I recently bought a 1998 QX4 in October 2019. It had 275,000 miles, and it started right up. The previous owner had let it sit for a while, he couldn't say how long but the oil change sticker said Sept 2018 and he said he changed the oil pretty regularly so I figured it wasn't too long.
As I wanted to test drive it it provoked him to give full disclosure on the problems I would find while test driving it. He was advertising $300 and expected me to buy it and get it towed without any inspection. He thought it had an exhaust leak into the cabin and said that it "wagged its tail in a very scary way". He said he wasn't sure if he could let me test drive it because he didn't want to be liable. I eventually drove it and found that the "exhaust leak" was a heater core. Without revealing that it wasn't an exhaust leak I told him I could pay $150 in the case I needed to get my money back in scrap.
I drove it home and replaced the rear end suspension and the heater core as well as repairing all the burned out bulbs and back-lighting in the dash since I was in there anyway. I replaced the purge valve to turn the engine service light off and It did well for a month and then it started sputtering to a stall after cold start in the mornings. I decided to do full service oil change last weekend to see how the fluids were and found they were clean and that it didn't really have any leaks anywhere. Between Ebay, Amazon, and the initial cost I am into the vehicle about $300.
The full service (info for your help in diagnostics): I replaced the fuel filter, oil filter, air filter, topped off the transmission, power steering, coolant (it didn't really need it after the heater core swap), and washer fluid, and greased everywhere you could grease. I changed the oil using 10W-30 non-synthetic oil and added .75 quarts of Lucas Oil Stabilizer.
After the oil change I drove it approx five miles to a destination, and when I finished at the destination I came out to start it and it sputtered to a stall. I could not get it to start. I used ether in the intake and it started up and ran for a bit and sputtered to a stall when I tried to rev the accelerator. I opened up the fuel tank and sure enough I could not hear the fuel pump when the key was turned on. I tested for power to the fuel pump and there wasn't any. I pulled the fuel pump and connected the terminals that are just below the seat directly to the battery with no result. I then connected the top of the fuel pump directly to the battery and it started running. I cleaned up the terminals and was able to get the fuel pump to run and I replaced the strainer while I was in there.
It still won't start. It doesn't respond to ether anymore either. I tested the compression and I am getting approx 150psi/10kPa on all three on the right depending on how long I turn it over. I does build to over 150psi if I turn it longer. I could smell unburned ether on some of the cylinders as I released the pressure. The spark plugs are in need of a change, but they don't look so bad as to stall the car. I am in process of getting a magnetic socket to compression check the the hard-to-reach cylinders on the left (all the rubber inserts are worn out of mine), but I am thinking I am going to get the same result as the right. I went through all the fuses when I did the initial repairs but I am going to go through them again.
There's the little wire connector and the 14 gauge wire that drapes nonchalantly over the air intake from the distributor, to the back fire wall, and into the wire harness as it passes through the firewall (it's in the attached photo).
Before I go too deep into the electrics, are there any pointers or ideas of what may be wrong?