well i finally got it done......the rear camshaft seal was leaking prety badly, so i replaced them both. the old belt actually looked original i changed it just in time, there were cracks everywhere and the teeth were falling off. man was i lucky. plus the water pump as original too. the car has 126,125 on it now, a week ago it had 125,258 on it. so almost 1000 miles in a week and i beat the **** out of this car. how hard can you really push these cars???? i am just wondering. plus when i go above 75 MPH my car starts to vibrate. it stays straight on the road, and it is ONLY about 75 MPH that it vibrates, and it is the steering wheel and the whole car. it only has done it in the past 4 days and i am concerned. anyone know what it could be???

 

The vibration can be caused by a bent rim/damaged tire/or warped rotors. The car may simply need a balance and alignment. It did wonders for car to say the least.

 

This Problem is usually a out of balance/out of round tire..

Go get all your tires balanced then hop on the freeway and see if that helped it....

 

Where Did you buy your timing belt from?

I need to replace my belt badly as well!!!!

I am not driving my car hardly at all because I am scared that I am going to break the belt !!!

Ohh and how hard was the belt to change Was the water pump hard to change

Sorry for all the Q's but I need to get ready to change my belt

Thanks SOOOOOO much!!!

 

All the answers are in the stickies.........

 

Thanks But I want to learn from someone who just had this experince !!!!

Please Answer my Q's

Thankssssssssssssssssssss!!!!

 

I was scared about driving mine without changing the belt and when I finally did it, the 75k belt had hardly any wear if any and looked in pristine condition.

I bought my materials from the local parts place (not AZ or pepboys or anything like that). Altogether it ran me about $125 for the belt, main seal, water pump, and new tensioner pulley. Some people recommend dealer stuff for such critical parts, but the dealer prices would've been over $200. I would recommend at least getting a dealer seal though. I tried the parts store one, and the inner lip caught and pinched so I went to the dealer and picked up an OEM. It was much better quality, and had no issues going into place without mashing rubber.

The water pump is cake to change, just make sure you drain the coolant from the lower radiator hose and the engine block. I just drained from the radiator, and when I pulled the water pump I took a bath in coolant. My dad didn't mind though as he was laughing at me.

The belt wasn't too hard to change, more of a precision thing. I think you'd have to be crazy to try this without an fsm to refer to for torque and tension specs and tensioner procedures.

Honestly the hardest part of the job (belt, pump and front main seal) was the stupid plastic covers that cover the area. I swear I spent so much time fiddling with those bolts (there's quite a few).

 

Ok if you have a timing belt than your not driving an SE.

Have your alignment checked front and rear, possibly new tires. That should help the shaking. Sounds like something loose, or worn out in the suspension.

 

Well I hope you choose to read the stickies vs taking a chance at it breaking. Good luck

 

Yeah I will read the stickys

Oh and to the CRazy guy who said if you are changing a timing belt then you are not driving a se max. 89-92 se maxs had timing belts !!!!

Get your info straight before posting false CRAP !!!!

Sorry if i sound upset

BUT you just told me i am driving a GXE !!!!

 

Please advise my 1992 maxima SE with the VE30DE engine that someone stole her timing belts and replaced them with chains.

 

 

Ok ok not all of us know everything

 

it took me about 3.5 hours to do it all. and it was my first time. i got everything from nissan. the camshaft seals were a ***** to get out. just pry them out with something, make sure you dont mess up the cam too much. DO NOT move anything with that belt off. make sure all timing marks are lined up. so basically you can make your own marks with something. make sure they are perfect! the water pump was easy as crap. make sure you have all gaskets and stuff. some aftermarket water pumps do not fit correctly and seal as well as the original ones do. make sure radiator is drained. if your hoses loo kold, now is the time to change them. the bypass hose, lower hose and uper hoses i replaced. plus all belts. just make sure everythign is tightened and good luck! if u need more info, message me.




my car is a 1991, not a 1992-1994, so it had the VG30E in it. not the VE30DE


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i am gonna go get the alignment checked out tomorrow, it kinda scares me when the whole car shakes........ohh and i got 134a refrigerant for my A\C and it works wonders. i put 2 cans of it in and i have A\C!!!!!! for about 3 days now it has held the charge, so i am happy! well worth the $30 for the whole conversion kit to fix my A\C!!!!

 

took me 2 hrs. to do my timing and water pump but being ur first time thats sounds just about right. my first time took me that long and i had to replace both camshaft seals on both my '89 SE which just got my '93 GXE motor and my '93 GXE which just got a very low mileage motor. i drove my '93 since i bought it in '99 till now with the timing belt in the same condition that vansskaterfreek described his and it had almost 270,xxx miles on it before i swapped it out of my '93 and installed it into my '89. still have to finish workin' on the motor though but my '93 is back on the road with a newer motor.

Maxima Man: 89-91 GXE's and SE's = VG30E
89-94 GXE's = VG30E
92-94 SE's = VE30DE

hope that clears it.

 

how hard to install the seals?
What do you use to press them in?
Do you really have to fabricate some tools as pictured in the haynes manual?
Thanks.
denga

 

easy to install.
u can just use a deep end socket that fits around the seal.
not really but if u want to go ahead.

 

This may sound like a weird question but what would happen if the belt broke? I know i a 4g63 motor (which is what im used to workin on) it is a interference motor. Belt goes, so does most of the valves and usually a piston or 2. Im probably getting a 89 GXE and i know that everything else was changed around that area except the timing belt. Just wondering if i should tear into it right away and swap it or not. Current owner has never changed it and has had it for aprox 3 years.

Thanks in advance.

 

VG is also an interference motor, so same problem

 

Thanks, About 5min after i posted that i did more readin on the stickys and found that out as well. LOL talk about a frekin noob! LOL

Thanks THough,

 

stickies are your friend

 

i made my own stuff, just junk laying around the shop. it as funny watching me do this, i had a pry bar in one hand and the custom camshaft installer in the other....... what a pain in the *** that was......that is what took so long. those dam seals

 

I am having the same problem except my steering wheel starts shaking at 65 MPH. Also my front driver side tire is wearing unevenly. I assumed tire unbalance and/or alignment. Went to pepboys to get that done, but the guy mentioned that it could also be some steering or suspension part gone bad since only 1 tire is wearing. Just today the car also started making a noise like metal under stress or like a bad cv joint type noise. Will take it to pepboys first thing tomorrow morning and will keep you posted on what the problem is.

 

find a real shop to do the alignment, pep boys can only do it to "spec" which isn't always what the car needs.

 

do you mean like a dealership or a non-franchise mechanic? Any idea about whats causing the grinding noise. The uneven tread wheel side does sound weird when going over bumps.

 

...ONLY if u have problems to unload u inheritance. Ask ppl around reference for a good shop.

Raise the car up and try to find out uself any free play. Depending on noise, it could be the bearing. Whatever, u should find out the actual reason.

DIY alignment: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/748507/18

 

wait a sec. are you saying that you did the timing belt all by yourself?
Wow. Thats pretty good. I would never tackle such a job. Too much pain in the ***. Good work.

 

- DIY; best way to make sure it has really been done
- second is to stand beside, watch, pay
- worst is just to pay [virtual replacement], pay lots more...

 

yess ir i did, it took me 3.5 hours to finish it, i mean for the first time, and my age, thats not bad i think. i was gonna pay my buddy to do it, but he couldnt do it for another month, and i am grateful i did it, the belt was so f-ed up!. the water pump was origional and stuff. it is definately worth doing it yourself. one day i might make a writeup or something to help others.

 

Any trouble getting the crank pulley/vibration dampner off? Did you have to use a puller? Started mine the other day and need to finish it this weekend so any info will help (started a thread yesterday). I don't have a FSM so how did you get the correct tension on the belt.