Another update on my car

"Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car" (pilot-and-car-guy) 07/28/2015 at 14:45 • Filed to: None

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It died on me...again...

I had been driving for about 20 minutes, it stalled and wouldn’t start. I did a compression test and compression on cyl 1 was fine, but no spark. Replaced the valve cover gasket. Nothing, opened the distributor and found a little oil in it. I cleaned it and it started it and it ran fine. Died again about an hour later. This time I have spark, wasn’t able to test compression. Called a tow, once it got home 2.5 hours later, it ran fine.

I’m thinking a bad valve seat on 1 cyl. Any other ideas? This car has been nothing but trouble.

*edit* I also replaced the clutch cable after it broke and the clutch feels normal again. I’m just going to replace it every 5k and call it good.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/28/2015 at 14:47

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holy shit dude. it might be time just to look for a new one. this thing sounds like it is possessed

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time 07/28/2015 at 14:49

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I wish I could. I can’t afford something new. Any ideas of what it might be that isn’t as extreme as a top end rebuild?

Steve in Manhattan > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/28/2015 at 15:05

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New plugs/wires?

JGrabowMSt > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/28/2015 at 15:16

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A bad valve seat is more likely to fall and trash the motor. It wont start back up.

Go ahead, ask me how I know.....

Now, a worn cylinder sleeve/sloppy piston movement is where I was start. Piston slap is one hell of a bitch to tame. I’d start searching craigslist for a motor, and swap that thing out stat.

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/28/2015 at 16:35

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Have you checked the O ring on the distributor shaft or checked for excessive play? Oil shouldn’t be getting up there.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > JGrabowMSt 07/28/2015 at 18:47

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New updates. Smell of burning coolant from the exhaust, no smoke. Tiny bit of oil in coolant. Stared fine today. Seems to be a very elusive issue.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > Steve in Manhattan 07/28/2015 at 18:48

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Plugs are fine. I have spark. Screwdriver in the wire sparks and the engine ran today.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/28/2015 at 18:49

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Looks like it came in from the valve cover leak. Engine ran today.

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/28/2015 at 19:43

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Unless I’m misunderstanding you, a valve cover leak isn’t going to get oil in your distributor. Have you checked that your dwell is steady?

Steve in Manhattan > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/28/2015 at 19:44

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Sometimes the simplest fix is the one that works, but nope.

Sticking valve? Maybe run some valve cleaner thru it. I like trying cheap fixes up front.

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/28/2015 at 19:51

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Start it cold with the radiator cap off and watch the reservoir for bubbles.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/28/2015 at 19:54

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The distributor was slightly loose and the leaking valve cover supplied the oil.

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/28/2015 at 20:13

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The adjustment bolt or the one holding it in place? Oil from your valve covers cannot get inside your distributor. Oil coming up into the distributor needs to be addressed. If your timing is off, especially retarded you can seriously overheat your heads without causing a very noticeable change in coolant temperature. Usually causes dropped valve seats and warped heads.

Edit: could also be a sign of too much pressure in the crankcase if your o-ring and bearings are fine.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/28/2015 at 20:57

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Look at a ga16de. The distributor bolts to the valve cover. The top mounting bolt. Timing is fine. Car ran today. I don’t know what this is

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/28/2015 at 22:21

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I see what your saying. Yours doesn’t have points so dwell isn’t an issue. You still shouldn’t be getting oil in there, and that’s what probably caused your loss of spark, but that’s not your issue. Drying it out or draining it solves it, but long term it could become one so keep it on the list. Provided your timing is holding of course.

After replacing the valve cover gaskets do they still leak? With the coolant/oil issue cropping up at the same time, make sure you rule out warped heads, the test is cheap.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/28/2015 at 22:56

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Just got back. Compression is at 115/110/105/120

Head and head gasket are fine. Valve cover isn’t leaking and distributor is clear.

While doing the compression test I had plug wires in 1&2, compression tester in 3, and plug - wire in 4. Started and ran on 2 cyls. Put it back together and ran on all 4. Still no CEL.

I drained the coolant to see if it was mixing. It’s fine. Next step is to fill with coolant and drive for an hour around the block and see if the issue is still present. If you would email me (jakehuitt@gmail.com). I have work and school Tuesday through Friday, so I probably can’t do anything until next weekend. I’d love to stay in touch, as you have been very helpful so far.

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/28/2015 at 23:29

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My first thought when reading your post was that this doesn’t sound like a major issue. If your sure they aren’t mixing it’s much more likely it’s electrical or an accessory part, or sensor (less so the sensors they usually give you codes) If it starts warm as well as cold compression isn’t an issue, and your numbers confirm that. Leaking valve covers are not an issue, and the distributor is why it likely died on you, but that’s a minor and intermittent issue. That said I’d clean it and the area underneath it well enough that you can look for leaks there. It may be filling and then draining and your only seeing the remnants. Check it out every day and see if your good. I’d also send off an oil sample to rule out block issues. Amazon has the kits and the price includes the test. Also since you’ve been pulling the spark plugs what did they look like? If they are all the same which I assume they are the problem will be much easier to sort out. My email is dogoncrook@Gmail.com if I forget to email you feel free to shoot me one.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/28/2015 at 23:34

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Plugs were fine. I have spark and the engine runs when cold. It’s 30+ minutes of driving when it stalled and won’t start. Still have spark after it stalls. I’m betting electric issue

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/29/2015 at 00:08

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If you need a cheap beater car look for a ford escort. had two of em and abused the living shit out of them and they kept going. good cheap cars IMO

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/29/2015 at 01:06

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Look in the back of a Haynes manual or Google how to read spark plugs, and see what they indicate. Even if they are fine they should lean one way or another. How does it handle full throttle pulls under load? Any dead spots or loss of power? Electrical issues usually are an abrubt cutoff when it dies, or misfires. Fuel issues tend to kind of sputter. Since it runs fine till it doesn’t I’d look into the fuel system. Clogged fuel filters can overpressure all your injectors and the spray pattern can get worse as it heats, but you’d probably notice it, and the fuel pump may be overheating or just not cutting it anymore. Another culprit could be the sensors related to air fuel mixtures, Maf is doubtful, but a temp sensor may be out or out of spec because it’s dying when it’s warm and after a cool down it’s back in business. The spark plugs would be a tipoff if this is happening, should be running pretty rich in that case. Does it smell real gassy after it dies? Look for systems that change how they operate cold to hot. Every car has some type of system to assist in cold starts and during warm up, make sure they are all operating in spec.

Whenever you have suspected fuel issues you first need to find out if you are going lean or rich. The plugs will do, but If you have an OBDII car and can read the air fuel ratio that’s even better, I’d monitor it while it heats all the way up and in as many conditions as possible. If the AF ratio is fine and it just dies Its definitely electrical shenanigans. A fuel pressure test is pretty easy if you haven’t done one I’d knock that out.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/29/2015 at 09:21

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Fuel pressure is hard on this one. Wot pulls are fine. No issues until suddenly. No smell of gas, plugs weren't fouled.

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/29/2015 at 13:30

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I can’t really tell which specific model of distributor you would have and they make it kind of a pain by not listing part numbers for its components, but it looks like your coil pack is inside the distributor. If that’s the case, on your model I’d test it, and inspect it for signs of arcing through the case or just swap it. I’ve found the coil packs listed but not all the seals for the dizzy, so you may want to just swap it if it’s is indeed a bad coil. If you replace the dizzy, take a pic of the rotor position, so if you pull it you don’t put the rotor 180 off when you reinstall. If you go with a new one you’ll have to do the timing again, but in my experience with older cars setting the timing by the book is just the start, your engine isn’t likely to spec so playing around with it you can probably get it running better by using the suggested timing as a guide rather than hitting it exactly. If you haven’t adjusted your valves I’d do that before you do the timing.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/29/2015 at 13:34

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I’d like to avoid adjusting vales and anything else that involves major engine work. How do I test a coilpack?

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/29/2015 at 13:55

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Valves aren’t a major job. It’s a bit tedious because you have to keep hand crank the engine to position them but look up the process for your model it’s really easy, and should only take an hour or two. It’s a good way to spot valve issues early. For the coil packs your just checking the resistance across the terminals, you’ll need to check the specs, and they fail high I believe. But if the case has any weak points the electricity may jump out to whatever is nearby instead of going through the post, I’m not sure if this will show up in a test. It’s a wear item so I generally just replace them when they are older than they last on average. If you’ve never put new ones in and you’ve got 50k or so out of them I’d say you got a fair amount of use out of them. I’d be baffled how they made it if they are original. Each car is different though, the old can style ones tend to last forever, the newer ones are hit or miss, I’ve had cars that kill them every 30k and some easily go 100k miles.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/29/2015 at 14:08

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Do I need to pull the head to check valves or just the valve cover?

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/29/2015 at 14:24

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http://www.nissanforums.com/ga16de-1-6l-en…

This may not be your exact coil, but here’s a good thread. Apparently AutoZone will test them free. The pics on the second page are a good illustration of arcing and if yours are starting to look like that, I’d swap them. The thread raises a good point jumping this car probably sent these over the edge, but check your grounds around the car.

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/29/2015 at 14:36

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Just the cover

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/29/2015 at 14:48

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Actually yours can’t be adjusted, so don’t worry about it. The ticking you had earlier may be a carbon buildup on your valves from weak spark if your coil is going. Buy a can of seafoam and look up how to seafoam it.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/29/2015 at 14:50

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Will do. Thanks for the advise. I’ll email or reply when I know more.

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/29/2015 at 17:23

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No problem. This is my favorite advice to give lol, but when you have carbon buildup issues make sure you run all the way up the rev limiter getting on the freeway at least once a week or so to burn it off. When you get it running a good high rev loop around some back roads on a regular basis is exactly what an old engine needs.

Edit: and seafoam works best at 200F+ so you’ll get more mileage out of it when everything is hot.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/29/2015 at 17:48

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I’ll clean it out and get the coil tested tomorrow. Then I plan to drive it around the block for an hour on Saturday to verify it’s fixed. I’ll let you know then if I need more help.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/31/2015 at 12:25

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Filled her* up with coolant and drive her to **autozone for a battery, starter, and alternator test. Everything checked out. Drive to the gas station and filled up and got it to the shop. Idled and drive up and down the driveway for about an hour and it didn’t stall***. I have no clue.

* Denver here named my car Lefty Lucy, as something is always falling apart.

**Autozone and the gas station are only a few blocks away

** Except when I unplugged the MAF and it sputtered, plugging it back in caused it to stall. Fired right up though. I did look at the maf and it was clean, so that’s one more thing ruled out. I did notice a bit of insulation was mission on one of the wires that went to the starter. I’ll try to get a photo later today.

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/31/2015 at 12:39

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Did you have the coil tested?

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/31/2015 at 12:40

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They said they couldn’t do it.

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/31/2015 at 12:47

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Fucking AutoZone. Well do a visual inspection or gamble on it, it’s only 20 or 30$. If you have a timing light you can put it on the plug wires and look for a steady flash on each wire, but if it’s an intermittent problem you’ll have to wait till it pops up again and be ready.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/31/2015 at 12:49

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Last time it died I know I had spark on 1 wire, not sure of timing. I’ll see if I have a timing light. Any idea where the coil is or how hard it is to get to?

DogonCrook > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/31/2015 at 12:57

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Its inside of your distributor. It’s really hard to tell when they are going bad unless you see it arcing, which you can’t on yours, hear it ticking, or rule out any other faults in the ignition. Usually on newer cars there is one for each plug, so you can just swap and see if the problem moves cylinders. On yours a single coil feeds all of them. A junkyard might have a cheap one and you can swap, and check that way. If you do replace yours you’ll want to make sure oil doesn’t get back in there though.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > DogonCrook 07/31/2015 at 13:01

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Inside the distributor like under the cap or like remove the distributor?