What are the tell tale signs to change your timing belt?

 

Typically its by the mileage since it was last changed. It's impossible to visually inspect easily (requires most of the work needed to change the thing) and waiting for it to fail is not so good an idea

 

I think slugg3r is right (unless someone can enlighten us).

Possibly the only sign you'll get is if the thing breaks and
you start hearing a nasty noise from under the hood as your
valves are getting bent to @#$%^&*. Replace every 60K and
relax or wait longer and drive a "grenade" just waiting to
explode. I've heard of folks running over 100K on their
original belt, but you are asking for trouble. I know the
belts can probably handle much, much more than 60K miles,
but you are running on borrowed time after that and it's
not worth it. If you buy a Max and you don't know if the
belt got changed at the proper interval, best to change it
and not have to worry about it. If they used a free running
motor like the Max motor they use in the Mercury Villager
van, when the belt broke, you could just replace it and no
harm done, but with the motor in the Max being an inter-
ference one, if the belt breaks, look forward to a large
repair bill.

When I did my 120K service (albeit at 127K), the new Nissan
belt came with a tag to put near the emmissions tag showing
the mileage and date the new timing belt was put on so that
if I get rid of the car, the new owner will know when the
next belt should go on (@187K).

 

I thought the 93 and 94 maxes had timing chains not belts?...correct me if I'm wrong...but you shouldn't have had to change yours at all if that is the case...or maybe the dealer got over on you

 

You must be thinking SE as opposed to GXE. My understanding
is that SE (DOHC) models use timing chains and GXE (SOHC)
models use timing belts.

I did the 120K service myself (and saved a bundle) and it
was definitely a belt, not a chain. My sister had her
'94 GXE done not too long ago and it uses a belt as well.
They did change the belt styles somewhere in between and
changed from a trapezoidal or square-toothed belt to a
rounded-tooth belt which is supposed to be good for 105K
miles instead of the regular 60K miles (or at least they
did this in the VG motors used in the Nissan Quests).

I need to write up an FAQ about the 120K service and post
it up somewhere. I wanted to take pictures as I was doing
it so I would have pictures to go along with what I was
doing, but it's hard to take pictures because you have to
keep cleaning your hands to do it so that slows you down
alot. The factory service manual is fine, but it helps if
you have a few extra bits of information that are outlined
in other places of the book.