I have a 99 Altima and it has 135,000 miles. It has been driving pretty well, but all of a sudden it does not start now. Actually, the first time when I tried starting it, my car started after a few trials. However, it stopped before I could drive it for even a minute. Since then, it didn't ever start.


Here's what my mechanic says:
1. The fuel pump seems fine as well, cause when I turn the key to "ON" position, there's some noise coming from somewhere around the gas tank for a few seconds.

2. The engine compression is above 120 on all 4 cylinders. So no prob. related to the timing chain.

3. Changed the spark plugs and the ignition wires. My mechanic says since the car has a distributor, there's no ignition module, is this true?
He checked the distributor cover and rotor and both seem to be fine (from their appearance).
He finally connected a sprak plug to one of the ignition wires and connected the other end to the engine metal and did *not* see a spark. This makes him be *confident* that the distributor is the source of the problem and so it needs to be replaced. Also, he said the ignition coil is within the distributor, so there's no way to test the ignition coil, is this true?

If this helps, my car's valve cover gasket is bad and so leaks away alot of oil.

Can you please tell me if my mechanic is correct? And what else could be the problem?

I would really appreciate any inputs/advice.
Thanks!