My 2001 Xterra 3.3 quit on me on the street. I pluged my scanner and got this. P0340 camshaft position sensor circuit malfunction, It will not start. it cranks but no start. I checked the fuel pump battery everythig is fine on that end. But I get no spark. Im told that the camshaft sensor is in the distributor. Here's my question. There is no spark, I removed the cap and cranked the engine and the Rotor does not turn. Can it be My timing belt? Or is it a bad distributor?

Sounds like a timing belt to me.:(

Sounds like the crank is turning but not turning the left camshaft which drives the distributor. Pulling a valve cover would be the quickest way to tell for sure if that is your issue.

I removed the cap and cranked the engine and the Rotor does not turn. Can it be My timing belt? Or is it a bad distributor?

DOH! :homerface:

Did you try rotating the rotor by hand? Does it turn freely?
If it turns then its possible that the distributor gear may have broken loose.

Was there any sound when it died? Did it sound like parts in the engine slapped each other?

Be careful turning the engine over if the timing belt did break you may be doing more damage. Hand crank it if you can so you can feel if its binding anywhere.

Good luck.

I did try to turn the rotor by hand and its solid. I will remove the Valve cover next. Do i Have to remove all the belts to crank it by hand? thanx!!!!

Pulling the sparkplugs will make it easier to turn over by hand.

I did try to turn the rotor by hand and its solid. I will remove the Valve cover next. Do i Have to remove all the belts to crank it by hand? thanx!!!!

You can turn the engine with the crankshaft nut and a wrench as it sits. 22mm I believe. Might have to have some one turn the crank from under the truck (skid removed) while some one watches. Or maybe setup a video camera.

does it sound like this??? If it does then its the timing belt skipped. Thats what happened to me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1ktQyOvTgE&feature=related

does it sound like this??? If it does then its the timing belt skipped. Thats what happened to me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1ktQyOvTgE&feature=related

Dude, thats what it sounds like. Did the belt snap or did it skip on yours? Why and how would it skip and whats the fix like? Just open it up and adjust it or replace it? Im totally broke right now so Im lookin for the cheapest fix. Im thinking of just buying the 30.00 dollar belt and replacing it with out the water pump or seals. Smart or Not smart? Im doin all the labor so No worries there.

I took it all apart up to the bottom belt cover and the crankshaft pulley. (No 27mm socket). I turned the puley by hand and it turns but the belt slips at the bottom. Im guessing broken teeth. Wont know till tomorrow when i get it all off. I dont really get the whole TDC timming deal. Can anyone explain? The manual says to align the marks before removing the belt but like I said the bld is loose.

Hopefully you haven't bent any valves or done any other damage. You'll have to take all the covers off to get at the timing belt. Rotate the crankshaft to TDC (top dead center) then rotate the cams until the marks for them line up. Do this very carefully as bent valves could result. Install the new belt and tension. Turn the engine over BY HAND a couple of times (720*) to make sure there is nothing contacting and that the marks line up again.

I replaced the timing belt only on mine because it had to be done on the cheap so don't worry about the waterpump etc if it is not noisy or leaking. Of course you will have to go in there again if/when the time comes.

Finally got it off and it had Broken teeth at the bottom of the belt. I installed the new belt and lined everything up. I turned the crankshaft with a wrench but the lines dont line up with the pin holes after the RH and LH lines come up again once. Is it spossed to be hard when i turn the crankshaft? It goes from being hard to turn the soft, then hard, then soft. I did not remove my spark plugs. Why wont it line up again? how many full turns on the crankshaft till it lines up? Am i doin it wrong?

The resistance you feel is the compression in the cylinders. Nothing to worry about there.

As long as you can turn the crank over ATLEAST 2 full times you know pistons won't hit your valves and your close to correct timing. So all sounds good there.

As long as the marks on the Cam sprockets align again your fine. The marks on the belt are just reference points. It would take like 720 degrees or so of crankshaft rotation to get those marks on the belt to align again. Maybe more. I'd say put it back together and see how she runs. I'd say she'll purr like a kitten.

I decided to put it all back together, after checking it like 10 times and she purr's like a kitten . Everything is as it should be.. Thank u all for ur help!!!

I decided to put it all back together, after checking it like 10 times and she purr's like a kitten . Everything is as it should be.. Thank u all for ur help!!!

good to see everything worked out for ya. Sorry i couldn't get back to you on this post. You have great people on here to help with anything. Thats the only way i made it through.

good to hear!