1989 Nissan D21

Problem: starts only with a jump, then slowly turns over. Then when it finally starts, if I barely hit the gas it dies. Hit the brakes...dies. It will sit and idle, but as soon as I try to move, it dies.

History (just this past month)
-new starter, ignition switch, clutch switch, battery, plugs, alternator tested fine.
-truck gets terrible gas milage (z24)=19 mpg on the highway at BEST. 227,xxx miles

The truck is dead on the side of the highway. Its been one thing after another. Its usually just one cheap fix away from working again, but this time I just don't know. I'd HATE to get rid of her.

oh and it has a exhaust leak

Sounds like it needss to be towed to your garage so you can take a better look at it.

check the compression ,change the fuel filter,

check the ignition OFF voltage of the battery connected( and disconnected)- charge it if it will take a charge , then disconnect and let it settle down for an hour . If it measures greater than 12.5 volts I'd say the battery isn't letting you down.

Then hook up the battery ( w/ ignition off), see what the battery voltage measures after 24 hours. It shuld be very close to that measured initially. Hopefully, there's no parasitic loss happening on the battery( w/ everything OFF). If the battery posts spark a bit when you hook them back up that may be a sign of such a loss.


WElcome to the board

sound slike you got barely funstioning fuel pump and or dirty filter or clogg you say it will sit and idle? when you hit break the vbacum changes which would change idle speed well the computer is told so its kinda like hitting gas
check fuel pressure just cause pump comes on doesnt mean its working correctly

I bought a truck just like this. guy before me dumped all sorts of money into it in sensors, a new motor even, throttle body, computer, and who know what else. I towed it to my house and blew out the fuel lines the wrong way. It ran and drove but did the same thing again. so I dropped the fuel tank and cleaned it out as best I could in the middle of winter in montana with no suitable place to work, and blew out the fuel pickup screen, put it all back together and i have been driving it ever since. Just a thought but probably test the fuel pressure before you go through all that. I was too cheap to buy a tester but I would recommend it anyway. You can either spend the money on a diagnostic tool you will keep forever or on unnecessary parts that will only "fuel your anger"
Good luck
Joe