Hello Everyone...My name is Mary and I'm trying to fix a problem with our 1999 Nissan Sentra, automatic, 1.6L. We were having a problem with the cv axle and decided to replace it. We had a few problems with the removing the old axle and attempted to use a crow bar for some extra leverage. It worked and we replaced the old cv axle with the new one...put the tire and lugs back on the vehicle. We tested the car in the driveway to be sure everything was working properly and everything seemed ok until we took it out a few hours later. We were driving down the interstate and lost power as if the car was out of gas...yes the car had gas in it. LOL...we had just filled it up prior to replacing the axle. The lights, air, radio etc., worked but the car wouldn't start. We tried checking the fuel filter...it seemed fine. We checked spark, fuel, compression...it all checked out. My brother told me to try replacing the crank shaft sensor...which we did...when we removed the old crank shaft sensor...there was oil in the connector...not sure if that is good or not. Either way, the crank shaft sensor did not solve our problem and we are not sure what to do next. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. It is very frustrating to have a vehicle not running, especially when you need it to get to and from work. I hope this is enough information. I read your post :D

What did you do to check the fuel pressure? The crank sensor usually controls the spark (which you said was ok). There should be a cam sensor that controls when the injectors fire. You need to make sure you have enough fuel pressure to run the car. Even if there is fuel present it may not be enough to run the car. Also check for injector pulse. Unplug one of the injectors (will be a two wire plug), hook a test light between each wire on the plug, have someone turn the car over. The test light should blink. Good luck

Jeff

Jeff,

Thank you for your response...we are very greatful for any help we can get (throwing my hands in the air) LOL. My father-in-law checked the fuel pressure by disconnecting the hose from the fuel filter and when we tried to start the car, gas went everywhere. We will try what you have suggested and get back to ya.

Jeff,

Not sure if you are getting these messages or not, but we tried checking the fuel pressure and we took out each injector cleaned them off with starting fluid and looked for damage. We came up with nothing. We also pulled each spark plug and tested them again to be sure. Nothing worked. We did take it up to Auto Zone and they hooked us up to a diagnostic system, but we pulled no codes...probably because we had unhooked the battery and the system reset itself. ??? We then had a friend of ours who is a mechanic come over and take a quick look..he said our timing was off. We have now taken the engine apart and we don't see a problem with the gears or the timing chain etc...what should we do next??? Need some serious help. :D Thanks

This looks so familar, could've sworn I responded to it but I guess not (losing my mind). Jeff is a good tech & if I'm buttin in then say the word.

You are missing something. a lot of the stuff you are checking seems like you are taking it apart and looking at it, this won't really tell you much, a shorted injector looks the same as a good one, etc.

It would help to tell us how you tested fuel, spark, and compression. I didn't see any where that you had checked for injector pulse. There really isn't to much damage you can do changing an axle, it's normal to use a pry bar to pop them out but then again I'm not sure exactly how much trouble you had or the route you used to get to it....

You did mention you just filled your tank, I would probably be looking at a sample (that is one thing that looking can be good )

I would spray some carb clean down the throttle body to see if it will start the engine for a few seconds........

Hey there...no not butting in...we can use all the help we can get. We did spray starting fluid down the throttle body and we got nothing. We checked the spark plugs by taking out a spark plug wire, sticking a screw driver in the end of the wire and grounding it out...then started the car...got spark on all four plugs. We test the fuel filter by taking the fuel line off the filter and then attempting to start the car...had plenty of pressure and gasoline...oops. We checked the injector pulse...just don't remember how...my fiance did that. We haven't looked at the gasoline yet...is there something we should be looking for?? Should we replace the injectors?? They still had good O rings and such, but there was a lot of carb. on there. We cleaned it off with starting fluid. We will try about anything at this point. LOL

Just a couple of points. When you check for spark you should really use a spark tester (any part store will sell them) this will test the strength of a coil. The gap on them is adjustable so you can check it for 20kv, 40kv, etc (the wider the gap, the higher the voltage requirement). Using a screw driver verifies spark but not the condition of the coil since the gap to ground is so small a coil only capable of producing 5kv (which won't fire a plug in a cylinder under compression) will produce a spark.
Looking at the gas is pretty basic for a no start. If you suspect water in the gas, just get a good sample in a qt jar. If there is excess water, you will see it at the bottom seperate from the gas, it will be obvious.

If the plugs are wet when you pull them after cranking, that would indicate it's getting fuel. I would be tempted to put some good cheap plugs in, disable the fuel system & see if it will fire off starting fluid. (Assuming the secondary ign had checked out)

What was the compression readings?

You basically only need 3 things to fire, Spark, compression & air/fuel so something is missing.... The only other thing is all 3 have to be at the right "time"

K. Will check out tomorrow. Thanks...will get back to ya. :D

I am having the same problem. Was this matter ever resolved.

Hard to say.... Some folks don't come back and post what the problem was when they fix it....

Best thing to do would be to start your own thread with as much info as you can.