well my 88 SE is at almost 180,000 miles and it hasn't had a timing belt change yet. yikes, kinda creepy. I'm planning on a trip this summer and I'd like to replace it before I leave. I've replaced a timing belt on a VW fox before, but that was easy because there was only 1 camshaft and the belt was facing the front end of the car, not the passengers side like our maximas. and I looked it up in the FSM and it seems relatively simple if there are 2 competent people. at the same time, I am also going to replace the water pump and crankshaft/camshaft oil seals. however I do have a few questions and I'd be more confident if somebody could reply and walk me through it anyways.

(1) are there any surprises, such as needing special tools? I know I'll need a feeler gauge and a set of allan wrenches, but I'd just like to know what I'm getting into.

(2) with the timing belt off, I know I need to line up the crankshaft sprocket with the stationary TDC mark. does the same rule apply for the 2 camshaft sprockets? I've heard that turning the camshafts with the timing belt off can cause the valves to hit the pistons and cause damage.

(3) am I better off replacing the tensioner pulley, or can I get away with just checking it?

(4) will this solve the problem I've had with ignition timing? when I tried adjusting the ignition timing, I could never get it exact, the timing mark was always jittery and jumpy under the timing light, making me think the timing belt was slipping when it turned the distributor. if the timing belt is as old as the drivebelts, it's bound to give in very soon, cos I've already lost the alternator belt on the highway, scared me cos the steel started to fray and it got caught in the pulley and ripped itself off. I smelled the burning rubber and then the alternator light came on and I knew exactly what had happened....

(5) just how hard is this?????!

any and ALL help would REALLY be appreciated.

Dan
-------------

 

Well, I took mine to a professional (which I strongly recommend that you do because if you forget one thing or do something wrong, kiss your car bye bye), so I can't give you much help with the installation part of it.

Here's what I do know. First, don't rotate the crankshaft with the timing belt off, you will damage the valves or pistons. You have to do that while the timing belt is still on. You rotate it till the number one cylinder is at the top dead center of it's compression stroke. If you rotated the crankshaft without the timing belt on, then three of the pistons would be going up while those same three valves stayed closed, therefore those pistons would hit those valves. The timing belt makes sure that when those pistons go up, those valves open by rotating the camshaft accordingly.

As for the tensioner pulley, you don't have to replace the pulley itself. All you would replace would be the tensioner spring and the tensioner stud. They're not that expensive so make sure you get them. If that tensioner spring or stud break, kiss your car bye bye.

Considering your vehicle is at 180K, definitely go ahead and replace the water pump and cam/crankshaft seals. I didn't have mine done at 115K, but I'm going to have them done at my next timing belt change at 175K. I figured I shouldn't have any trouble with either of those parts by that time which is why I left them go. Considering you got 180K out of those parts, I guess that pretty much confirms what I thought (and what the mechanic told me). I'd also replace the thermostat and drive belts while your there. You have to take off the drive belts anyway and the thermostat is in that general area. I'd also do a radiator flush while you still have the old water pump and thermostat in. You have to drain the coolant anyway, so you might as well do the flush.

I would imagine that your timing belt and tensioner have been replaced at some point in your vehicle's life. I'm pretty sure it would be next to impossible for them to last that long. The owner's manual recommends that the belt should be changed every 60K, so to get 180K would be virtually impossible. It's probably likely that it was changed at least at the 60K mile mark or thereabouts and you've been running that belt for about 120K miles, which could explain why your timing is skipping.

As for difficulty, I heard that it's a major pain in the ***, expect to spend a good 8 hours on it since you're not a mechanic and have never done this on a Nissan before.

-C-

 

the thermostat and drivebelts are all brand new. I just flushed and refilled the cooling system a month ago. it wasn't heating up for **** over the winter cos the thermostat was stuck open. made the rides home in the snow VERY unpleasant. I had the belt from the crankshaft to the compressor break on me, therefore the alternator wasn't turning, and glaring that little red battery light at me because of it. when that happened I just replaced all 3 belts instead of waiting for the other 2 to break. it seemed like the timing belt would have been relatively easy if I jacked the car up and removed the inner fender splash shield, cos the crankshaft and water pump would be right there.....

 

DON'T DO IT YOURSELF!!!!

If you have not done a t-belt on a VG motor, than I recommend that you take it to the dealer.

I have done at least a couple thousand T-belts. They are not easy.
The biggest problem is getting the T-belt tension correct. To
tight and it sounds like you got a supercharger and too loose, it
will make a flapping noise from hitting the inside of the cover.
Either way and you will be doing it all over again.

If you are the original owner and know for a fact that the T-belt has not been changed, you are riding on borrowed time. Normally they
make a flapping noise if not changed on time. This is from the belt
being streched and flapping againt the t-belt cover. At this point, it can jump timing.

Let me tell you what you will find that needs replacing.....

Timing belt - Nissan belt has the three marks for lining up on cam
sprockets and crankshaft gear.

Tensioner - Spinning it in your hand, listen for a roaring noise,
The tensioner bearings inside are toast if it makes
noise. only seen a couple bad springs and never a bad
stud. The spring has no function after the tensioner is
tightened down. Orig. tensioner will have a slot for the
spring to set in and the Nissan replacement will have a
hole for it to set in. That is how I can tell if one has
been changed.

Cam seals - look behind the cam sprockets and see if there is oil
coming out of the seals. With your mileage, I bet money
they are both leaking.

Crank seal - look at the seal behind the crank gear. Same as cam
seals. see oil, needs replacing.

Water pump - look at the underside of the pump at the weep hole. If
you see antifreeze residue, than the pump won't last
till the next t-belt change. Again, bet it's leaking

Thermastat - always change the thermastat when chaging the water
pump. It's only 3 more bolts and a few dollars.

Welch plug - that is the core plug, just beside the cam sprocket
(takes 17mm allen wrench to remove) look for antifreeze
crud coming from around the threads. Clean and reseal
with RTV.

Drive belts - Got them off anyway so why not replace. DO NOT
over tighten the belts. I have seen several crankshafts
break at the snout because of over tightened belts.

Rad hoses - Check by squeezing the hose and feeling for a crusty
sensation. They normally rot from inside out. Use
new clamps also.

These are the things that almost always need changing while doing
a timing belt job.

Hope this helps you

 

Done mine myself, when my camshaft pulley broke. There are markings on the inside timing belt cover (you will take off the upper and lower outer covers). There is a small dent, more like a pimple or a blackhead, on the top two corners of the inner cover. They are located near the two cam sprockets. You have to align the dots on your two upper cams sprockets with the "pimples" on the inner timing belt cover. There is a notch on the bottom of the block where you align your camshaft pulley with, the pulley also has a notch you align the markings with.

Now be warned; if you have never screwed with any car in your life, namely a Nissan, find someone who does!!! I am a mechanic in the military, mechanically inclined and I wasn't smart enough to replace the timing belt when the pulley broke! Yeah I fixed my car, put back on the timing belt, and the car started, but THREE months later that belt (that I didn't replace ) broke!!!!! Now Lil Nismo has a bent valve, somewhere in some garage, getting fixed so someone who isn't fortunate enough to own a car can have one (I donated her to charity), and I am stuck overseas with a German Spec, 91 BMW 320i that I am desprately trying to convert to US specs, cause after three years I will be back in the States without a car!!!!

 

I should kick your butt!!!!!!! You just don't know how much crap I have been through when my crankshaft pulley broke!!! Yeah, I overtightened it when I replaced the altenator. Then "pop", off it went, in the middle of freaking Montana!!!! I was on the way back to Tacoma, Wa. when that happened!!!!! Yeah, I heard that flapping noise too(more like woomp, woomp sound), in Baltimore, Md. Then, two days later the timing belt broke just as the car was rolling to it's shipping crate!!!! So now you can tell us all how to fix valves too.....mines was bent in the process! Hope you stick around the org for a while, cause when I get back, I am going to find another 86 max and rebuild her.....be like a reincarnation of Lil Nismo!

 

well all the drivebelts are less than a month old. I replaced all three when the steel wire inside the alternator belt came unraveled and got wrapped around the crankshaft pulley. obviously I had plans to replace the belts in the very near future anyway - that kind of sped the process up a bit.

I am not the original owner of the car, the guy I bought it from said he is the second owner - but there was a sticker on the back from a used car lot, so I doubt his credibility as well. so I don't know where my maxima has been with in its previous lives but I know it's got a good owner now. somebody else in this forum said that if I have 180,000 miles on the car then it must have been changed, because a timing belt would not have lasted that long.

surprisingly enough there are no oil leaks - anywhere, even on the belt side of the engine, nor are there any coolant leaks. however, if I was to attempt to replace the timing belt I was planning on replacing the waterpump and cam and crank seals anyway, whether they need it or not, since I'm in there anyway. the coolant is new and mixed perfectly, the radiator was flushed this past spring, and the thermostat was replaced when that was done.

how about I ask this then? what if I simply inspected the timing belt to see if it needs to be replaced? is that something I could attempt to do myself? I have the Nissan FSM for this car and it covers every last detailfor these procedures. I'm fairly inclined, mechanically, that I'd feel confident enough to at least be able to inspect it to see if it actually needs to be replaced - I'd bet that it does because I put 22,000 miles on the car since I bought it in March of last year...... so if I was to remove the timing belt cover and look at the belt, what shoult I look for?

Dan

 

It's a pain in the *** to get to the point where you're taking the timing belt cover off. By the time you got to that point then you might as well change the belt. Do as Kawazilla said and take it to a professional. If your timing is jumping and you don't know how long it's been since the belt was changed, chances are it needs replaced. If you keep putting it off or trying to get out of doing it then your car is going to end up as recycled steel for some cheap Hyundai.

-C-