Help - do I need a new Distributor?

93altima · Aug 17th, 2004, 07:59 PM

I have a 4 cyl 1993 Altima with 180,000 miles. The car almost wouldn't start and then when I was driving it was missing really bad - car was jerking a lot. Nissan dealership codes indicated the Camshaft position sensor and the ignition signal primary. They said a new distributor would fix both of these things - that there is oil in the distributor. Since I don't want to sink too much $$ into this old car I may try to install a new distributor myself using AutoZone parts. Here are my questions:

1. Does this sound like the problem?
2. Would a new distributor take care of the Camshaft position sensor and the ignition signal primary - or do I need to buy other parts also?
3. Should I also put on a new rotor and cap?
4. Is this easy enough for someone with avg mechanical skills to replace

Thanks for any help you can give!

**Asleep** · Aug 17th, 2004, 08:15 PM

wow, lots of distributor problems lately. quick explanation as to why you got those particular codes. the oil got onto the camshaft position sensor, tripping that code. the ignition code you got because the vehicle failed to start. you have two options. let the dealer replace it and pay an exorbitant amount of money on a new distributor and labor. OR, do it yourself. you can get one from auto zone at about a third of what nissan will sell it for. now before anyone starts screaming that auto zone is junk, remember this - dealer will cost a little over 400 dollars for a new dis. auto zone will be about 165 and you get a LIFETIME warranty. dealer wont do that for you. scribe the old distributor where it mounts to the head. make the scribe mark line up with the center of the adjusting hole on the distributor where it can be easily seen. now you can safely remove the old dis. when you install the new one, make sure the shaft lines up with the notch in the camshaft. align the center of the hole with your scribe mark and the engine should still be very close to the correct timing. if you have a timing light, now would be the perfect time to use it. if these instructions were too vague, let me know and ill explain better. oh yeah, have auto zone reset the ecu once you are done. good luck!

SPEEDO · Aug 24th, 2004, 11:42 AM

if I remember right, you can only put the dist. in one way, but its not a bad idea to scribe a mark j u s t in case

**Asleep** · Aug 24th, 2004, 05:58 PM

the scribe mark isnt for the distributor to fit - its so the timing will be close to what it was before you pulled the old one out...