blackmaxima88

well after about 2 hours and 50 swear words I was able to get to my timing belt after disassembling the whole side of the engine and engine compartment.

the timing belt is not as bad as I was expecting, however I am still replacing it. It's worn down pretty good, about average.

here's the thing..... the belt still has the words "NISSAN MOTOR" distinctly printed on it, leading me to believe it's (a) either the original factory timing belt (after 179,000 miles) or (b) someone took it to a dealer to have it done. why I may never know, dealer quotes for that were hundreds of dollars more than some reputable garages in my area. would an aftemarket nissan belt still have the original markings and symbols on it?

the bolts to remove the camshaft sprockets are being EXTREMELY stubborn. I need a delicate way of removing them so as to not cause damage. so far, this job has been extremely easy.

Dihappy

2 hours aint bat at all! So your Max is an 88?

Im a newb and would like to know what the recommended mileage for changing one out is?

Just bought a 97 with 89k miles on it. What does something like this run if you have it done somewhere?

Charles Bisel

Well, if you have a '97 then you have a 4th gen Maxima and that has a timing chain, not a timing belt.

If you mistyped that and meant to type that you had an '87, then the recommended mileage for changing the timing belt is every 60K miles.

If a dealership ever changed that belt, then there should be a sticker somewhere in the engine bay that says so. However, it's certainly possible that whatever dealership that changed the belt didn't bother putting the sticker on. But technically speaking, it's standard practice at Nissan dealerships to put a sticker in the engine bay stating that the belt was changed, the mileage, and the date of the change.

-C-

Dihappy

Thanks Charles,
My first Maxima so i had no idea if they were all belt or what.

So do the chains typically last longer?
Would you happen to know the maintenance for chains?

Ill look for a sticker.

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

well, chains will generally last quite a bit longer than belts. But they stretch over time, so its good to check the chain deflection from 100-150k.

Dihappy

Coo, i got some time to save money

Charles Bisel

You do know that you're in the wrong forum, right? I mean, it's no big deal if you want to hang out in the 1st and 2nd gen fourms (cars made between 1981-1988), but they do have a 4th gen forum (cars made between 1995-1999) and you'll definitely get better specific information for your Maxima if you check out those forums.

-C-

Dihappy

Yeah i know,
Just dont want to miss anything i can learn.

pkfinn

Try putting a 5/8" deep socket (I can't remember exactly what size fit best, but it should be close to that) in one of the holes on the sprocket. Rotate the sprocket until the socket wedges itself against the head behind the gear. Then you can apply pressure to loosen the bolts. To retighten, just reposition the socket, turn in the other direction, and tighten when the socket wedges itself against the head again.

blackmaxima88

actually what I did was I temporarily reinstalled the old belt, put the 12mm socket over the center bolt and a pipe on the end of the ratchet for added leverage, then quickly jerked it loose (pipe added a lot of force)without turning the camshafts. the timing belt offered some resistance to keep the camshaft from turning, but it also was there to turn the other camshaft and the crankshaft if it did move.

so we're almost all set now, I got one more camshaft oil seal to replace, then I can put the rear cover back on and finish, the new water pump is in already.

pkfinn

While you have the rear cover off between the heads, you can get at the cylinder head temp sensor fairly easily. If you wanted to change it, this would be a great time to do it. I've read that if it goes bad, the engine will run bad or maybe not even start. It screws into a dry hole, you won't lose any coolant while changing it. I'm not sure what it costs, but unless it's really high, it might be good insurance. At the very least you could take the connector off and look for corrosion on the pins. Apparently that's real common too.

Charles Bisel

Yeah, from what I hear the CHTS is only around $30, so you might as well do that if it is convenient to replace. As pkfinn mentioned, the connectors are known to corrode, so you should probably replace the harness as well. He's also correct, if that goes bad the car will run terribly.

-C-

blackmaxima88

I should have known before... I already installed the rear cover and the 2 camshaft sprockets. The belt is on and lined up with the timing marks and I'm waiting for someone to come over to help with tensioning it. after that, it's just a matter of putting everything back together. the only thing I had a problem with were the 2 camshaft oil seals. they were a pain to get out and just as much as a pain to get in. I have them in there pretty good and I really hope they don't leak. other than that, the timing belt itself was easy... it took longer to disassemble and prepare everything than it did to replace the belt.

I cleaned all the parts (sprockets, pulleys, belt covers, etc) off with wd-40 because most were greasy. there was old dried oil on them, so at one time in the car's life there must have been a leak that was fixed. I highlited my sprocket timing marks and stationary marks on the cover, as well as the one on the crankshaft pulley and the stationary pointer, with some white touch-up paint. this made it much easier when I went to double-check everything once the belt was on. those little freckle marks were about impossible to see at first. once everything was cleaned off, it was much easier.

ohh yeah - the FSM says to use a .35mm feeler gauge when tensioning the belt. the closest feeler gauge I could find was .356 mm. will that .006mm make a difference?