I have an 87 nissan maxima that has 140,000 miles on it. does any one have a suggestion for when I should change my timing belt , I bought it from an auction so I am assuming it has'nt been changed.

 

The timing belt should be replaced every 60,000 miles. If it were performed at a Nissan dealership, there should be a sticker inside the engine compartment as to when it was last changed. If you can find some records as to where the car may have been serviced at, you could try calling them and they would be able to tell you if they changed the timing belt. Otherwise, I would change it immediately because if it breaks, your whole engine is toast. Consider taking it to a reputable Nissan dealership, as they have the most experience in servicing our engines. Also, make sure you get the water pump, tensioners, drive belts, cam and oil seals, and thermostat replaced, and a complete flush of the cooling system, as if any of these go, you'll be spending a fortune on labor costs and they can all be completed at the same time the timing belt is being replaced. I may have missed a few things on that list, but I'm sure they can tell you everything to replace.

 

i think you are supposed to change the tensioner every other timing belt. I just did mine last weekend. All the parts from the dealership was about $90, Timing belt, tensioner, oil filter, 2 cam seals, crankshaft seal, oil, coolant. It took me about 5 hours to do the whole job and i had a lift and all air tools.