1988 GQ Stuttering

[evereti]

Hi

My 1988 Petrol GQ (only done 138,000) had a terrible loss of power some months ago. Misfiring all over the place and struggling up hills. Really running rough.

I put it into the local Nissan garage and they did some work around timing mechanisms. This seemed to fix the problem, until a few weeks ago.

Now I have a totally random misfire, happens any time, not necessarily under load, can be cruising along on the flat at 60k in 5th and big jerk happens, or in second going round a roundabout at 15k, big jerk.

When it happens the tacho drops dramatically, it's as if the engine just stopped for a split second.

Any ideas, apart from put it back into the Nissan Garage and tell them they failed.

Cheers
evereti

[4bye4]

Sounds electrical but not much info here to go on. Sounds a bit harsh to tell the local garage they failed. it sounds different and you don't say how many months its been ok since they worked on it. Asking them if they have any ideas or if anything was noticed when they did the work may get a better response.

[threedogs]

Maybe a loose ignition wire somewhere..

[dom14]

Hi

My 1988 Petrol GQ (only done 138,000) had a terrible loss of power some months ago. Misfiring all over the place and struggling up hills. Really running rough.

I put it into the local Nissan garage and they did some work around timing mechanisms. This seemed to fix the problem, until a few weeks ago.

Now I have a totally random misfire, happens any time, not necessarily under load, can be cruising along on the flat at 60k in 5th and big jerk happens, or in second going round a roundabout at 15k, big jerk.

When it happens the tacho drops dramatically, it's as if the engine just stopped for a split second.

Any ideas, apart from put it back into the Nissan Garage and tell them they failed.

Cheers
evereti

What type ignition system does it have inside the distributor?
Stock mechanical point system or electronic ignition upgraded system like Pertronix?
What is the condition of the vacuum advance unit?
Have you tested the vacuum advance diaphragm to see if it's ruptured?
Have you ruled out any vacuum leaks by checking all the vacuum hoses, around the carby, etc?

[evereti]

Hi Dom 14
It has electronic ignition. Only thing electronic on this old girl.

Vacuum advance stuff beyond me technically. It will be going back into the shop so I will suggest that to them.

Cheers
Evereti

[taslucas]

I installed a brand new electronic ignition system to my 1991 tb42s which was a Pertronix 2 system and had similar symptoms to you, although it only happened once warmed up. I ran some diagnostic tests and it turned out that the module was faulty even though it was brand new. I fitted a replacement module and it was fine.

>>>tappin from tassie