BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners

Subject: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 08 May 20 - 06:12 AM

Last Monday morning my 2003 Micra after starting perfectly, spluttered to a halt roughly half a mile from our house on the way to our surgery. It suddenly felt as if the engine was only running on 3 cylinders, so possibly a sparking plug problem, but I'll put my money on a bad timing chain!

Any views?

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: G-Force
Date: 08 May 20 - 06:17 AM

My (much older) Micra did that too, but it had a belt, which had snapped, rather than a chain. Buggered up the valve stems, but otherwise OK after repair.

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 08 May 20 - 06:49 AM

I think I meant a belt, my 1981 Cortina Estate broke down on a dual carriageway section of the A10 near to Edmonton, and a neighbour with a breakdown truck fixed it and referred to a timing chain so that stuck in my mind, maybe larger size engines had a chain, my Cortina was 2000cc, whereas my Micra is a mere 1.2.

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 May 20 - 12:59 PM

join the AA

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 May 20 - 02:30 PM

We had a Micra of that era. They had cam belts as I recall. If you cam belt fails your car won't go at all. Some cars had "safe engines", in which case a busted cam belt wasn't terminal, whereas with other cars (such as a crappy Daewoo Nexia I once bought dead cheap) the engine was totally trashed if the belt broke. Find out what your cam belt replacement interval is and stick strictly to it. It costs upwards of two or three hundred quid these days, and it may need a new water pump too, and it has to be done right. No amateur bodges!

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Donuel
Date: 08 May 20 - 03:20 PM

Isn't the lead story surgury?

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 08 May 20 - 04:33 PM

The car was taken to our mechanic by my insurance breakdown service - called at 12.25, and car was moved by 1.15! Our mechanic will check it over on Monday and we'll brace ourselves for the cost!

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 May 20 - 05:10 PM

Do you want me to bale you out bonzo as a folk singer i possibly earn more than you as an accountant

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 May 20 - 06:10 PM

"Our mechanic," huh? Beware of the cheapjack jobbies unless you know them really well, as a badly-fitted cambelt will bust in no time and wreck your engine. And water pumps are cheap, so ask him if he thinks you need one. If you think I'm speaking from bitter experience, you're not wrong.

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 08 May 20 - 06:14 PM

No, he is runs a well repected garage and is also a trained Nissan mechanic.

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 May 20 - 06:42 PM

That'll do then. Just passing on cautions from bitter experience...

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 09 May 20 - 02:27 AM

Thank you, (he is runs ........what?????). I remember my dad struggling to get the timing set correctly on a Mk 2 Escort, took hours to get it right!

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Mr Red
Date: 09 May 20 - 05:17 AM

the modern Micra is anything but.

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 09 May 20 - 05:21 AM

Setting the timing and replacing a timing belt/cam belt are not the same thing!

Yep, in the good old days, many an engine went popping away when sailing downhill with no throttle...

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 09 May 20 - 06:18 AM

Setting the timing and dwell on the old Ladas was a piece of cake as long as you had a dwell meter and a strobe. Stopping the timing chain rattling was easy too. Slacken off the adjuster. Turn the crank through 1.5 rotations with the starting handle. Tighten up the adjuster. Job done. Eeeeeh. Them were the days.

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 09 May 20 - 07:32 AM

In my Mk2 Escort, I remember the clutch failing on the Blackwall Tunnel southern approach motorway. I managed to drive it in second gear all the way to Borehamwood at 10 mph where my parents' neighbour, a mechanic for Herts CC, fixed it!

Subject: RE: BS: Calling Nissan Micra owners
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 09 May 20 - 09:43 AM

For nearly three years I lived in a flat overlooking the northern entrance to the Blackwall Tunnel. The rest of the view consisted of the largest scrapyard in Europe and a huge power station. I loved it.