Nissan - Sentra :: 2003 - Valves Bent Suddenly - Timing Still Good
Jan 14, 2015
Totally stumped. Replaced the head gasket in Nissan 03 Sentra 3 months ago and car has been running great since with good power. Car suddenly completely dies after coming to a stop without any warning or any loud noises.
No compression in all cylinders. Seemed to be lots of oil in all four cylinders according to the bottom of the spark plugs. Pulled timing cover, timing marks still line up perfectly. Leak down test suggests valve problem.
Pulled the head and see all the exhaust valves are bent and the intakes are bent on pistons #1 and #3. (which is also odd as pistons #1 and #4 run in the same positioning) Question is how can all the exhaust valves suddenly get bent simultaneously with the timing chain still registering perfectly on the marks it's supposed to?
Things I've checked: I checked to see if the camshafts have sheared through the key, but they seem fine. No deep grooves found to indicate they slipped or anything.
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So recently my service engine light came on suddenly and I saw my tachometer acting a little weird along with my car vibrating slightly at stop lights. I know I should get this checked out because it's better to nip this problem in the bud early on before the problem worsens or starts to affect other parts of the car. My questions are,
What the problem is? I've read online that sometimes the service engine soon light comes on because of small issues that can be resolved by e.g. tightening the gas cap etc etc or it may be something that requires professional attention. I don't want to have to see a mechanic if the issue can be resolved by myself.
I've had terrible experiences with mechanics, what often happens is that I get charged for work done and the problem isn't solved. This happened once with an individual mechanic and I'll probably look at certified dealers such as Mossy Nissan. But that being said, the reviews of all the Nissan certified service centres in my area have horrible ratings and reviews so even going to them is a hesitation for me.
How can I protect myself from getting ripped off? What information should I ask for or tell them? Do i ask them for the codes when they run a diagnostic test and what should I expect to get charged for and what should I expect not to get charged for.
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I have a 1991 Nissan Sentra with 151,427 miles. The past several months I will be driving along and suddenly the car will stop working and it won't restart right away. The following parts have been replaced within the past 2 years: 2nd transmission, new starter, new alternator, new fuel pump, new battery, rack & pinion steering, and a complete tune-up just last fall (2012). What would cause my car to suddenly lose power when I'm driving? I want my Nissan to come back to life!
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So my son's car started to sound like a diesel at idle - a good precursor to timing belt tensioner failure and belt slip, as that happened last night.
When we pulled the belt cover off and turned the dampener pulley by hand the belt was spinning on the bottom gear. When turning the engine over, there was no mechanical noises to indicate valves making contact. Did we get lucky or are the valves just bent out of the way?
How can you tell the valves are bent without taking the head off?
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Three mechanics have given us three different opinions about what is wrong with our 2003 Nissan Sentra. I'd like to hear from the Car Talk community.The problem started when our car began to shake when we drove above 40 miles per hour. We got the radiator replaced. However, the car still would not always start. We took it to the Nissan dealership. The mechanic there said it needed a new fuel pump.
We took it to mechanic #2 for a lower-cost fuel pump replacement. However, the car has started every time for them. So they cannot be confident that there is something wrong with the fuel pump. The fuel pressure does drop off after turning the key off. This mechanic said our main problem is that there is antifreeze in cylinders No. 2 and 3 of the engine (likely from when our radiator broke). There is either a crack in the cylinders or the head gasket has failed. They are estimating $1,200 to $1,600 to fix this. They said if we don't take care of this, the antifreeze will continue to circulate and damage the engine further.
The Nissan dealership says if there were antifreeze in the engine, the check engine light would have come on. Also, they say they would have noticed if there were antifreeze in the cylinders. Their opinion is the fuel pump is only thing that needs to be fixed.
We then called mechanic #3 to get another opinion. This mechanic specializes in Hondas/Toyotas/Nissans. He hasn't looked at the car yet, but he thinks that the motor could be damaged since the car was shaking when the radiator broke. He says he thinks it is unlikely that the fuel pump needs replacing, and he thinks the check engine light would not detect the antifreeze in the engine.
Fuel pump, antifreeze in cylinders, or motor? Or all three? What do you think?The car has about 85,000 miles on it.
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While a friend was using my 2003 Nissan Sentra evidently a child spilled a sugary drink onto the gear shift console without my friend realizing it. The car sat for 2 weeks in the Sept. heat. When I drove it for the first time, I noticed a grinding sensation when I put the gear shift into reverse and park. The other settings were normal. Do I need to have it checked out, or will the motion of using the gear shift eventually wear away the sticky mess that obviously is in there? My husband didn't notice a thing, but it is my car and he very seldom drives it.
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So I have a 2003 Nissan Sentra which was given to me by my family and it's main issue is how much oil it is burning constantly. I find the car to be a lot more safer and reliable than my previous vehicle a 98' ford taurus. I have my 1 year old son with me daily so his safety is my #1 concern especially when we are in the car so whatever I must do to fix this issue, I am ready though I am hoping to not have to replace the engine. The car is currently at 176,653 miles as of right now. I have done a lot of research on this issue in these past months and this is what 'lve come up with.
I have seen a lot of blogs regarding similar issues that their nissan sentra was burning massive amounts of oil due to the manufacturer's precat. It has been said to relieve the vehicle from its oil burning issue to change the precat to a header so one of my questions is would you find that to be the most reasonable answer, to change the precat to a header?? I was told the precat in my car had been changed previously so I inspected the car myself due to finding the mechanic had replaced the precat with another precat thus making no change to the issue at hand. I am getting really tired of feeding my engine oil when it just guzzles it down in a day or two. Here are some questions i have:
Would changing the precat to a header be the most reasonable solution to ridding this oil burning problem?? (if thats the case this would really relieve me over the stress i endure from this car)
I currently use SAE 10W 40 High Mileage engine oil; the owner manual says to use A) SAE 5W-30 viscosity oil for all temperatures & B) SAE 10W-30 or SAE 10W-40 if the ambient temperature is above 0*F so after using choice B, would changing now to SAE 5W-30 be a good idea?
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I recently had my "Service Engine Light" come on, Sunday to be exact. I went through my normal procedure of checking the fuel cap and drove several times to no avail. So today I ran by Autozone where I got the P0302 code. Now I realize I could go in for a tune up, but I'm a college student and just spent all my money on books so I'm looking for some DIY solutions before I lay down any large amounts of money. Where to start. As for a bit more background, I filled my car up with gas on Friday, the light came on Sunday and the car will shake on initial idle of the car.
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My 2003 Nissan Sentra was doing fine a few days ago until I started up a very steep hill and went into 1st gear. There was a burning smell for about 2 blocks so I shifted to 2nd gear. The smell went away. When I was in 1st gear it did not sound or feel like I was trying to go too fast for the gear. I just smelled the burning. Same hill in 2nd, no smell. How much should I worry?
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My camshafts got moved while replacing tb & wp.v6. Can I get TDC bringing #1 valves closed & #4 valves open & then bring crankshaft the TDC mark? Interference engine, valves not damaged!!!
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I had new tires put on my 2011 Altima around 35,000 miles. I started noticing a hum, so I checked the mechanic notes and they said I had a bent right rear rim. So, I had them replace it immediately. The hum (which only happens specifically at 40mph and at 75 mph) remained so I attributed it to new tires and breaking in.
I took my car to a shop around 45k miles for a check engine light, which ended up being an ECM issue that required a dealer service. I also had him check the tires as the hum was still there. He just rotated the tires and sent me on my way. This is when the steering column started shaking, so I had the dealer check it out and they told me I had a bent rim! Go figure, I've been driving on this thing for about 10k miles.
So, I ordered a new rim and had a local tire place put it on and they showed me the bent rim. Now I thought this would solve things but I was wrong . I still fee the vibration in the steering column at high speeds and the annoying wah hum is still there.
I'm a little lost as to what the problem could be so I'm looking for some insight? Should I start with having the other 3 tires balanced? Could it be that the bent rim caused uneven wearing on my tires over the 10k miles and it may take time to even out? There's no noticeable wear on the tires to my seeing but I could be wrong. These tires are 50k mile tires. Could the bent rim have caused other unseen damage? Keep in mind the wheel they replaced is now on the rear.
I know another cause of shaking could be the rotors but as far as I know they're in good shape and breaking is still smooth. so if they were the issue causing vibration at high speeds I would surely feel it in the breaks.
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I recently bought a 97 960. i have had a s90 before in totaled it i loved the car so much i found another. i was driving and broke the timing belt tensioner which in turn lead to the breaking of 5 exhaust valves that i know of. I've taken off the head and noticed that one of the bottom of the valves had melted onto the number 5 piston head.
I called around and search but every motor is at least 1000 and i have been told anywhere from 3500-4500 to rebuild. My question would b is there an easy way to fix or should i junk it. i bought it for a 1000 it has only 140000 on it an its in almost great condition. I attached some pictures of the head and piston so u can see the damage.
Attached File(s)
2012_04_07_19.02.39.jpg ( 1.45MB )
2012_04_10_16.45.26__1_.jpg ( 1.43MB )
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So, I got a 01 b5 1.8 5spd given to me was broken timing belt. The car is super clean with 226k on it and had been well-taken care of..oil changes Mobil 1 and such. the owner just got his $$ worth and drove it till the belt went, slapping then towed it to my shop. It did not overheat and he was not driving it hard. Now here is my real question...apars lapping on a new belt and crossing my fingers, what testing can I do to check and see if there are any valves damaged? Can't I do a compression test w/out the valve train in time right? Also, if there does happen to be head damage. I would be in the market for an AUG head, unless it's just a valve that can be replaced....
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Took it to the dealer today to have the seatbelt replaced, which they did. As I was leaving the lot I noticed the airbag light was still blinking so I went back. Tech brought out the OBDII and ran a scan. No errors. Went through all menus and cleared everything only to realize his OBDII had the wrong 'code card' in it. So he went and got the right card and came back, ran it again, still no errors. Went through all menus again and cleared everything including what he called an old error but not one related to the airbag. As he was walking away to go get his manager the light... just went off on it's own. (Think it was mad at the tech, NOW I know why.. then I didn't.)
On the way home, on the highway, in Texas, going uphill... the accelerator suddenly becomes unresponsive. The car starts slowing down, 65, 60, in a 70 where everyone passing me is doing 80... So, I goosed the gas, revved it over 4k and ... the gear shifted and the car sped up... WTF?! Now this car ONLY has 83k miles on it. It was mint. No problems AT all, ran smooth as butter until I let the dealer touch it. NOW, it drives like gramma's jalopy and I can't for the life of me figure out what the heck the seatbelt has to do with the other issue but THAT drastic of a change is NOT coincidence.
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I have a 98 Nissan Sentra every now and then when I get in it to start it I get nothing but if I hold it or turn it to the off position a few times it will start, what this could be....
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I have a 2000 Nissan sentra and I have times when I will drive for couple days and then it won't start it will just crank over and over but won't fire I have had it to several people but no answer replaced the fuel pump relay switch but nothing
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I've got a 1997 Nissan Sentra GXE (Standard). Recently, my car decided to stop starting. Here are some of the symptoms:
1) If I would go down a hill and come to a stop, or even if I was slowing down to come to a stop at a stop sign or light, my car would turn off over 50% of the time. It would usually always start back up, until last week. My car turned off as I was slowing down to turn into the mall. I was able to coast into the parking lot.
2) When I turn the key it clicks and makes a "rrrrrr" "rrrrrrr" sound.
3) I was able to get the car started once after I pumped the gas so I don't think it's a fuel pump issue.
4) The automatic windows, lights, and radio still work so I'm ruling out a battery or alternator issue either.
5) My car couldn't be jumped or push-started.
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My brakes are squealing; going to replace pad or lining; what is typical cost?
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My car has been working okay. But this morning when i was taking my mom to work. When i pulled into her jobs parking lot i heard a loud sound. I didn't pay any attention to it because the car still acted fine as it been. That was around 7 or 8 this morning. Then around 4 when it's time to pick my mama up. I got in the car it started right up. But i notice that it was jerking or vibrating real bad (but it always vibrates). Then when i started driving it i had to force it to go. When i came to a complete stop at red lights the car was acting like it was trying to cut off and it was jerking and vibrating out of control. It was doing that so much that i had to put it in park and run the motor to keep it going then when the light turned green i put it in drive and it still was acting up. It was so bad that i had to turn around and slowly get it back. I notice though that i smelled something burning. When i parked back at home it was smoke coming from the lights and hood. I know it didn't overheat i didn't have it on for that long maybe 10 minutes at the most. We just got a oil job not too long ago and the service engine light is on. The light has been on for a while now. But before we knew it was the crank shaft sensor. We keep replacing that but that continues to go bad. I really need to know what is possibly keeping my car from picking up speed and why is it smoking? We use this car for everything. My car is a 2001 nissan sentra.
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I have a USDM 2004 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V that has bad tie-rod ends (both inner and outer). I plan on changing them on both sides, however, I was told that I would have to change the boots as well. Are they talking about the strut boots and, if so, how many would I need to change and which ones? (When I went on [URL], it was stating that there are front and rear ones).
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Have been working on this car for a few weeks now; 93 nissan sentra 1.6L. The gas+oil under the plugs was the original problem. We took the plugs out and tried to start the car a few times to shoot the gas+oil out of the cylinders. All the cylinders would fill up again right after we were done though. So we changed the fuel pressure regulator and they stopped filling up. Changed the oil+filter because they were contaminated with gas. Started it with starter fluid and the problems kept coming.
The catalytic converter was clogged and red hot so I cleaned it all out removing the platinum and put it back in as a empty pipe.Now when it started cylinders 1+2 wouldn't fire and wouldn't kill the engine when i removed the wire from the cylinder when it was running. It was misfiring and sounded terrible but it ran.So i thought it might be the fuel injectors. I was about to check them out today but then there was gas+oil under the plugs again causing hydrolock and it wouldn't start today. Took the plugs out so the cylinders could dry, but I am lost on where to go next.
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