[ohiopoboy]

This is a great site! For insight. I recently purchased a 2002 5-speed 3.3. it ran perfectly for a couple weeks. And has 170,000 on it the timing belt and water pump was done at 130,000. I figured it's the fuel filter, right. So, I decided to tune the whole truck up and fuel filter. I did it all cap rotor new wires plugs air filter and lastly the fuel filter. It ran a little rough while it was purging the gas through the filter........ But then it's still running like crap. I just sold my faithful 7-3 Excursion which was in mint condition mind you.
Then I bought a little Jeep Liberty same color black and tan leather interior power everything heated seats nice little truck. Went to the creek to run my dog had a flash flood situation, Jeep got stuck cheap got drownded, engulfed underwater 8 ft of water drownded. So when I got the payoff I thought I'd do a little more research the Xterra seemed like a nice vehicle just 5 speed and power windows no problem......... I have to samurais 87 Tin Top and a 88 ragtop. I just changed the oil in those trucks and put gas in them....... They go and go and go.
I've read a lot now on the Xterra problems, which is why I found a 5-speed. So now it's my issue I need a new distributor or the fuel sending unit? Whoever had the truck before me took pretty good care of it new radiator new battery other nice Parts the Interiors not beat up. But I think however, they were at the point of no more nickel-and-diming let's just go ahead and launch it......
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to upload a video of the number 6 spark plug removal the actual removal.

 

[Solar03]

Welcome to the site.

Sounds like you did everything I did, but it worked for me. Did you do a fuel treatment? I ran the Techron fuel treatment through the first three tanks. Sounds like you have a different issue though.

That #6 is a biotch.

 

[ohiopoboy]

I would like to just say thank you to all the members of this club for your post and your Insight concerning these vehicles. I have read and read different posts and admittedly on every other site as well, to try to figure out why my Xterra would not run. I changed the plugs made a video of getting six out actually showing how you get it out bird's eye view twisting and out I'll try to figure out how to put that up. So, it all started out after two long trips one was a two-and-a-half-hour trip loved it. The second trip was a four and a half hour trip from Ohio to Pennsylvania to pick up a Malinois puppy. Nice Shakedown Cruise everything was great. However, I noticed a couple of Misses along the way, no big deal. I thought well I'll go ahead put a new fuel filter on it rotor cap wires plugs. With determination and reading post and watching YouTube videos I got 6 no big deal, tedious but no big deal. Fired up the truck, rattle rattle rattle rattle, it was worse than when I did that work.
So now I start looking for other problems. The truck has 170,000 miles on it it's an 02 the timing belt water pump all that was done at 130 miles with a sticker on the timing belt cover. The dealer that I bought it off of in West Virginia a little more and Paul lot said had it not had that sticker they would have passed on that truck. So after reading and reading and reading I thought got to be the distributor. I've never put a distributor in a vehicle in my life and I'll be 59 next month. I carefully pulled the old distributor Mark everything put it back in, seems to run Just a Touch better but still falling on its nose and rattle rattle rattle. If you turn the truck over by hand the distributor moves which is how I got it to number one prior to installing the new distributor. I'm at my ends wits at this point. I call a friend of mine, a good old boy who works out of an old Chevy car with all the tools in his trunk. Chucky comes over we listen to the motor for about a minute he said shut her down something's clanging in the valve train.
So chucking and I dive in to the truck just disassembly time. We pulled the plenum. Peel away way everything to the valve cover on the driver side head. Pull the valve cover and notice that the number 6 intake valve is up which more than likely means it's bent. We're thinking how in the hell the timing belt look fine all of its teeth were on, the distributor turns, what the hell. We go ahead and Buzz the head off with some wiggling and crying once we found all the head bolts and that sneaky little 10 mm bolt by the alternator. Pop the head off...



And lo and behold there is a number 10 machine bolt caught in the valve head spending it and holding the spring up. I should have took a picture of it right then and there but we were so excited and dumbfounded that we just forgot. You can see on the number 6 piston where that little bowl has been in there probably for about 40,000 miles. The timing belt was done at 130,000 the truck has 171000 on the clock right now. So somehow someone dropped a screw more than likely in the plenum when they reinstalled it onto the truck after ordering the reassembly of changing the timing belt out. The top of the piston looks like someone or a bolt has been rattling in there for about 40,000 miles. Chucky has been doing this for over 40 years and he is never ever seen this in his life. Looks like we're going to get away with head gasket a valve intake gaskets we're going to go ahead and put a new timing belt and tensioner on even though the old one looks great while we right there. I will have my new lifetime Duralast distributor installed my ex out of run like a scalded dog. I'm going to do the knock sensor and I'm thinking about throwing fuel injectors in while I'm looking at the rail right now. I am a heavy equipment operator by trade for 30 years I have never ever seen anything like this in my career. But then, it's me ....


I'm going to keep that little 10 millimeter bolt as a trophy. Once again thank you to everyone for all your post and all your help it definitely helped me with the disassembly but I have yet to read about a stuck bolt in a valve on any of the forums.

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[ohiopoboy]

#6 coming out!

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