with the crank and it would not start so either your belts not broken and the valves are turning with the in time and that is why you smell the fresh fuel or your belt is broken and valves are stuck open.

Ya, with 105k miles it needs a timing belt anyways, so might as well replace it and then see if it still wont start.

Ok your timing belt is connects your cam shafts with your crankshaft. When you go to crank the x the starter turns the flywheel and that turns your crankshaft. If your timing belt was broken your camshafts wouldnt turn with the crank and it would not start so either your belts not broken and the valves are turning with the in time and that is why you smell the fresh fuel or your belt is broken and valves are stuck open.

Well, the distributor turns when cranking so the timing belt isn't broken.

Ya, with 105k miles it needs a timing belt anyways, so might as well replace it and then see if it still wont start.

He had a new motor put in under warrantly. The motor only has a little over 50k on it. So, timing belt shouldn't be needed yet.

You are certain the firing order is correct? Have you pulled any of the plugs?

You are certain the firing order is correct? Have you pulled any of the plugs?

I checked, it seemed to be correct. I haven't pulled it apart yet to check plugs.

Talking to my buddy now, he said it was down on power and would randomly shut off before he did the plugs.

Pull the distributor apart and see what it looks like. Past that you need to start looking at spark, fuel, and compression and see which one you are lacking.

Pull the distributor apart and see what it looks like. Past that you need to start looking at spark, fuel, and compression and see which one you are lacking.

Yeah, that's always the case. Since I'm new to Xterra's, I thought I'd hit you guys up first since you all know what goes bad on these.

The Timing belt could have jumped at some point too..

But Id think its like RacerXXL said.. is the firing order right?

The Timing belt could have jumped at some point too..

But Id think its like RacerXXL said.. is the firing order right?

Yeah, thought about the timing belt jumping. It's a possibilty.

Anyways of checking this without removing it?

I checked the firing order, it looked correct.

start with the basics.... is it pumping fuel?? do you have spark????

Could also be a bad ECU, not out of the question and could give the same symptoms that you are describing.

Ok, I checked plugs 1 and 2. Neither one have spark.

What could cause this besides the entire distributor going bad?

What next?

I remember a thread that talked about the distributor bearing. That cuold be a problem. Did you just check the cap and rotor. Maybe worn down to much. Maybe the wire is bad

I'm getting code p0340, camshaft postion sensor

???

Tossed in a $180 O'Reilly Distributor and it fired right up. BUT! It has a noticeable tick and smokes pretty bad. Hmm.. Oil smoke, not coolant smoke.

Did it smoke before you bought it? That just seems wierd that it has a newer engine and you are having this many problems.

Did it smoke before you bought it? That just seems wierd that it has a newer engine and you are having this many problems.

Found out the motor has 60K on it, the previous owner drove it pretty hard but kept up on all the maintenance.

He told me it smoked and ticked, so I somewhat knew what I was getting into.

So, the smoke is white. Not blue. And there is alot of dirty water coming out of the exhaust. Pretty wild, I'll rev the engine and it will just spray out.

Oil and Coolant are clean.

2001 ready to drive away 250 k front end damage..... Swap it out. You god a great rig.

Did you check the gap on the plugs? pull 1 or 2 of them out and check to see if the gap is correct or if there is any fouling on the plug. If the plugs not gapped correctly that would give some explanation to it. As well as if there was anything wrong with the plugs the plugs will tell their tale. if they were firing to late or soon they would have some sort of fouling. These are older Plugs but im sure the same concepts apply. (Old as in been in the engine LONG time not old design if you were wondering)
If the engine has any internal problems in the cylinders the plug could also tell you that.


Chart Below
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=645&bih=497&tbm=isch&tbnid=ZiZr6VoeCxZdxM:&imgrefurl=http://www.aa1car.com/library/cm1196.htm&docid=VlLt88Txf-gBuM&imgurl=http://www.aa1car.com/library/reading_spark_plugs.jpg&w=728&h=972&ei=RpUeT7CTFMuXtweav71G&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=103&vpy=105&dur=311&hovh=140&hovw=105&tx=127&ty=132&sig=106140107954129918269&page=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=105&start=0&ndsp=9&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

Gonna keep an eye on this thread for myself, I've seen a lot of similar issues coming up recently (2002 SC with 105k miles). Hope you find an answer, I can say that my timing belt was replaced before 100k miles so while that might be an issue that needs to be taken care of I'm not sure it's the cause of problems.

Hello everybody! my friend had de same situation cranking but no start , first I read some posts here, second check gas caming out of inyectors, third chek sparks coming out of sparkplugs, and bingo no sparks or too weak, i read about the relay that control the coils and it said switch No 13 to the other (this one controls the defroster at back door) did it and starts like new one. thanks to everybody realy apreciate your help, PD: it was no necesary to check crankshaft position sensor and cams position sensor.

x2 on the firing order. you may also want to confirm that he put the right plugs in. if you pull the plugs out, make sure they're not soaked with fuel, that can also cause a no start

never mind. didn't see the last posts