94 Altima keeps killing ignition coils?

[boostiality]

Hi Guys

Great forum with tons of info, I did do a search however and did come up empty handed as the threads I found on this subject never did get completed. So in any case, I've had my reliable 94 altima for the past 7 months now and have put some considerable mileage into it ( I took it for a cross country drive from PA to Cali) and didnt have any problems, until now. With no apperent signs of problems besides lower mpg lately the car decides to die on me on an intersection. I start by checking the ignition and found that there was no spark going to the plugs by seeing if they would arc. I pull the distriubutor cap and find no evidence of hanky panky in there, points were clean, rotor didnt have any apperent sign of damage. I then check the coil and discover its getting the proper voltage when cranking, however nothing happens. So I purchase a coil at pepboys, car starts right up and I drive away. A few miles down the road, the familiar dead feeling comes on and I park it. Same thing again, dead coil. What could be killing it? Any help would be appreciated.

[NISTECH]

I know you said you checked the distributor. But you need to go back in there and see if there is oil under the gold plate below your rotor.

[boostiality]

Cool will check that. I think I might know what it is though as the only thing that happened to the car that was all that different was that I removed the battery the day before to use it on another car. It appears that the clamp that goes to the postive battery terminal was loose and might've touched the hood during a bump and caused the coil to fry in the process. What do you think?

[NISTECH]

no but this does shed another light on your problem. Check the plugs that connect to the positive battery cable at the battery. One may be loose or corroded enough to break contact.

[boostiality]

Weird the car started right up this morning. I'm not going to drive it however until I get that rotor off though. Oil causing the CAS problems?

[NISTECH]

yep thats what I am thinking. Pretty common on the U13 altima.

[boostiality]

Yup confirmed what you said. Looks like the seal? around that wheel has been comprimised in a few places. Do you know if or where I can buy the seal around this thing? Thanks for the help

[NISTECH]

Its not the external seal thats leaking oil in. Its the internal seal that leaks oil out. The seal it in the distributor shaft inside. It is not servicable. You need to buy a new distributor. about $450- $550. Try one of our dealer sponsors their prices are much better then walking up to any old nissan and buying parts.

[boostiality]

Ouch pricey either way it seems. Well thanks again for your help. Just to sum it up, an internal leak is causing oil to get into the CAS? Why is it after a few hours of leaving the car alone, the car would be able to run but then die after a few mins ?

[NISTECH]

The oil runs off the pickup wheel and sensor, allowing it to operate. Then as soon as oil starts slinging around in there it covers up the sensor again.

[boostiality]

Well time to go yardin'. Appreciate your help.

[NISTECH]

check them insidefor signs of oil before you buy it to make sure it doesnt have the same problem. Like I said it is pretty common.

[510SX]

Its not the external seal thats leaking oil in. Its the internal seal that leaks oil out. The seal it in the distributor shaft inside. It is not servicable. You need to buy a new distributor. about $450- $550. Try one of our dealer sponsors their prices are much better then walking up to any old nissan and buying parts.

My neighbour's altima has the same problem. He took the distributor to one of the local rebuilder to have it rebuild (don't know where). It cost about $150. It's been over a year now. His car still running. Ebay also sell new aftermarket distributor for less than $200. I am not sure the quality though.

[NISTECH]

I too have heard of them being resealed but dont know who does it so I dont typically bring that up. What would be cool is if you could ask your neighbor who hes using and post it. That way we have a source.

[boostiality]

Yeah I checked ebay this morning and their selling aftermakets for around $160.00 and below. I'll just get one from someone on there that has really good feedback and let the board know how it is after I install it.

[NISTECH]

You know a quick get the car going that works for me when I want to bring it into the shop. I remove cap and rotor then the plate covering the CAS. Spray some break clean on it to wash it off. Bolt it back together and it fires right up and can be driven till the oil coats it again.

[boostiality]

Yup thats exactly what I did to just drive around for short distances. I ended up finding a junkyard distributor for cheap and so far so good .. You know I didnt realize the extent of this problem until I had to visit several yards/dismantlers till I found one way out in the boonies.

[NISTECH]

Yep it is very common, Most of the cars you saw out there that werent wreaked were probably taken there due to that very problem. Alot of the smaller shops dont seem to find the problem and that is the final resting place.