Almera losing power

Sauve

Hi there,
I've a 02 Almera 1.5, last night the engine light came on, and ever since has been losing power ocassionally, ie rev counter dropping right down for a split second, then back to normal.
It's not oil, water etc., and have tried disconnecting battery for few hours to reset but no joy there.
Will bring it to mechanic on Tues morn, but anyone got any ideas what might be up?
Thanks in advance

Midnight_EG

Have you cleaned out the throttle body and checked the fuel pump? Sounds like a fueling problem.

Nissan doctor

A stretched chain would be a common cause of those symtoms on the almera engine. If the fault is reading as a camshaft sensor or a crankshaft sensor then its likley the chain is triggering the fault.

Airflow meters have been known to go aswell...

Shay Vader

The Engine light coming on is usually an indication that a sensor ie Fuel, Lambda(exhaust) or Mass Air Flow sensor is malfunctioning which all bring a drop in power. The fact that you have already tried to reset the ECU by disconnecting the battery without success points to one of these electrical gremlins. Not too tricky a repair though new sensors can be quite expensive so you have been warned.Good luck with it anyway.

crosshair1

As Nissan doctor has said p0335 or p0340 faults for cam/ckp sensor due to a worn chain. Can also come up as fault p0011 variable timing and p030x multiple misfire. Garages are well aware of these faults and can test accordingly.

shamwari

Nissan doctor wrote: »

A stretched chain would be a common cause of those symtoms on the almera engine. If the fault is reading as a camshaft sensor or a crankshaft sensor then its likley the chain is triggering the fault.

Airflow meters have been known to go aswell...

A code scan will reveal all for the OP.

NissanDoc, when checking the chain for excessive stretch, is it true that there is something like a finger which sticks out of the tensioner, and if this it out by more than 20mm then this points to chain being stretched?

crosshair1

More than 10mm is a problem

lifer_sean

Per other posters, engine management light on and uneven tickover are the classic symptoms of stretched timing chain on these engines. Fault code will come back as camshaft sensor fault ... don't bother changing the sensor itself or checking the wiring as this will not help.

Sauve

Thanks guys, doesn't sound like it's gonna be too much of a problem to fix, thanks for the help

lifer_sean

Sauvignon82 wrote: »

Thanks guys, doesn't sound like it's gonna be too much of a problem to fix, thanks for the help

Sorry to burst your bubble, but stretched timing chain is not a cheap fix. Last time I got a Nissan timing chain kit (Primera, not Almera, but very similar) the parts came to about 200 euro and it's about a day's work to fit. Expect 400-500 from an indy, more from main dealer.

Sauve

lifer_sean wrote: »

Sorry to burst your bubble, but stretched timing chain is not a cheap fix. Last time I got a Nissan timing chain kit (Primera, not Almera, but very similar) the parts came to about 200 euro and it's about a day's work to fit. Expect 400-500 from an indy, more from main dealer.

Ahhhh! Jaysus there's the poor credit card shivering away in my bag
Thanks for the heads up, at least I'm sitting down!

Nissan doctor

A days work perhaps for someone who hasn't done one before!

3-4 hours max, with a tea break:D

A new chain, camshaft and crankshaft sensor comes to approx €200 from Nissan. They recommend replacing both sensors at the same time(both sensors are identical) but you can get away without changing them sometimes.

lifer_sean

Nissan doctor wrote: »

A days work perhaps for someone who hasn't done one before!

3-4 hours max, with a tea break:D

A new chain, camshaft and crankshaft sensor comes to approx €200 from Nissan. They recommend replacing both sensors at the same time(both sensors are identical) but you can get away without changing them sometimes.

The few we did, we replaced the tensioners and guides as well as the chain (which meant ripping the end plate and sump off the engine). Did not change the sensors. You reckon changing the chain on it's own is good enough?

Nissan doctor

lifer_sean wrote: »

The few we did, we replaced the tensioners and guides as well as the chain (which meant ripping the end plate and sump off the engine). Did not change the sensors. You reckon changing the chain on it's own is good enough?

You'd have to check the tolerances of the tensioner and the guides to make sure they are within spec but in the vast majority of cases they are, unless the engine has very high milage. Its only the chain itself that is the problem.

There is no more work involved in changing the tensioner and guides then just the chain on its own.