'92 Sentra 1.6 Problem--Loss of power and air out of oil fill

[moethepro]

I have a '92 nissan sentra 1.6 with 125k miles. It has been running great since the day i bought it new. Out of the blue, the engine started running rough and has an overall loss of power, with a noise coming from the left front of the valve cover. exhauset has a putt,putt,putt,putt,putt sound. jerky in 1st and 2nd. Had my friend check it...all plugs, cap, rotor, pcv valve were fine. I removed the vac hose off the pcv valve while engine was running and it stalled. Also tons of air coming out of the oil fill when cap is removed. He said i might be the compression rings??? He's not a prof. mechanic. Anyone have any idea of my problem? could this be an emissions problem?

Please help.. I love this car.

Thanks, Moe

Modified by moethepro at 12:49 PM 9/9/2007
Modified by moethepro at 12:50 PM 9/9/2007