All great stories start this way... So there I was...
Ok. I have to admit. The timing belt needs to be changed. I'm bad about not doing all of the proper maintenance when it comes to the timing belt. That being said...
So, I leave the house for a trip to work, which is about 12 miles. I drove about a mile, and stopped at my regular gas station. I put about $20 worth of premium in the tank, and headed on. I got about 7 miles into the trip, and at 70MPH, the engine stopped running. When I say it stopped, I mean it did not sputter that I could tell, it did not backfire, I looked down and the RPM's were at zero. I managed to get across 4 lanes of traffic to get to the shoulder of the road. When I got there, I cranked the starter. The engine cranked, but no start. Had it towed to my building, where I put it in the garage. Here's what I have checked.
Battery terminals have been cleaned, battery has been charged.
.1 ohm of resistance from the Neg bat terminal to any metal body part in the truck. I'd say it's grounded fine.
I can hear the Fuel Pump pressurize when I turn the key on.
I have checked all the fuses under the dash, and under the hood, including fusible links. All were still good.
Took the distributor cap off, and had a buddy verify that it was turning. I have NO idea how far it's supposed to turn with each second of cranking, but he verified that it did turn. As I understand, this should mean that the timing belt is still good. Not quite sure on the stripped belt teeth issue.
When the key is in the ignition, the door opening causes the chime to go off. Don't ask me, but I read that somewhere if the chime does not work, no start.
I removed the air cleaner hose just before the Throttle Body, and sprayed some starter fluid in. Probably 1-2 seconds of spray. Tried to start it. No joy. Dunno if this is still an accepted test method with a fuel injected vehicle, but did not experience it trying to start any differently.
From that, here are my questions...
How fast does the distributor move? If I crank the engine for a few seconds, are we talking 1-2 revolutions, or are we talking 10? is it possible that the cap is turning but the shaft is broken and I'm just seeing the friction move it?
I checked for engine codes, and I don't get any. Is this odd? If it wasn't turning the distributor, wouldn't I get spark errors on all cylinders?
If it's water in the tank, would it just have taken a little bit for it to come out of suspension and settle at the bottom of the tank? How the hell do I check for that, and how do I correct it?!?!
Guys, I am new to the forum, but not new to the Xterra. We bought two in 2000, and I love mine. It's not given me any trouble until now. If we can get it ressurected, I will promise, PROMISE to change the timing belt, and hell, I'll even do new plugs and wires. I am at a loss, and would rather ask the pros than to beat my head against the wall guessing. Any ideas? Thanks.
-Sky
Ok. I have to admit. The timing belt needs to be changed. I'm bad about not doing all of the proper maintenance when it comes to the timing belt. That being said...
So, I leave the house for a trip to work, which is about 12 miles. I drove about a mile, and stopped at my regular gas station. I put about $20 worth of premium in the tank, and headed on. I got about 7 miles into the trip, and at 70MPH, the engine stopped running. When I say it stopped, I mean it did not sputter that I could tell, it did not backfire, I looked down and the RPM's were at zero. I managed to get across 4 lanes of traffic to get to the shoulder of the road. When I got there, I cranked the starter. The engine cranked, but no start. Had it towed to my building, where I put it in the garage. Here's what I have checked.
Battery terminals have been cleaned, battery has been charged.
.1 ohm of resistance from the Neg bat terminal to any metal body part in the truck. I'd say it's grounded fine.
I can hear the Fuel Pump pressurize when I turn the key on.
I have checked all the fuses under the dash, and under the hood, including fusible links. All were still good.
Took the distributor cap off, and had a buddy verify that it was turning. I have NO idea how far it's supposed to turn with each second of cranking, but he verified that it did turn. As I understand, this should mean that the timing belt is still good. Not quite sure on the stripped belt teeth issue.
When the key is in the ignition, the door opening causes the chime to go off. Don't ask me, but I read that somewhere if the chime does not work, no start.
I removed the air cleaner hose just before the Throttle Body, and sprayed some starter fluid in. Probably 1-2 seconds of spray. Tried to start it. No joy. Dunno if this is still an accepted test method with a fuel injected vehicle, but did not experience it trying to start any differently.
From that, here are my questions...
How fast does the distributor move? If I crank the engine for a few seconds, are we talking 1-2 revolutions, or are we talking 10? is it possible that the cap is turning but the shaft is broken and I'm just seeing the friction move it?
I checked for engine codes, and I don't get any. Is this odd? If it wasn't turning the distributor, wouldn't I get spark errors on all cylinders?
If it's water in the tank, would it just have taken a little bit for it to come out of suspension and settle at the bottom of the tank? How the hell do I check for that, and how do I correct it?!?!
Guys, I am new to the forum, but not new to the Xterra. We bought two in 2000, and I love mine. It's not given me any trouble until now. If we can get it ressurected, I will promise, PROMISE to change the timing belt, and hell, I'll even do new plugs and wires. I am at a loss, and would rather ask the pros than to beat my head against the wall guessing. Any ideas? Thanks.
-Sky