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Nissan Quest/Mercury Villager Starting & Stalling Problems

511 messages,  Last post on Jan 08, 2012 at 8:34 PM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Quest, Mercury Villager, Van

Messages Page 9 of 52

#76 of 511 1996 Nissan Quest by debbie48

Aug 11, 2005 (4:38 pm)

Yesterday my van would not start. All the lights on the dashboard came on, but nothing happened when I turned the key - no clicking nothing. So I had the car towed to a gas station in my town. I was later told that it needed a new starter as well as an oil change. Bill came to $288. I said fine. Then 2 hours later I get a phone call from the mechanic telling me that my car now needs a complete tune up - that its misfiring and running on 5 cylinders instead of 6. Told me it must have been doing this before I brought my van in. I told him no - everything was fine until it would not start. He said complete tune up would cost $290 so my bill would now be $578. He said I did not have to get the tune up now that my van was driveable. I said ok I would wait and went to pick up my car.
 
I could not leave the parking lot. The van was shaking so much I thought my engine would fall out. And it smelled like rotton eggs. I asked the mechanic how he thought this was driveable. So I had to leave my car and now my bill is very high.
 
Is all of this normal because I feel like I got ripped off since I do not know anything about cars.

#77 of 511 Re: 1996 Nissan Quest [debbie48] by johnnyquest2

Aug 11, 2005 (6:11 pm)

Replying to: debbie48 (Aug 11, 2005 4:38 pm)
Sounds fishy to me, take it to another mechanic. It seems like because you refused the tune up he made sure you couldn't get away without it. The rotten egg smell is gas, to much is burning, gas has sulfur in it that causes the smell.

#78 of 511 Re: 1996 Nissan Quest [debbie48] by quester

May 29, 2006 (7:25 am)

Replying to: debbie48 (Aug 11, 2005 4:38 pm)
This would be an easy one for the mechanic, he only needed to switch two spark plug wires for this effect. Sounds fishy to me as well. I don't think I'd ever go back to that mechanic again. Be careful what you say about him, but I'd let my friends know about this experience and advise them to stay away.

#79 of 511 Power Loss AND Stalling by superxray

Aug 20, 2005 (12:00 pm)

Ok, I've seen this message on here but no response as of yet that is conclusive.
 
1995 Mercury Villager LS. Van is great, bought it cheap due to Ford breaking the exhause manifold studs during the engine rebuild. Van now has 230k+ on it and everything is solid. Drilled them out, tapped, and everything is great. However, the problem I have is the van losing power and eventually stalling during driving. The problem gets worse as the air temp goes up outside and the longer the trip. As well, the fuel mileage gets worse! On my last long trip, it was fine for about 120 miles, then right before we got to the destination, it lost power up a hill and I barely limped it (via idle) to a turn off. Let it sit for 15 minutes, and it started right back up and we finished the trip. Usually, the problem is unnoticeable when the van is cold, running fine until it starts to come off cold enrichment.
 
The fuel pump is fine, as I have a test set for it and it runs 50-60psi with the regulator disconnected, and 28-32psi with regulator connected (reading taken from right before entry on the fuel rail). Also, when the van does lose power and stall, the fuel pump just runs like mad and you can almost watch the gas gauge go down, so I know it's pumping fuel. If you remove the fuel cap right after the stall, it nearly pushes fuel out and takes forever to bleed, as if there is excess pressure coming from somewhere. If you try starting it right after it stalls, you can definitely smell unburned fuel, which leads me to believe it's one or more fuel injectors. However, lately another symptom has been getting worse.
 
Stop at a light, when it turns green you put your foot on the gas, the van falls on it's face until it reaches 3200 or so RPM and then takes off like a race car! Not really, but it definitely gains power. Although, power in that range has been going down as the other symptoms continue. Gas mileage has dropped from 26-28mpg on the highway to 18-22. I have to press the pedal more every day to keep the van at highway speeds.
 
Is my fuel injector conclusion correct or not? Since the van still uses a distributor, I can't see how it would be anything ignition wise, as sparks tests on the plugs/wires are all good. The Service engine Soon light has only come on once, and that was when it stalled on a long trip. When I did check the fuel pressure, a large amount of air came out, then finally fuel. The only place for air to enter the fuel system and not be noticeably leaking fuel would be through an injector...I think. Please help...Love the van and everything works great on it besides minor worn out parts, like the electric locks and what not... If it's the injector(s), I can pick some up at a U-Wrench-It shop for less than $50/set, but it's a long drive and don't want to waste money and time.
 
Mitch (Missouri)

#80 of 511 Re: Power Loss AND Stalling [superxray] by mucho

Mar 21, 2006 (8:16 am)

Replying to: superxray (Aug 20, 2005 12:00 pm)
Hello, I have the same problem that Mitch in Missouri is having with his Quest. On long hills my Quest will run fine up to a certain point when suddenly it will begin to shudder, lose power and finaly come to a stop. Regardless of how much fuel I give it. After I sit on the side of the road for 10 min. or so it runs fine (unless the hill continues for more miles in which case the whole thing starts over again).
 
Other than this my van runs great I love it. I have had the knock sensor fixed, replaced the belts and wires, had the intake manifold rebuilt but nothing changes this problem.
 
The last time this happened as I was sitting on the side of the road waiting for my engine to cool down another 99 Quest packed full with 5 people raced past me going up the same hill I had been trying to climb?!!
 
Does anyone have any clues to this problem? Mitch~ were you able to figure out how to fix your van.
 
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
thanks

#81 of 511 Re: Power Loss AND Stalling [mucho] by stigmata

Mar 24, 2006 (6:01 am)

Replying to: mucho (Mar 21, 2006 8:16 am)
That sounds alot like what happened to me when I lost my fuel pump.

#82 of 511 Re: Power Loss AND Stalling [superxray] by randeis

Apr 03, 2006 (8:59 am)

Replying to: superxray (Aug 20, 2005 12:00 pm)
Same exact problem on 1994 Villager. Six Mercury dealers couldn't read computer codes, nor could they fix it. Ford Motor Company (Mercury) service center won't answer emails. 1 Nissan dealer said they could read the codes but refused to work on a Mercury Villager. 3 top independent mechanics have given up.
 
One dealer changed fuel pump. . . $700
Another dealer changed timing chain. . . $500
Another dealer changed Mass Airflow Sensor. . . $300
Another dealer wanted to change timing chain. . .again
Pep Boys read codes. Said leaky fuel injector. . . $60
Injectors initial inspection passed.
Changed all plugs, wires and rotor. . . $300
All dealers (and others) said they could not read codes, due to the period in 1994, when Nissan switched from standard codes to a proprietary system, then immediately switched back.
 
Symptoms:
In neutral, engine races as normal and sounds great.
In drive with foot on brake, engine bogs down heavily and won't pass 2000 rpm, yet sucks fuel.
When placing in drive, engine struggles to move vehicle at first. Then after car becomes "lighter" due to moving at 20mph or so, the load is effectively taken away. Car surges, RPM spikes and we are off to the races with plenty of power.
Intermittent stalling on idle after movement, such as at stop sign.
 
144k mileage. No more than 100 miles in the past 2 years running from repair shop to repair shop.
 
If anyone has resolved a similar problem, please post it here. Also, feel free to write me at my email address.
 
Thanks, Rande

#83 of 511 Re: Power Loss AND Stalling [randeis] by jrossman

Apr 11, 2006 (4:30 pm)

Replying to: randeis (Apr 03, 2006 8:59 am)
I would reccomend checking the Distributor. I had exactly the same symptoms with a 96 and found the distributor to be the cause of all the problems.
 
Joe

#84 of 511 Frequent starting problem by yespads1

Aug 23, 2005 (3:58 am)

I have Mercury Village 2000 sports van. Recently I started experiencing viered problem while starting the van.
 
When I start the engine (ignition) after 3-4 hours of gap(like heading for a office in the morning), it starts wtih out any problem. But, when I am starting the ignition after a small gap like after shopping, pick-up and so on, it sounds like gr.gr.gr..rr.r.r..r.r.r.. and won't start the engine. I need to keep the key in ignition and in on position for 15-20 seconds ( or more ) ignoring the gr..gr sound, then it finally starts . Once it starts, it is not going down during the drive ( i.e. good for me).
 
I found this forun is very helpful in resolving the problems. My earlier problems were answered exactly (better than a technician) by the people and it worked. Please help me in answering the solution for this problem.
 
Thanks

#85 of 511 Re: Frequent starting problem [yespads1] by toomanyfumes

Aug 23, 2005 (6:18 am)

Replying to: yespads1 (Aug 23, 2005 3:58 am)
Your problem sounds similar to mine. My 2001 Villager starts fine when cold, but if it's warm or I leave it for a few minutes it is very hard to start. You might try holding the gas pedal down slightly when starting; This helps mine to start much quicker. I just posted this problem in the "Maintenence and Repair: Car Won't Start" forum. If I get a reply, or figure it out, I'll post back. I'd appreciate it if you could do the same.

Messages Page 9 of 52

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