Faulty Distributor or faulty Fuel pump? (idle, plugs, valve, engine)
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So my mechanic has narrowed down a problem with my car to a fuel pump problem or distributor problem. It's 99 Sentra 1.6L, the problems i've experienced are general lack of acceleration, hills are a problem, and it will sputter at around 120km. Recently it also wouldn't turn over but it seemed to have only been a one-time thing. it does sound alittle worse when she starts now too. And at this point she died on the road after 10 minutes of driving on me afew days ago- that was sputtering at about 50km and i couldn't go faster then this despite pressing down on gas. Also when it does sputter at higher speeds it will flash CEL light. the CEL light is generally on but i checked the codes with mechanic and they have no thing to do with my problem (vacuum bypass valve problem) But my mechanic let it idle for over an hour and it didn't stop at all... he did suggest the fuel pump is under more stress while driving, but the fact that he's giving me two potential problems that are both quoted at $400 makes me skeptical about playing trial and error.
Anyone able to distinguish the difference based on these symptoms? Thank you either way!
If your mechanic has narrowed it down to either the distributor or the fuel pump and needs more than 30 seconds to take the diagnosis any further, you need to find a new mechanic.
Flashing CEL usually indicates a pretty bad misfire.
Have you done the routine checks when you suspect misfire? Check plugs, cap, rotor, wires? Could be intermittent issue when the engine is under load.
How many miles are on the car? How is it's maintenance history?
I did the plugs, distributor cap a year ago (however for afew months after i was driving with an ignition wire with a crack in it-which caused sputtering in the rain) however i have new ignition wires now as well.. fuel filter has been done as well.
If your mechanic has narrowed it down to either the distributor or the fuel pump and needs more than 30 seconds to take the diagnosis any further, you need to find a new mechanic.
He says he isn't willing to test drive and get stranded so besides it dying on him there is no way for him to tell.. However I am not someone who is that mechanically inclined and I have seem to have found a method to test for distributor problems... and i know theres a device to test for fuel pump problems..
Oh and for the previous post as well it has 220k on it. only owned it from 135k though
He says he isn't willing to test drive and get stranded so besides it dying on him there is no way for him to tell.. However I am not someone who is that mechanically inclined and I have seem to have found a method to test for distributor problems... and i know theres a device to test for fuel pump problems..
Oh and for the previous post as well it has 220k on it. only owned it from 135k though
If he's got it narrowed down to fuel pump or distributor there's no need to drive it. Just pull a plug wire to see if it has spark. Or, crack a fuel line with the key on to see if it's pumping fuel.
Like I said, you need to find a new mechanic. This is elementary stuff, not rocket science.
I don't think the CEL will flash when the fuel pump is going out. At least, it didn't for my rig of a similar vintage.
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