1995 Nissan Altima engine spuddering

Tiny
DANMNICH
  • MEMBER
  • 1995 NISSAN ALTIMA
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 112 MILES
I have a 1995 Nissan Altima that has 12,000mi on it. My son said starting off from a stop light the engine died and after he restarted it the car ran but was rough. My observation has been that the engine spudders or cuts out significantly about 2000rpm. I have replaced the fuel filter and the inlet temp sensor. I have flushed the coolant system and replaced both o2 sensors. I removed the distributor cap to look for an oil leak and found nothing. I still have the problem and it seems to be getting worse at times. After sitting in between working on it the car does not want to start. The more it runs the better it gets. Recently it has started deiseling and then dying all together. I am not totally ignorant to how an engine works but do not have a lot of experience. I'm thinking that this is a fuel problem. Any ideas?
Friday, October 2nd, 2015 AT 10:57 AM

6 Replies

Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
Scan for codes and check fuel pressure with a gauge. Auto parts rent it.
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Friday, October 2nd, 2015 AT 12:00 PM
Tiny
DANMNICH
  • MEMBER
  • 9 POSTS
I have pulled the codes and there are none. Plan on renting a fuel pressure meter in a couple of days.
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Friday, October 2nd, 2015 AT 1:46 PM
Tiny
DANMNICH
  • MEMBER
  • 9 POSTS
I have checked the fuel pressure and it is right where it should be. Still no codes. It is running a lot rougher and dies now. Any Ideas?
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Thursday, October 8th, 2015 AT 5:19 AM
Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
Try cleaning throttle plate on both sides and iac hole with choke cleaner. Then check for a vacuum leak like a line off, broken etc. Also check duct work leading to throttle if it has any holes or disconnected from maf to throttle. If fuel pressure was NOT at 43 psi then the pump is going bad and is more than likely the problem. Also when tested it should hold with in 5psi for at least a minute or two.
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Thursday, October 8th, 2015 AT 6:29 AM
Tiny
DANMNICH
  • MEMBER
  • 9 POSTS
The fuel pressure I had with the tester was 38psi which is good according to the Haynes manual I have. The pressure would jump up to 43-45 when the car was spudering/trying to die. Does that sound like the pump going out?
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Thursday, October 8th, 2015 AT 8:08 AM
Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
Well ours says 43 so i'm not going to argue the point it should go up. The dieseling can be form idling to fast, as far as the sputtering have you tried pulling one plug wire at a time and i'm assuming the dist cap isn't cracked or carbon tracked. If ou pll a plug wire leave it like 1/2" or so maybe less from the plug and see if it stops sputtering, if it does then the plugs aren't in good shape. Also if you pull a plug wire and nothing happens like rpm going lower then check compression on all cylinders this may be a blown head gasket which I've totally forgot about. Way to check that is to have coolant system pressure checked for an internal leak. If it doesn'thold pressure then it's probably that.
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Thursday, October 8th, 2015 AT 9:27 AM

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