Ok, here we go..
2002 XE 5spd
123xxx mi
Current oil 1xxx mi old
Air filter 1xxx mi old
Current gas is from the place i normally fill up, no ethanol.

Now to the problem..
It happened on 2/17 8amCST, temp approx. 25 degrees F
I had started my X around 720am, warmed it up for about 15min.
Left work, had driven about 30mi, average speed 55mph.
Was coming down a hill that stretches over 2miles, its very long and drawn out, not steep at all.
I hear a sound that reminds me of releasing an air tool from the air hose. (Air pressure backing up and "puffing" loose.)
Well, engine dies, I coast to a stop, let it rest for about 5 min. I tried to start it, it cranks but no fire.. (normal cranking sounds, not fast as if the timing belt was off/broke)
Tow truck delivers it to my house about an hour ago, i find there is some type of petroleum substance on the back hatch and left rear 1/4 panel. No evidence of oil residue on his flatbed tow truck, and also no evidence of oil leaks anywhere else on my X.(under hood, undercarriage, exhaust...nothing.. also, dipstick shows normal amount of oil.)
I get in and key it over, i hear the Fuel Pump trigger on and feed fuel, i turn to full start w/o clutch, again i hear the fuel pump running fuel through the lines. Then i proceed to try and start it, again normal crank sounds, no fire. It feels/sounds like it wants to fire a few times but never catches.
I ran an OBDII hand scanner, it pulls P0340, and P0328. Disregard the p0328(its useless.....)
Now what concerns me is the P0340..camshaft postion sensor..:(
I see people saying replacing the distributor will fix this, but i doubt it will make the X start, doesn't sound likely..
The guy that towed my X home stuck his head under the hood while i tried to start it and he said it sounded like the timing belt may have slipped just a bit. He said it sounded like i still had compression, just not the right timing.

HELP!!!

Has the timing belt been replaced? I'm afraid you may have snapped it bro. Those are all tell-tale signs of a broken belt. It's not the only possibility but I wouldn't try to start it anymore until you know for sure because you can do some serious damage if you haven't already.

haha, well im sure if the belt is broken most of the valvetrain is trashed.. i was doing ~55-60mph.. never heard any metal-on-metal contact though..

Sometimes you can get lucky though. I was in similar conditions when I snapped the t-belt on my Accord and managed somehow not to damage anything and I tried repeatedly to start it.

so my next step should be? pull the valve cover off and check all valves? pull the heads and check for damage on the piston? check to see if the timing belt is in fact broke/busted/fugged??

i can build/rebuild chevrolet engines all day long.. big block, small block, you name it... but i know nothing about nissans enginges... :(

Now that part I'll have to leave up to the experts. I'm good at diagnosing but when it comes to the guts of a motor, I tend to leave that to the ones who know what they are doing. I'm not ashamed to say I'm not one of those guys. hahaha

start with the timing belt. Trust me i went through this. There is a chance you didn't damage the motor. I didn't when mine broke 2 teeth. Make sure you check all the teeth on the belt and since you are there you might as well change it along with the water pump and t-stat. there is a "how to" on here. http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2751&highlight=Timing+belt Should take you about 45 min to get to it. Just pull the radiator and fan. It makes it easier to get to the belt. If you can post a video of it trying to start that would be great. i had a video but i deleted it.

Like mike said. before you start tearing stuff off check your timing belt to see if the marks are aligned properly. Mike had a similar problem and his was only a few teeth off. surprisingly just one tooth off on some vehicles can cause a no start condition.

yea, the guy that towed it said it sounded like it may have jumped a few teeth. I didn't think it was broken just because of the fact that it didn't have the high whir sound when the belt is off. Ill just be driving the GTO for the next few weeks, till it get the kid fixed... :(

Man that sucks you have to park it for a while but at least it wasn't a complete breakage of the t-belt. That could've been pricey.

ewmmm kk... been a while, X has been parked all this time. Finally popped the hood on her today and got to thinking.. Am i getting spark? pull the number two plug wire (off the plug of course), stick a screw driver in there, drop it on top of the intake, hop in and crank...No spark..(should have sparked from screw driver to intake)
Upon further thought the following went through my mind, and correct me if i am wrong at any point... No spark could be caused by the distributor being bad, or... ..timing belt is indeed snapped, which in turn does not turn the cam, which in turn does not turn the rotor, and therefore provides a no spark situation...anyone follow?

Only a few facts keep the previous thought from being the main hypothesis..there was a "pop"(onomatopoeia) just before the engine died, and it has normal cranking sound, no free-spin or high whir.


Please provide input.

I would check the belt first although when I had a t-belt snap in my accord, it would still turnover like it was trying to start. From what I understand though, repeatedly trying to crank it with a snapped belt can really do some damage to the motor but let someone else either debunk what I say or back me up because I'm not 100% sure.

Check for spark at one or two other wires while your at it. but don't just ground it with a screw driver. Get a spark tester because the other way can ruin your coil.