2003 Maxima GXE 107k miles
Car runs great no problems. New plugs at 90k. Regular maintenance.
Yesterday I went to start the car, it cranked fine, fired then spluttered as if it was backfiring through the inlet manifold then died. Some gases under the hood.
Tried cranking again several times, over several minutes but it showed no signs of firing, completely dead.
Went under the hood and removed the plastic engine cover, suspected it had blown a head gasket. Looked around and saw nothing unusual.
Tried cranking it again, it fired and now runs and starts as normal.
Anybody know what might have happened.

 

Could be a few different things. Why did you suspect that it had blown head gaskets?

Could very well be a fuel pump on its way out. When it acts up again, pull off a vacuum hose going into the intake manifold and spray some carb cleaner down there. If it starts from doing this you know that it is more than likely a fuel issue and you need to starting diagnosing it further.

Although if the car isn't acting up now it may be tough. Any stored codes?