Hello everyone, new to the forum thought I'd ask a quick question. I bought this 97 GXE for 400 dollars off of Craigslist the other day and it starts very hard and has almost no power at all. I mean it barely climbs hills, etc. And forget anything with the AC on. I know what 106 HP in an automatic feels like and this definitely isn't it. If it's been sitting for more than a few hours, I have to turn it over at least 20 or so times and keep mashing the gas to get it to start up. If it has been sitting for 30 minutes to an hour, it starts after 4 or 5 turns. When it does start up, it wheezez up and down 3 or 4 times then it idles perfectly without a hitch for as long as you want.

What I've done so far:
Cleaned the IACV
Changed the plugs and cap and wires. (Can't get rotor off but it looks okay.) The plugs had some white ash so maybe they're running lean?
Changed the air filter
Cleaned the throttle body intake
Cleaned the maf sensor
Checked the pressure on the fuel pump which is about 39 psi steady.
Set the timing to 10 (fourth notch)
Set the idle to 775
Listened to the injectors with a stethoscope they are clicking fine.
Pulled the plugs on each injector to make sure they weren't cruddy.
Did the pull out one plug wire at a time and got the expected sputtering response each time.
Checked the compression to a surprisingly congruous 159 all the way across.
Coolant temperature sensor checks out.
Hooked a gauge to the intake manifold vacuum and got a steady reading of 15 inches. I believe that's a little low as it should be between 17 and 22. Is this indicative of a leaky gasket?


I got so bored today not making any progress that I followed a guide I read on how to change the front crankshaft seal. Which was very successful by the way so I did get a good feeling of accomplishment out of that.

I'm not sure what else I can do and this is driving me up the wall as I can't seem to figure it out. The car does have 205K miles on it.

Thanks so much for any and all help for this Nissan newb.

could be a leaky gasket, or an exhaust issue. if the cat or muffler is plugged that could cause it, try taking out the oxygen sensor and see if it helps. also check to make sure the oxygen sensor is operating correctly.

Have you tested fuel pressure?

fuel pump or filter, id do both

If it's like the later models, it's not really a difficult job:


Tie up the seat belt, remove the rear seat cushion, and expose the pump access cover. Turn the retainers and remove the cover:

http://72.19.213.157/files/SentraFuelPumpAccessSm.jpg



Unplug and remove the pump module, unclip the hoses and module sections, and disassemble it:

http://72.19.213.157/files/SentraFuelPumpModule.jpg



Remove the lower pump retaining clip:

http://72.19.213.157/files/SentraFuelPumpRetainer.jpg



Remove the rubber retainer, and push the pump out the bottom:

http://72.19.213.157/files/SentraFuelPumpMotor.jpg