Suppose you go out to look at a 3rd or a 4th generation Maxima that has a timing belt. Owner states that the timing belt has been changed... but how do you really know? Could an experienced mechanic look at a timing belt and judge the age?

Curious.

 

only 2nd gen and 3rd gen maximas had timing belts. All the rest had chains.

And 92-94 SE's have chains as well.

You can't look at a timing belt w/o dissasembly either, theres some covers that wouldn't be fun to pull off just to inspect. A mechainic could tell you if the were lying or not but Im not sure how much the dissasembly charge would be.

Ask for recipts/dates and take it with a grain of salt.

~Alex

 

Do not believe anything they say,unless they produce a reciept of work done..If they cannot produce a reciept,replace the belt...PERIOD...

 

I'd say that if there's evidence that the timing cover has been pulled off and replaced recently (new gaskets, etc.) then it's more likely to be true than if they look like they have never been pulled, but of course that's not a surefire way to tell. Nobody is going to all the trouble of pulling that off if they aren't changing the belt, pulling everything off is the hard part; changing the belt or chain is relatively easy.

 

About the timing belt subject, I bought my car 2 1/2 years ago with 126k miles, now is 137k, I don't have any history of previous owner changing the timing belt, do you think it's time to change it? or is there an easy way to know if I need to change it? Thx

 

Yes, I know there are some max's with timing chains - but my question is more intellectual. When I bought my 1989 (may it RIP), the shop that had done the work had actually supplied a metal plate documenting the work at 112K. Nice touch - verifiable work.

But, let's say the paperwork is missing and I want to be as sure as possible without changing it all out (an expensive decision based somewhat on paranoia). So, let's say I want to pay for an hour's worth of labor - is it possible for a mechanic to make a *reasonable* judgement as to whether or not the work was recently done?

Again, I know that nothing is certain other than death and taxes. I'm not looking for certainty. Yes, checking seals would be a good sanity check. Not ever having replaced a timing belt, I have no idea what one looks like at 60 or 90 thousand miles.

Sigh, I'm driving a 4-runner right now, and there is such a sweet 99 Silver 5 speed for sale.... soon, soon soon....

 

Unless the belt is really showing the sings of wear (worn down teeth....cracks, etc) then there isn't really anyway to tell if a belt is 100000km or 1000km old.....

When I changed mine on a VG30ET at 250000km it looked just like the new one....except for some of the markings having come off. The old owner said that it was last replaced around 200000km

Oh, and when I got my Nissan belt it come with a sticker to put in the engine bay detailing replacement data and mileage.

 

when mine was changed by a shop, they put a sticker in the engine bay documented the mileage and date. of course those could always be forged, but i wonder if most of the time a place would document the change with a sticker? As stated, if in doubt, replace the belt, unless you can afford to junk the engine.

 

Fair enough. I would think that tamper proof stickers might be useful.

Appreciate the feedback.

 

depending on how much cracks on the belt. If you saw small amount of cracks then the belt has exceed its 60K life and will eventually snap. The OE belt made for our car lasts anywhere between 60 - 90K but recommended that you change at 60K or immediately after you brought your used car if you didn't know when was the last time it was changed.

Now, you will also need to be aware that there are two engine types for the 3rd generation. SOHC and DOHC. All SOHC engines are equipped with rubber belt and you need to change them every 60K while DOHC engines are equipped with metal chain and they will last the life of the car.

 

also it takes a very long time to remove all the covers and objects to get to the timing belt just so you could inspect it. I recommend that you change it while your at it. Timing belt is very inexpensive, OE is only $15 at courtesynissan. Just do it so you could drive with a peace of mind.

 

they're not tamper proof stickers... they're simply a silver sticker that comes in the box when you buy an OEM timing belt from nissan. it's got a place for the date and mileage when it was changed.

it's a nice thing to have, but I wouldn't take it as gospel.


if you're going to buy a used 3rd gen, changing the timing belt is the first thing I do, no matter WHAT the previous owner tells you. pull the covers off and check it. it's an easy day of work and $100 in parts for the peace of mine of knowing it's been done properly.

 

oh... here's what an old timing belt looks like....

 

wow, I hope it wasn't on the car when that happened.

 

Looks like it failed on the car to me. I just changed mine 30 miles ago and it didn't look that bad (it looked used, no frays or anything) but the tensioner was all rusted!

~Alex

 

look at the rest of the pics in that directory. the engine was toast.

 

That's one messed up engine =/

 

mine had 1 missing tooth and alot of micro spider looking cracks at 160k