Moderator: volvite
I am not going to lie I did replace it with a Autozone aftermarket distributor at the time since I was in a rush at the time and limited with money. I do suspect that it is the distributor since the car does rattle at time and can feel the RPM slightly drop when idling, does fire like a charm in the highway but idling kinda feel the engine rattle a bit.smj999smj wrote:On the VG33E, the crank position sensor in the transmission bellhousing is a monitoring sensor for the ECM and it has no affect on drivability. If the starter cranks without any difficulty, if the battery and charging system test good and the battery cables connections are clean and tight, I would be highly suspect of your distributor unless you replaced it with a genuine Nissan part. Aftermarket reman distributors have a poor history when it coes to their quality and many experience problems not long after they've been installed. If it has a warranty still in effect, I would swap it out for a new one. Of course, before that, do an overall check of the plugs, wires, cap and rotor. Make sure there are no splits through the intake air duct and no leaking or disconnected vacuum hoses. Confirm proper ignition timing setting and fuel pressure.
Thanks for the info! I know that when you installing a new sensor or electrical parts, do I have to disconnect the battery or just one post?smj999smj wrote:There's a gear at the bottom of the rotor, so when you pull up on the distributor, the rotor is going to turn. You can use a Sharpie or crayon or touch-up paint to make alignment marks. Make one on the distributor housing showing where the rotor is pointing and another one to help you get the correct position of the distributor housing with the engine; usually, when you remove the hold-down bolt, there will be an impression on the housing from the bolt washer, which should be just slightly off the center of the housing's adjustment slot. Make your marks, remove he hold down bolt and pull straight up on the distributor and mark the rotor's position in relation to the housing once it disengages the camshaft drive. Transfer the marks onto your new distributor and set the rotor to the mark where the rotor ended-up after the distributor was removed from the engine. Install the new distributor. When the distributor is fully seated and the housing is lined-up with the engine, the rotor should have turned to the first position mark you made on the housing prior to pulling the distributor out of the ending (if it isn't lined up, you will have to remove the distributor from the engine, turn the rotor a little and reinstall until you get the correct position). Install the hold down bolt and tighten. Install the cap. Start the engine, warm it up and verify proper timing using a timing light.