Engine Malfunction Light - 2002 GU II

So I've had an intermittent "minor" issue with my car. It's been up to Broome and back, and also before that done some 4WD tracks which was when I think it first started to appear. Basically when the car gets shaken up on the tracks, I saw the engine malfunction light come on, and sometimes it would go off after a few minutes or up to a few hours.

Took the car up to Broome and did a fair few corrugations where the problem got a bit worse where it would be on for hours, but also that I seemed to lose power, mainly up in 4th or 5th gear. I really have no mechanical mind at all (not for lack of brains haha, just lack of knowledge/haven't been shown) and so I thought it was turbo, but on the drive back then I figured it wasn't, I could still hear it, but just the revs wouldn't kick in past 2500 RPM.

I have already done a quick search and it seems that other people have had the same issue but there are numerous different suggestions to the cause. So where we are at now, on the way home from Broome, there were times when the car struggled getting up to 100km/h but other times it could get over that, but it would take a while to work it's way up and also struggled up inclined roads, ie. on the freeway going through Adelaide Hills. I've come home, had a sleep, and started it up again, and the light has gone off again, and I'm willing to bet it won't come on again until I take it out onto a track where it gets shaken up a bit again.

I don't want to go straight to the mechanic, especially if there is something I can fix at home, because I'm quite strapped for cash at the moment (need every penny because I'm moving to Dubai).

On a side note too, I don't know how long I am moving away for, but I won't have too much money in my pocket with my salary over there whilst paying the loan repayments for this beast. I cannot decide whether to struggle and keep the car for when I eventually come back home, or to sell it.

The dilemma is that if I sell it, given that is has taken a bit of a beating over the past 6 months that I've had it (hit a roo that dinted the bull bar on the way up to Broome, back corner plastic bumper damaged when silly me backed into the pole on the car port there haha), I don't think I will be able to cover what's left owing on the loan from the prices I've seen on carsales, and I've put on a snorkel, got tinted windows, upgraded to an aftermarket stereo, as well as all the recovery gear that I have for it.

It also doesn't make much sense paying rego for the next 3-5 years when I'm not using it, but I know that 4WD's can hold their value pretty well and it's my little toy that would be great to come back to so that I can keep adding to it. It still needs the NADS done to start with, and I'm sure there are other things like new tyres that I want for it. Not to mention, I only have two weeks until I leave.

Change your fuel filter. They get clogged and the water trap can fill with water. I had the same issue would turn it off and light would go out until I wanted to rev it past 2500rpm changed the filter all good. This is the cheapest easiest way to either fix the problem or know that its not that. It could have been a bad batch of fuel and it doesnt take much to clog the filters since they filter so finely.

X 2 see this all the time here, see your from my old stomping ground. I'm ex stathy high
Can you leave it with someone, and they can do mods while you're away, and pay rego for driving it around.
only a thought

X3 fuel out bush can be dodgy. Your Nissan owners manual log book will tell you how to drain water out your filter till you can get a replacement

Thanks for all the replies guys. I did see in the manual about possible water in the filter and to drain it, but it says to unscrew something at the bottom of the fuel filter, the only thing I seem to find that may unscrew is big and it doesn't unscrew by hand (i'm guessing for obvious reasons) so I am yet to get the toolbox out and see what I can use to unscrew it so that it drains... it may also just be the angle I'm coming from. I don't have a driveway or anything and so that makes it hard to do any work on the car. Will try it out anyway, see how I go and get back to you all.

Pm me if you get stuck and I'll pop over and give you a hand, weather permitting

Haha the weather permitting bit is what is hindering me at the moment. It's only cold and cloudy but I miss the 35 degree sunny days I was getting for the past 3 months up in Broome.

So I tried to drain it as per the manual, and managed to do it ok I think, but I don't think I found any water in it. Was all good but went to visit some friends on Phillip Island this weekend and the problem has re-emerged, as soon as I dropped a friend off and the car was off less than 5 mins, it was fixed again. I'm willing to replace the fuel filter itself now, is it easy to do? Should I go to Nissan? Or just get one from Supercheap or something?

R and E auto parts 127 bakers rd north coburg or bursons is across the rd from them . ryco Z332 or ac delco ACF24 is the part number . About 30 dollars from memory .