Pathy occasionally refuses to start

[bcar240]

Vehicle is a 1997 Pathfinder. Occasionally the engine refuses to start, it usually happens when the vehicle was run recently and has been sitting, so the engine is still warm but not at operating temp. Engine will crank and will sit there spinning on the starter but will not fire. Usually does this few a few minutes (resting in between short duration goes at starting) then will eventually turn over. During this time the smell of gas is obvious outside the vehicle. The use of full throttle and/or pumping the throttle seem to help (reminds me of flooding). Also, I’ve been told that if you remove the air filter and try it will start as well. The ECU is throwing a knock sensor error which is something which needs to be addressed, it’s been like that for a while, could that be the culprit? Other than the starting issue there are no problems we are aware of. We suspect that the excessive cranking led to an early death of the starter motor and are hoping to fix the problem quickly now that the new starter is in.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

could be flooding itself out due to leaky injectors or something... but yeah, holding your foot to the floor while cranking should help (if you smell gas). I'd start with the obvious and replace that knock sensor.

[bcar240]

This will be addressed as the first order of business, and then we'll have to take a look at those injectors. From my experiences with other aging Nissans, I know their injectors tend to have a pretty definitive service life for some reason.