billy bronco

Car was manufactued in 11/93:

Can someone tell me if the new upgraded timing belt has round teeth or square (AZ has both)

Also if you are in there is it recommended to change the crank & cam seals on this end? Is it easy to do? Or if not leaking let go, car has 77K miles.

Thanks

Michael

iTrader: (21)

not 100% sure on the teeth part so I will save my opinion on it but...

I would get the belt from the dealer...its not much more if any and i think its better quality that AZ belts.

Yes change the crank seal and probably the water pump too...it may not be leaking now but if its got a lot of miles on it then go ahead and replace it.

billy bronco

Got 77K miles, dealer cost is $40 AZ is $20

89sks

I am pretty sure the upgraded belt has the round teeth but it only works on the later vg's that have corresponding cam gears that also have rounded teeth. Best bet is go with the one the dealer or Napa gives you according to your year. I had an 89 and it had the square teeth and that belt should be replaced every 60k miles. I know I read about the different belts and different change intervals, check the search feature for it.

Oh, yea. The point is you cannot interchange the belts, go with the one that is recommended. If not you will have some problems unless maybe you change out the cam sprockets and the crankshaft sprocket to match the type of teeth your belt has. Not even sure if you can swap the sprockets out though. Good luck.

DARHAW-MAX

I understand your equation; however, get the dealer belt. Yes, it is 100% more, but you will not have to worry about it for the next 4 to 5 years. Think of it like this, take $20.00 and divide that by 60 (the number of months in 5 years). Doesn't seem so expensive now, does it?

Yes, there are a million and one aftermarket parts that are as good or better then OEM. This is not to say that an aftermarket belt is not as good or better, but it is well know that OEM belts last, last, and last. I have heard of non-OEM belts breaking sooner than thier life-expectancy. Spend the extra $$$$.

bvtran

iTrader: (3)

Don't be cheap when it comes to timing belt, don't ever trust any of the after market belts. Since your car is manufactured after 07/03, you will need to contact your local nissan dealer and model you wanted is 13028-0b785. http://www.jerryromenissan.com/en_US/ is selling them for $25, please do yourself a favor and avoid further possible, yet expensive damages to your system. If you're not exactly sure if this belt is for your model, then write down your VIN and call up the part department of any nissan dealer and ask them for the timing belt part number, and they would be gladly to help you out. Call first to be sure.

bvtran

iTrader: (3)

If you're going to take off the Crankshaft pulley, the Chilton book said they highly recommended that you should change the seal since it's only $5, so that's not too overkill.

bvtran

iTrader: (3)

another thing, I would not worry too much about the shape if you were going to buy the OE belt, just as long as you told the dealer your VIN, you should get the right belt. It's should garanteed to fit no matter what. I would also invest some moneys into buying a newer tensioner if I were you, they're a little expensive but worth getting. You might also wanted to change your water pump, thermostat, etc since you're going to be working right next to it. Beside, experts recommended that you should change all of these at once at every 60K. Me, I would like to topple with changing your O2 sensors, too. There are other things you should definately change while you're at it, like all of the drive belts or every 30K. Trust me, they're all worthwhile.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

as has been said.. buy the crank seal, and you might want to buy the cam seals also.. the crank seal should be replaced- it's very common to leak.

the cam seals aren't as common, so buy them and check the condition while you're in there. it's easy to change now than to do the job again in a year when they are leaking.

billy bronco

Okay, okay I'll buy the belt from the dealer, that sounds like a deal. How about the tensioner and seal, much cheaper on line, is after market okay for them items? I read Matts page, he does not recommend changing water pump @ 60K, and I think he was doing a DOHC. How come I'm geting prices from $9.99 to 29.99 for the thermostat?

broncoguy

In terms of price, I would look at it more like this- "what will the result be if this part fails"...i.e, on the timing belt, if that fails, you are almost guaranteed to bend valves, which then means pulling the heads, etc, etc...so, from that perspective, the extra $20 seems like a bargain, if in fact the OEM belt is better (which I believe it is). Maybe the same logic doesn't apply with all parts, but if the failure of said part means catastrophy, then I'm not much of gambler...

billy bronco

Any idea's on part two of my ? What's up with that thermostat? $$$$$

LeeIt2Me

I would suggest getting everything OEM, I wouldn't be cheap when it comes to the timing belt area. And the extra cost now will benefit later, it will last you over 60k. I did my timing belt over the weekend. I did it 2 hour flat(thank god for air tools!! ). I brought all my parts at the dealer for 130$, belt,water pump,water pump gasket,thermostat,front crank oil seal. For the front crank oil seal, I would suggest you buy a new cone washer that goes after the oil seal then timing sprocket. I had to butch the hell out of that washer to get that timing sprocket off and to get that crank oil seal out. The tensioner, you should just inspect it for any wear or tear, use your judgement here. Mines was fine and I have 120k on it. So, beware if you are DIY.. Again, I wouldn't be cheap when it comes to the timing belt area. GET OEM!!!

billy bronco

Wow, you did it really fast. I don't have a gear or wheel puller. Do I need to be anything specail? Anything else? I ordered the Nissan service manual so I can study up on this proceedure before ripping it appart. Drove car to work today 40 miles for first run, went well, but this belt thing is haunting me being 10 years old and 77K miles, got to do it soon if not for that piece of mind!

billy bronco

I washed car and cleaned grime off engine a little tonight and took a closer look at where the timing belt is. Man, how the heck do you get in there? looks like there is a half an inch to pull that crank pulley off, how do you do it? What kind of puller do I need? Do you go in through the tire well, take that plastic cover off in there or what?

broncoguy

If you look at those pics on the villager/quest post, it shows how they did it. Not a lot of room, but I guess it works.

todamax

iTrader: (6)

yeah, jack up the car and take the wheel and cover off.

bvtran

iTrader: (3)

You mentioned that you'd used an impact wrench to power out the crankshaft bolt. When you tighten the crankshaft back on, how did you managed to keep the crankshaft from moving? Did you just used an impact wrench and zap it on real hard? If so, how would you know that it was torqued down to the right pressures? I have also, heard of some guys locked down his flywheel and then bolt back on his crankshaft bolt but getting to the flywheel is such a biatch. What if you shift the gear to park, would the flywheel locks itself?

DARHAW-MAX

If you have a strong enough impact wrench to remove the crankshaft bolt, then it will be strong enough to put it back on. I have the one both times and have not had any problems.

billy bronco

So, if you don't have an impact wrench what is the proceedure? How do you hold the pulley from turning?

billy bronco

Ok latest question: The 1 1/8" nut came right off crank pulley no problem. Next, I thought I could pull pulley off with std steering wheel puller like picture shows in link under Matts stuff but there are no holes to put screws into for puller. So do I use a jaw type puller? Will this mess up the pulley or will it come off pretty easy?

klymkow

I've replaced the belt and everything else twice so far (1995 & 2000) and each time the pulley came right off without using a puller of any kind.

Tim

billy bronco

I have all the parts (I think) to do timing belt & more. I still did not receive service manual from book4cars.com (been a week) but I want to do this belt change tomorrow. Other than, lining up marks on #1 TDC and tearing down and watching what bolts go where, any other things I need to know? Where is the raidator drain plug?

klymkow

Lining up the timing marks is critical. The new belt will have marks to match up with the marks on the cam sprockets and crank sprocket.

Getting the tension right on the tensioner is also important. You might want to pick up the Haynes manual for reference.

Tim

billy bronco

I printed out Matts directions, should do. But I'm very confused please explain:

I see two camshaft timing sprockets (LH & RH) on a SOHC engine, looks like two cams to me that would mean DOHC, what doees a DOHC engine look like? Does it have four sprockets 2 cams on each side?

89sks

One cam for each set of cylinders not two for each set

billy bronco

Okay, call me stupid, so a DOHC has two cam shafts on each side, yaaaaaaaaaaa ?????

klymkow

Yes - two cams per head: one for the intake valves and one for the exhaust valves.

Tim

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

DOHC VE POWER. VE30DE

mtcookson

iTrader: (2)

purdy

89sks

Ok I thought you were asking about a vg or SOHC sorry, you are right 2 cams for the DOHC. Sorry to add to the confusion.

billy bronco

Wish mine looked that clean, I got her all torn down to the belt, gonna do water pump and thermastat before I pull old belt off. Not such a bad job to this point.

billy bronco

Okay timing belt replacement succesfull, car still runs. Did all that other stuff too, water pump, therm, hoses, belts.

Checked time, not sure how to read marks.

Next need to get NGK plugs, what is the correct PN? Hope that fixes the skip.

billy bronco

Well, I have owned my 94 Maxima for about two weeks now. I must say she seems to be running great now and getting 28 MPG. Many thanks to all who helped me. I knew absolutely nothing about this car two weeks ago. Since then I have replaced, timing belt, tensioner, water pump, all hoses & belts, thermostat, plugs, oil & filter all for under $200. I learned a lot about the engine going through this process. Thanks again to all!