Tbelt question
02-21-2006, 04:28 PM
#1
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Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 476
Tbelt question
My tensioner bit the dust. It was still running, but just barely. Stupidly, I took the tensioner and belt off before aligning the cams and crankshaft. Whats the best way to get everything lined up? Can I just put the belt and the new tensioner on and do it like that, even if it's maybe a couple of teeth off?
02-21-2006, 06:35 PM
#4
Originally Posted by 4dscPat
I had to nurse it home about a half mile with the tensioner going out. I shut if off and soon as I got home and havnt started it since. I just hope I didnt bork the valves.
02-22-2006, 07:40 AM
#5
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Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 54
The safest way to reposition the cams would be to take the valve covers off and loosen the bolts holding the rocker shafts to the heads. You don't have to completly remove the shafts, just loosen the bolts until they are just sitting in their holes. That will make sure that all the valves remain closed. Then you can turn the cams and crank to line up the timing marks and reinstall the belt. Torque the rocker shaft bolts back down, reinstall the valve covers, cross your fingers, and start the engine. If it still runs poorly, you may have bent some valves. A compression check can show which cylinders. Good luck!
02-22-2006, 05:04 PM
#7
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Originally Posted by 4dscPat
My tensioner bit the dust. It was still running, but just barely. Stupidly, I took the tensioner and belt off before aligning the cams and crankshaft. Whats the best way to get everything lined up? Can I just put the belt and the new tensioner on and do it like that, even if it's maybe a couple of teeth off?
do not attempt to start ur car with just a few teeth off from the timin'!!! if ur gonna mess with the timin' components just take off the crank pulley, a/c idler pulley, all of the accessory belts, upper radiator hose, bypass hose, water pump pulley, top timin belt cover, lower timin' belt cover, and u'll have all of the timin' components visible. get ahold of an FSM or a Haynes or Chiltons and look to c where r ur timin' marks, then if ur belt is still on and it has a good amount of tension try to align all of the timin' marks to spec and just use needle nose vise grips and put one vise grip on each cam gear to hold the timin' belt in place and then ur able to replace ur tensioner without removin' ur timin' belt.
now if ur timin' is not correct after u attempted to put it at the correct timin' marks then take off ur tensioner and have someone hold ur cam gears with a 14mm wrench while u take off ur timin' belt so that ur valves don't hit the top of the piston while takin' everything off. now if u do ur timin' belt u should get the timin' kit from napa or a local parts store and it should bring a new tensioner and spring along with the timin' belt. while ur at it replace ur cam seals and ur front main seal, water pump, and thermostat. if ur not mechanically inclined get ready to fork out a couple hundred $$$. if u r mechanically inclined it should be cake for u. it took me roughly 4 hours to do mine on both my 3rd gens and for a friend of mine as well.
02-22-2006, 05:30 PM
#8
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Join Date: May 2004
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Mechanical inclination is not an issue as evidenced by the 5-sp swap.
Like I said, I didnt know what it was when I had the car running for a few minutes, it didnt occour to me until later. When I took off the timing cover, the tensioner was completely ruined; all the ball bearings were in the bottom of the timing cover. Hense, loose belt. If my valves are ****ed, I'll have to pick up a head from a junkyard, but that's nothing I cant handle.
Like I said, I didnt know what it was when I had the car running for a few minutes, it didnt occour to me until later. When I took off the timing cover, the tensioner was completely ruined; all the ball bearings were in the bottom of the timing cover. Hense, loose belt. If my valves are ****ed, I'll have to pick up a head from a junkyard, but that's nothing I cant handle.
02-22-2006, 07:00 PM
#9
Originally Posted by GRNMAXDMON
elt.
now if u do ur timin' belt u should get the timin' kit from napa or a local parts store and it should bring a new tensioner and spring along with the timin' belt.
now if u do ur timin' belt u should get the timin' kit from napa or a local parts store and it should bring a new tensioner and spring along with the timin' belt.
02-22-2006, 07:06 PM
#11
60,000 miles... before that would be even better.. you can go over 60k miles, but no one recommends it.... im lucky i changed the one in my old VG, if not the motor waould have been toast... the belt was already half way ripped!!!!.. so if oyu are unsure opf when it was changed, id do it
02-23-2006, 04:42 PM
#13
it is on the passenger side of your car, you must remove the 3 accessory belts, take the crankshaft pulley off, and take the cover that is right there off.... if oyu dont know what you are doing, i wouldnt do it.... while oyu have thatbelt off, if somehting moves, bye bye engine!
02-23-2006, 05:55 PM
#14
Lives in a Maxima
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 399
Bye bye engine is right. A friend and I lost* the timing belt on a '90 Laser we'd picked up as a rallye project. Engine, toast. Thankfully I'd only payed $2 for the car and could easily cut my losses.
*Lost is a figure of speech. I know exactly where it is... on the bathroom counter.
*Lost is a figure of speech. I know exactly where it is... on the bathroom counter.
02-23-2006, 06:18 PM
#15
True or false: you must remove the cams to replace cam seals? I have never done these procedures myself and am curious if the cam goes back in the exact same position after you replace the seal. Is it easy for the crank / cams to rotate when you have the belts off? I'm trying to get all the specifics up front. I am doing this tomorrow and it would be a VERY expenisive mistake to screw up the timing!
02-23-2006, 07:01 PM
#17
all of the questions that have been asked in this thread are answered by flipping through the timing belt section of the service manual.
the easiest way to make sure you can turn the cams without killing valves is to turn the engine to 30deg before/after TDC. that puts all of the pistons well below the contact point of the valves.
NOW you can line up the cams to TDC and hold them in place. after that, turn the crank back to TDC and then replace the belt as per the FSM.
As for the cam seals, just remove the belt and cam gears and the rear dust cover, then gently pry them out using some small screwdrivers, making sure not to scratch the contact surfaces of the cams.
the easiest way to make sure you can turn the cams without killing valves is to turn the engine to 30deg before/after TDC. that puts all of the pistons well below the contact point of the valves.
NOW you can line up the cams to TDC and hold them in place. after that, turn the crank back to TDC and then replace the belt as per the FSM.
As for the cam seals, just remove the belt and cam gears and the rear dust cover, then gently pry them out using some small screwdrivers, making sure not to scratch the contact surfaces of the cams.
02-24-2006, 11:59 AM
#18
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Originally Posted by maxitech
I bought a tensioner and belt today from carquest, but I didn't get a spring...Can you please specify?
02-24-2006, 06:10 PM
#21
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 380
Originally Posted by Maxima Man
Is there a good write up for changing the belt other than the quest van one in the syickys?
Thanks
Thanks
http://sadik.net/nissan/howto/tbelt.htm
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