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1988 Pathfinder Problem with Idle?


WarthogWD21
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Well if it's turning over it's not 180 out... but backfiring through the intake usually means the timing is off. How far did the rotor spin when you dropped the distributor in? If it spins too much it'll be a tooth off and cause the issue you're having right now. What you can do is take it back out and turn the rotor until it's almost facing directly left and then drop it in. Sometimes that's enough to line everything up just right.

 

Are you sure you have the plug wires on correctly? Most wires are labeled as well as the cap so it's kind of hard to mess up.

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Alright I think that the check engine light was originally the cam position sensor. I'm going to replace that sensor and see what happens. I will also try to re align the distributor again tomorrow morning after I get the new sensor in. If I'm correct if the sensor is bad it would cause the engine to fire incorrectly? Please say otherwise if I'm wrong. The symptoms also match.

 

I'm in north county off the 78

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Alright I think that the check engine light was originally the cam position sensor. I'm going to replace that sensor and see what happens. I will also try to re align the distributor again tomorrow morning after I get the new sensor in. If I'm correct if the sensor is bad it would cause the engine to fire incorrectly? Please say otherwise if I'm wrong. The symptoms also match.

 

I'm in north county off the 78

 

Give it a try, it would be weird as hell if that was what is causing the issue. Like I said earlier they usually just fail and the engine won't run at all, or do what James' rig did and intermittently not run. I've had one fail while sitting on the shelf, it worked when I pulled it out but not when it went back in.

 

Good luck man.

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It's called the Crank Angle Position Sensor, inside the distributor and it is a bitch to remove. Almost impossible actually. Better luck finding a good used distributor to put in it.

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It's called the Crank Angle Position Sensor, inside the distributor and it is a bitch to remove. Almost impossible actually. Better luck finding a good used distributor to put in it.

 

Well when trying to remove the valve cover i did open the distributor before realizing that the cap didn't help me at all. maybe i damaged it when i opened the distributor? I still dont know why the check engine light came on before it died.

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The sensor is under the plate. Taking the cap off shouldn't have hurt anything but these do just die.

 

 

Is there anyway to test it? would there be a visible way to tell if its shot? I have a multimeter ..

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No it's not, there isn't one. It's the Crank Angle Position Sensor and it's in the distributor like I said. '96+ VG33s have the sensor located on the bell housing.

 

Ok thank you. That's a relief. I'm going to go ahead and have the sensor replaced this weekend and see what happens.

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The sensor is under the plate. Taking the cap off shouldn't have hurt anything but these do just die.

 

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How do I pull off the rotor head in the distributor? Give it a pull? 'Cause I don't see any screws or anything. Thanks again.

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It should just slide right off after the set/retaining screw is removed. I guess give it a tug if it's stuck on here.

 

But if there wasn't a screw in there in the first place that could be your problem... the rotor turning on the shaft while the distributor is turning. You'll see a hole in the rotor and shaft for the screw.

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It should just slide right off after the set/retaining screw is removed. I guess give it a tug if it's stuck on here.

 

But if there wasn't a screw in there in the first place that could be your problem... the rotor turning on the shaft while the distributor is turning. You'll see a hole in the rotor and shaft for the screw.

 

This is what I'm looking at. I removed the 2 screws over the brass cap but can remove the rotor to remove the cap to get to the sensor.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well everyone, unfortunately this weekend myself and a mechanic were doing some work on the pathfinder, trying to get it running again but with no luck. There are too many issues to mention and sadly, it looks like the end of the road for this 88 pathfinder. It has over 300k miles on it and if the odometer worked for @!*% I could give a more accurate number. This thing took a beating and finally quit.

 

Thank you to everyone who tried to help me get it running.

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