With my loss of power and loss of miles per gallon
in mileage, I'm considering taking my car to a
mechanic to have them check it out.

Is this advisable ?

thanks...

 

so long as it's a free estimate of problems, i dont see why not. when you start paying for the BS, that's when it becomes a problem. just see what the mechanic says and write it all down and post up his diagnosis here. good luck, long live the maxima

 

you don't know why your losing power?? Take of the air box and check out your air filter, see how that is doin.

 

Lead in foot can knock mileage down too.

 

I went to get my timing adjusted and sure enough
it was way off.

The car ran fine for a couple of days after that
with only a slight loss of power, and then a week
later the same thing happens all over again.

Major loss of power, but also very hard to accelerate...
Feels like the car is just dragging along...

any ideas ?

 

I forgot to mention that my timing was advanced
a little bit to compensate for the year and
mileage of the car.

That seem to give the car quite a bit of extra
power for those few days...

Why did it disappear, and everything get back
to what it was or as worse as it was in the
beginning ?

any ideas ?

 

Sounds like the crank pulley has slipped on your timing belt a notch. It will get worse, and can kill your engine. This engine will not turn over freely when timing belt slips. It is an interference-type cylinder head design. The pistons will bang into and destroy your valves. Put a new timing belt on it immediately. Also, do the water pump, cylinder head temperature sensor, tensioner and tensioner stud. Check cam and crank seals while you can see them, too. Might be a good idea to replace them.