97 Altima will not "start"

[ulremember]

Hello to all.

I have looked at a few threads regarding Altimas starting problems. Not sure which one to apply. Here is the problem. A friend of mine has a 97 Altima. The engine had begun to miss a few weeks ago. He was on the freeway when he noticed a miss. He pulled off of the freeway and began to "crawl" home. While the engine was running, he hit a "pothole" and the engine died.
I have pulled the fuel line hose on the "out" side of the filter and had fuel flow while trying to start the engine- only when I tried to start the engine, not with the key on. I replaced the line and checked the delivery to the fuel rail. Got fuel. When I try to start the car, sometimes it "catches" but dies fairly immediately after. If I try to start with my foot on the pedal all of the way, it revs higher but then "backfires" when the engine dies. It only backfires while my foot is on the gas pedal.
Now,should I check the distributor, the crankshaft position sensor, and or the camshaft sensor? It is an automatic. I first thought that he may have crap in the fuel filter in the tank, but I get what appears to be a good fuel flow with pressure.

Please help and thanks in advance for your replies.

Chuck

[JustSayGo]

Make sure that the hose from the air cleaner and MAF Sensor is connected to the throttle body and doesn't have any air leaks. You have proved that you have fuel to the injectors. Check for spark from the coil wire and also a spark plug wire. Very likely the problem is inside the distributor causing no spark and fuel injectors not to work. The Cam Position Sensor is inside of the distributor. The Crankshaft Position Sensor is only used by the on-board diagnostics in the computer to identify miss-fire, and won't stop the engine from running. Bad distributors feel just like running out of fuel. The same signal from the distributor that results in a spark at a sparkplug is also used to open the fuel injectors.

[ulremember]

Originally Posted by JustSayGo

Make sure that the hose from the air cleaner and MAF Sensor is connected to the throttle body and doesn't have any air leaks. You have proved that you have fuel to the injectors. Check for spark from the coil wire and also a spark plug wire. Very likely the problem is inside the distributor causing no spark and fuel injectors not to work. The Cam Position Sensor is inside of the distributor. The Crankshaft Position Sensor is only used by the on-board diagnostics in the computer to identify miss-fire, and won't stop the engine from running. Bad distributors feel just like running out of fuel. The same signal from the distributor that results in a spark at a sparkplug is also used to open the fuel injectors.

Thank you for the quick reply. I will check the above mentioned items. I also will check the same on a 97 GMC Yukon that has done the exact same thing, although I do have a spark.

[ulremember]

Thank you "justsaygo". I checked the distributor and found it was "full" of oil. Cleaned the "slits" on the shaft (forgot what it is called stator or pick up?) and the car started immediately.
Thank you again. Is there a place where I can buy a "regasket" kit?
Chuck B.

[JustSayGo]

The oil leaks past an O-Ring on the distributor shaft. The PCV system should maintain a slightly lower pressure on the inside of the engine than there is outside. The oil is being forced past the O-Ring because the crankcase pressure is greater than atmospheric pressure, so clean the PCV system and PCV valve and you may not need to rebuild the distributor which may not eliminate the leak if there is a restriction in the PCV system. The O-Rings are not available in a kit.

[ulremember]

Originally Posted by JustSayGo

The oil leaks past an O-Ring on the distributor shaft. The PCV system should maintain a slightly lower pressure on the inside of the engine than there is outside. The oil is being forced past the O-Ring because the crankcase pressure is greater than atmospheric pressure, so clean the PCV system and PCV valve and you may not need to rebuild the distributor which may not eliminate the leak if there is a restriction in the PCV system. The O-Rings are not available in a kit.

Just got this post Just. Thank you again. Cleaned the dist. and my best friend is "rolling". Will check the PCV valve when we tackle the job. Have a SAFE and HAPPY holiday season.


ul