I've been quoted by two NIssan dealerships for about $140 and even an independent garage for $200. What's the deal? Does it normally take 1.5-2 hours to do? I appreciate comments from people who have installed it themselves or had someone do it for them (ie, Maximzed, etc.). I think I could do the install myself if only I had all the tools. Anyone in the Memphis area want to help a fellow Maxima brother out?

Oh, I finally installed my BMW lights. The driver's side looks good, but I got lazy on the passenger's, so I'll have to redo that side. I'll post pics when I get them.

Thanks.

 

Are those folks on crack or what?

Are they supplying the accessory belts? That would cost a
few bucks since the standard belts won't work any more.

I haven't put on a UDP before, but I just put a timing belt
on my '93 GXE and while it was a bit of a pain, it should
not cost you $140 or $200 to pull the old crank pulley off
and put the UDP on. Someone correct me if there is
something exotic you have to do besides remove the old
pulley and mount the new one...

If you want to know details on how to do it and what you
will need, just ask...

 

No, I have all the belts myself. About $200 shipped from Courtesy.
I have a Haynes manual, and it describes how to do everything, although the pictures aren't so clear. I'm just a little anxious about doing it though. I think the hardest part would be getting the old pulley off. I heard that it's pretty tough sometimes to get the bolt off, and then you need a large gear puller as well.

I might go ahead and try it myself, and if that doesn't work, then I guess I'll have to fork out another 140. I think that's pretty insane to spend 340 total just for a pulley. Should've just bought a y-pipe which I can install by myself.

 

me and my friend did the UDP on his Eclipse GST...we had free use of a shop/tools/lift so it was pretty easy...it might have taken us about an 1-1.5 hours to get everything off, replaced and re-tightned to proper sepcs, but then agian the Eclpse engine bay is tight/tiny, so I think thats why it might have taken the extra .5 hours! so yeah personally I'd say a 1-1.5hr job IMO.

 

Do it yourself and save the $140 for a CAI.Like NIKE says JUST DO IT...If you do a search I am sure you can find some good directions on how to do it.

 

Hey, if a no-talent like myself can do a complete 120K
service on my '93 GXE, you can handle the UDP installation.

Loosen up the lug nuts on the right wheel.

Elevate the front of the car and put jack stands under it
for support.

Take off the right wheel.

Take off the cover under the right side of the car (I think
it's held on with 10mm bolts, 4 or 5 of them).

Take off the cover inside the right wheel-well that is
covering the crank and accessory pulleys.

Put a 27mm socket on the crank pulley and see if you can
break it loose. I took a hammer and gave the ratchet a
quick hit so that it would make the bolt break loose and
rotate quicker than the pulley could. Just loosen the
bolt, do not remove it yet.

Up on the top-side, locate the idler pulley which is
right behind the air conditioner compressor. Loosen the
bolt that is in the middle of the idler pulley and then
move the idler pulley by turning the bolt that is sitting
on top of the metal bracket that the idler pulley is
attached to. Turning the bolt counter-clockwise loosens
the pulley, turning it clockwise tightens it.

Remove compressor belt.

Get back down in the wheelwell area and locate the
alternator.

There should be a big bolt (14mm?) you have to loosen and
then you can move the alternator by turning a smaller, much
longer bolt counter-clockwise. You might want to pull the
alternator to the left as you loosen it, so the belt
loosens as well.

Remove the alternator belt.

Last belt goes to the power steering pump and water pump.

To the left of the crank is an idler pulley that has a
strangely-shaped metal guard covering the lower portion
of the pulley.

Loosen the center bolt of the idler pulley.

Loosen the pulley by turning the bolt on the bottom of the
bracket that is holding the idler pulley, counter-clockwise.

Remove the power steering/water pump belt.

Unscrew the crank bolt partway, but do not remove it.

Use a large gear puller to pull the crank pulley loose.
This is much easier said than done. I used a large
three-armed gear puller I got as a loaner from Autozone.
It took me probably 30 minutes to get the thing situated
on the pulley so that I could start turning the center
shaft. If you are lucky, the shaft will not be too rusty
and the crank pulley will come off without much trouble.
Mine had a little bit of rust on it and was a pain to
remove. After I got it off, I coated the shaft with lithium
grease and it went on and came back off just by pulling
on it with my bare hands.

When you get the pulley off, make sure you keep track of the
little half-moon metal "key" that goes into a slot on the
crankshaft. This key will line up with a channel cut in
the UDP pulley.

Put the little half-moon key into the slot on the crank
shaft (if it isn't already there).

Take your UDP and slide it onto the crankshaft, rotating it
at first befor you slide it on so that the slot in the UDP
lines up with the half moon key you just installed in the
slot in the crankshaft.

Reinstall the crank bolt. Wait until you have the three
accessory belts installed before attempting to tighten the
crank bolt all the way.

Install the belts in the reverse order you took them off.

Install the innermost belt which goes over the power
steering pump pulley, the innermost belt guide on the crank
pulley, and the water pump pulley.

Tighten the belt by turning the bolt at the bottom of the
idler pulley assembly (to the left of the crank pulley) in
a clockwise manner.

When the belt is tight, tighten the center bolt on the
idler pulley to lock it in place.

Next install the alternator belt onto the center belt guide
of the crank pulley and onto the alternator pulley.

Tighten the belt by turning the long bolt on the lower
portion of the alternator.

When the belt is sufficiently tight, tighten the larger
bolt below the alternator to lock the alternator in place.

Install the last belt over the outermost crank pulley
belt guide, the upper idler pulley and the air conditioner
compressor pulley.

Tighten the belt by turning the bolt on top of the bracket
that the idler pulley is mounted on clockwise until the
belt is sufficiently tight.

Tighten the center bolt on the upper idler pulley to lock
it in place.

Tighten the crank pulley bolt with a ratchet and 27mm
socket. With the accessory belts installed, you should be
able to get some leverage on it.

At this point, you might want to start your car and listen
to whether any of your belts are squealing, indicating that
one of them is loose.

If everything is fine, return the cover inside the wheel
well, the one under the right front of the car, and put
your wheel back on.

Remove the jack stands, lower the car, tighten the lugnuts
on the wheel, and enjoy your new UDP...

If there is anything I missed, someone please point it out.

Thanks...

 

Thanks for the very-in-depth instructions. You all have given me the courage to at least try it out. I think I've done a considerable amount of work so far. But dealing with belts and pulleys just frightens me. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. And if I get stuck, then I'll take it in and let them do it. Thanks again for the instructions (from the FSM?).

 

dont look at it like your adding a udp...that sounds complicated...look at it as if you were just changing your belts and along the way you just put in a new pulley....regular maintence stuff

 

i'm so ordering a udp, how much are belts anyone know?

 

Here's a diagram to go along with my earlier installation
instructions so that the locations of the pulleys and
the adjustment bolts are a bit clearer. The diagram shows
the crank pulley already removed...

members.home.com/guy8779/images_maxima/pulleys.jpg

Hope this helps make my instructions more clear.