Hi, I have a Nissan Almera Tino 1.8S - 2001, 104K on the clock. Always been as good as gold, so reliable. About a month ago I noticed it was driving a little bit 'jerky' when accelerating - I thought it may have just been the excessively wet and cold weather we have had recently. Then a few days later the Engine Malfunction Indicator came on. It stayed on for a day then went off again. It stayed off for a week (during this time it was still running jerky), then it came back on again. I had a mechanic friend rig it up to a diagnostic unit which reported "Random Misfire" - he suggested that although it was fairly common for various sensors to go, the fact that it was driving jerky suggested it was unlikely to be a sensor. We have changed the spark plugs and added some Redex to the fuel - no change - although after he fitted the spark plugs the light went out for a day (still drove a little bit jerky) and then came back on again! He said the spark plugs were pretty dirty.

From what I have read on the internet and speaking to him, I'm worrying that it may be the timing chain that has stretched. The other sympton is the rev counter flickers (only a little bit) which apparantly is a sign. And of course this is a big job - possibly not worth it considering the age and value of the car - which would be a shame. What is odd though is that if it was the timing chain, why did the light stay off for a day after changing the spark plugs!!??

I also read somewhere that someone had this issue and it turned out to be the air filter sensor that required cleaning.

And apparantly its 'only a 5 minute job' to determine if it is the timing chain, by lifiting the cam cover and seeing if it has expanded by more than 10mm - although I think this check is probably beyond my simple DIY skills.

I'm tempted to take it to a local garage and get them to see if they can give it the once over - it's a difficult one because you may obviously end up spending money for them to conclude that it's definitely the timing chain.

Does anyone have any other suggestions/ideas - I did also notice this morning when going through paperwork etc that the MOT from 18 months ago reported "(rear connection) - Exhaust has a minor leak of exhaust gases (7.1.2a)".

Thanks in advance for any advice.