I have no experience with it as of yet - but of those who have done it before - how hard is it to change the water pump and timing belt? I'm pretty sure my water pump is going (loud "Tick, tick, Tick" when car is cold, and for a little while after - and then a big puddle of coolant. Also, when it doesn't tick - the coolant system does hold pressure).

But I know it's alot of man hour labor to change them - they say to just do the timing belt when you change the water pump - do you think it's a reasonable job to do, and do I need any special equipment to change the timing belt, or does it have to be set some way perfectly, or you ruin the car?

Thanks -
~chris

 

you can damage your engine if you don't do it correctly yeah. but you have to start somewhere i guess so if you're somewhat technically inclined, it's not a super hard job. it's kind of a pain in the *** to get your covers off but as far as getting the belt on, it's really pretty easy if you do it correctly and once you're in there, the pump is simple to replace. i'd give it a shot if you want to save some money..there's also personal satisfaction in doing it yourself.

 

Yes, DIY. Just take time, dont hurry.

The Nissan V6 timing belt tensioning documentator is done by REAL confuzeus -follower. Dont read read his art (not to come like he/she =con fused): in the end the belt has to bend about ½inch under hand 10kg(20lb?) pressure from midpoint between cam sprockets.

Dont drive with leaking system: u blow u head gaskets due to air bubbles boiling.

 

Does anyone know the meaning of placing the feeler gage between the tensioner and belt????

I agree with Wiking's method of 1/2 inch deflection between the cam sprockets.

 

Hey its the NISSAN FSM method, =last check in the FSM, not my invention... the feeler gauge -game is just for russians.

When I swapped the belt, I let the spring do ALL the tightening. (No chiltoneese craps.) And now my belt bends only 1/4 inch, checked that last week after 10k drive. Tighter than should...

Belt tightness is Easy to verify by loosing top screws and prying top of cover open...

 

if you mean 'whats a feeler gauge' than you buy them at your local parts place. about a dollar or two and it is a set of metal bands of varying thickness. using the specific thickness is supposedly the way to get correct tension, but anyone who's ever done the job can tell you, its just not that precise.

 

read your FSM bible for step by step instructions

 

i'd read both a Haynes and the FSM at the same time, to get the short and the long of it.

 

I would NOT. I would check ONLY how belt tightness is verified in the end. Then go and play with adjusment until that goal is met.

All the 'feelings fairy tales' are waste of time. Well, if one needs mamas fairy tales to fall asleep, then theyre ok... THE Engine does not care how u play, only results count.

I met requirements just by letting the spring load settle the adj...

 

what do you mean? the haynes has several diagrams of deconstruction that can be very helpful to someone whom has never performed the job before. it is also much more explicit in what one should NOT do, unlike the FSM, which was written for trained mechanics... i'm not talking about the final result but the process.

 

so what time and cost are we talking about to do this on my own? shop want way too much to do it.have alot of people done their own belts?

 

i did mine slowly and carefully, water pump, thermostat, cam-seals, it took 3.5-4 hours because i took my Time with a capital T

 

do you know a round about on cost of parts, belt - seals/gaskets? , water pump, t stat?

also minty91gxe, did you have to do any thing about the suspension in the way?
the mechanic told me it was a 7hr job - F-in B@stard

 

lesseee...

belt - 60$ OEM (Bought at Nissan)
tensioner - 50$ (didnt replace mine, couldn't locate one in time)
water pump - 35$ Airtex (Premium)
thermostat - 13$
crank seal - 5$

total = ~150-160$ in parts

there is no suspension in the way... HA!
-loosen the lugs, jack up the car, take off wheel,
-you unbolt the cruise control, move it aside, take off the drive belts
-drain the coolant and remove the upper hose.
-take of one of the idler pulleys - the air compressor IIRC

thats all for prep work. should take about 30 minutes. then you go right into the job.

its really not a 7 hr job, especially for a mechanic.
what an ****, suspension, yea right! if you REALLY wanted to take the Mcpherson strut out, it comes out as a UNIT, thats the beauty of the mcpherson, take like 5 minutes to remove... but that isnt necessary.

the hardest part for me was getting the crankshaft pulley off. i ended up breaking the guides on mine and being forced (not totally unhappy about it) to buy an underdrive pulley.

do make sure you read up on it though, then be ready to have a block of time set out in case things dont go as planned or you need to ask questions.

Tom