I have a '93 GXE that had the timing belt replaced at around 60k miles at the Nissan store. At around 120k miles I began looking for a new place to replace the timing belt, being mechanically challenged and not able to do it myself. 2 or 3 places gave me the price and another said, "Why are you replacing the timing belt?" I explained the situation and he said they last much longer than the 60 k miles. He said perhaps the INITIAL belt would last a shorter period but newer belts last longer. I decided to let it go and the pump started leaking at 135k miles. So the belt and water pump were replaced. This was after a modest argument with me saying 'lets replace the belt' and the mechanic arguing against it. Not the usual way things go at the garage. This was before we found out the pump's condition was terminal.

After the belt and pump replacement, I took the belt home which is about an 1" wide and visually seems to be in excellent condition. See pictures at http://www.geocities.com/j_alsup/belt1.jpg, /belt2.jpg, /belt3.jpg and beltno.jpg. The Part No. was Nissan 13028 85E00. Other probably meaningless numbers are C20 D01 M6023 to 26. Perhaps the belt's structure and chemistry is going, but it doesn't look it. My mechanic said it was the newer type belt with a trapezoid track but with rounding on the trapezoids. It is not pure trapezoid or pure round which I understand newer Maxima belts are.

I expect to go for another 80k to 90k more miles assuming nothing else major happens. He said this was the same belt that is used on my '95 Quest which has the same engine, except Ford made Nissan get rid of the interference design to sell it under the Mercury Villager brand. That belt has 104k miles and I decided to leave it. It is supposed to be replaced at 105k miles. The Quest is for sale now.

My mechanic is Performance Import Service, 5819 Winfield Blvd., San Jose, CA 95123, Gordon Lew, Mgr. 408 225-8770. I think his wife has a 90 Maxima and his specialty is Nissan and Toyota. I think he's great.

Now if I could just figure out:
*The strange ticking noise (exhaust pipes?)
*The antenna that doesn't go up or down (buy a used one??)
*The seat belt light and chime with a mind of its own, and
*The clock and radio stations lights that don't.

 

Well. look at it this way. If you change the belt every 60K, you cannot go wrong. I purchased my '94GXE with 75K and changed the belt and water pump soon after. After that, I ran it for another 110K before I changed it again. Likewise, my belts looked to in excellent condition also.

*Strange ticking sound---Could be exhaust studs
*Antenna---If you are lucky, you can repair it (do a search as it has been posted before. Otherwise, get either a used one or a new one.
*Seat belt light and chime---My '92SE has this grimlin also. I have narrowed it down to the automatic seat belt latch on the door (just have not fixed it yet)
*Clock and radio station light---The clock can be fixed by resoldering some connections. Either that or see if you can find one in a junk yard. As for the radio, just replace it with an MP3 player