I just changed the timing belt and thermostat, cleaned the battery/terminals. Now, car will not start. Starter turns engine just fine, but no spark???? Any ideas? I already changed the rotor/cap with no improvement. THANKS!

 

are you sure that it's a matter of having no spark? or could you have possibly timed it wrong?

 

recheck your camshaft timing relative to the crankshaft and make sure you screwed the distributor rotor to the shaft!

 

When I replaced the belt, I was careful not to allow any movement of cams relative to crank. I have not timed it officially since it does not start. Is there an adjustment I should be making now? I know there is spark as I checked ast night. Today, I am going to check the crank angle sensor/injector circuit. ECU checks OK as well - no fault codes. Rotor is secure, but I will check for pinched wires...Thanks for any and all suggestions!

 

well there's 2 different 'timing' thingies. there's ignition timing (distributor vs cam) and valve timing (cam vs crank). The timing belt controls valve timing, and the distributor adjuster bolt is how you change spark timing. Make sure that the dots on the sprockets and lines on the timing belt match up properly, otherwise you'll never get the thing to run right. Then worry about the ignition.

 

Did you bring the engine to Cylinder 1 TDC with the lines on the belt lining up with the marks on the sprocket? you probably dont have to go that far with it but i do just to be sure.

 

we did that prior to removing the belt, so everything was already set that way. if you take the belt off and then move it, well, then you're screwed.

 

well that goes with out saying, was the temp sensor unplugged? are the accesory contacts on the battery in good shape?

 

The 1 cylinder was at TDC during the timing belt change and all contacts appear OK. I replaced all the spark plugs and the car still does not start. The engine temp sensor was not disconnected. I will have to check the crank angle sensor and fuel pressure next I guess. Thanks.

 

my 91 maxima does the same exact thing and it does it often. all i do is wiggle the automatic shift up all the way while in p. and usually itll start after couple times doin it. goodluck.

 

noobs.....ugh

 

not even close. the OP's engine spins but won't catch and run by itself. yours won't spin at all until you jiggle the shifter. you're just a missing shifter bushing causing the car to think you're not in P even when you really are. replace the bushings ($5 total) and you'll be set.

 

What "crank angle sensor" are you gonna test?
Did you line up all the notch marks on the cams/crank gear with the notches on the cover/oil pump housing? Timing belts for the VG also have 3 white marks on the belts that you should line up with these notches on each gear.

 

All Maximas have the timing marks on the cams and head. Also, on the crank and block. Make sure that these marks on dead on and not off a hair. Make sure when you set the cam/crank timing that cyl 1 ii at TDC. The actual timing is set at 16 degrees BTDC (before top dead center), but thats done using the distributor and a timing light. Check the cam/crank timing becasue you might just be 180 degrees out. In other words, you're on the compression not the combustion stroke.

 

Did you resolve this issue?

It sounds like it has to be timing related since that is basically all that you messed with. You should take everything apart and get back down to the belt. If you get the engine back to Top Dead Center the "dots" on the camshaft sprockets should line up with the "bumps" on the back of the timing belt cover. The dot to the crankshaft sprocket should line up with the notch in the oil pump housing. Lastly, with your belt being new, the white marks on the belt itself should line up with the dots on the camshaft and crankshaft sprockets respectively.

You only need to be off 2 or 3 teeth before the car won't start at all.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I am screwed. I must have had the engine set 180 degrees off. I thought I had the timing marks lined up but was looking at the wrong thing. I had the car towed to a Nissan mechanic and he says he tried to start it and the engine locked. It turns out the no. 5 cylinder valve broke and fell into the cylinder. I am pissed becuase the engine was turning fine when I had it. Nevertheless, something disastrous happened. He pulled the head and says there is a hole in the no. 5 piston. Now, I am looking at either a head job plus rebuild. Don't know if it is worth the trouble. I will deal with this tomorrow. Might be time to retire the 3rd gen....187,000 miles. He wants $3 grand to replace the engine with a 12 month warranty. Any thoughts?

 

swap in a used motor yourself.

 

+1

 

3 grans? u can buy another maxima with that...

 

give him three grand .... three grand eff-you's, that is, and walk away. if I were charging someone I didn't know labor to swap an engine, as long as they had the engine on-site with them i'd only ask for like $200 labor. not bad for a weekend's work. maxima is pretty easy to swap an engine in. I'm swapping an engine tomrrow, matter of fact.

 

most shops charge about $100/hr (give or take) for labor. so you think you can get the engine dropped, and the new one installed and running in two hours?
but, no, it aint bad for a weekend.

 

He has a nerve . He was supposed to check everything BEFORE starting the engine. He is mechanic after all. Anyway, you probably can get a used engine with half your mileage for <$500. Whether swapping looks feasible to you depends on your own situation. Good luck with whatever direction you take.

 

and an engine swap is cheaper than scrapping the car and buying another.

 

I know a lot of VG owners that have lost timing belts with similar results. Many of them did the leg work to get down to the heads and removed them by themselves, took them to a shop to have them rebuilt, and reinstalled everything. Very low cost but definitely a lot of work for the individual.

3 grand is an awful lot. You might do some shopping around as I am sure you can get it done for cheaper professionally though it will not be cheap in any sense of the word.

I hope this works out for you! If it helps I know lots of people who have been through something similar and come out the other side. In fact, I know several z31 owners that purposefully bought their z31 from someone who had lost a timing belt (same end result) so they could get the car for dirt cheap (which was otherwise pristine). They do the repair and for a grand or two they have a nice, perfect z31.

 

well i spent from 8am yesterday to 6am this morning (yes, 22 hours straight... multiple energy drinks were substituted for sleep... but it caught up with me and i'm dragggggiiiinnnnnnn now) swapping the parts car's motor into the 89SE Superwhite that had a broken tbelt when i bought it. Damn near got it drivable too! all that's left is torquing up the tranny mounts, putting in the rest of the engine/trans bolts, putting the axles back in, and patching the exhaust as best i can until we can take the thing to an exhaust shop (PO cut the cat out, so we're gonna get my parts car's cat welded in).

so no i can't do it in 2 hours but we're gonna yank the motor AGAIN next month because, well, it needs a lot of touchups that the new owner (my lloooooongtime friend) couldn't front the cash for now (probe died, he needs the maxima ASAP) so due to the sheer amount of tasks we're doing and how easy it is to service a motor when it's on a rotisserie stand, we deemed it easier to just yank the motor since we can do it in half the time this time around, now that we know what we're doing (perhaps less if i had access to airtools!!). And the ONLY thing I've broken so far is the alternator ground that goes into the frame... regrounded to another location and all is well.

so yeah, CHM, you can definitely do this yourself and pay alot less than $3000.

 

I'll swap one in for $500

 

what's your best time to date?

 

Well, I checked on the situation and found holes in the #1 and #5 pistons. I am going to swap out the motor. Out of curiosity, what's involved with replacing pistons? How do you access the pistons to remove them? Thanks

 

Swapped a honda accord engine/trans in 7 hours last year, but that was a rush job. the guy needed the car asap to start a new job. 3rd gen engine swaps are easy in the realm of engine swapping, having the right tools to do the swaps efficiently makes all the difference imo. You should try a converting a 89 Chevrolet sierra 6.5L diesel over to a f/i 350cid in 2 days. Fun stuff

 

it's a fairly involved task. for matt93se it's cake but that's because he's got year and years of experience. For me, I'd probably get the pistons out, but in the process, break a few hundred dollars worth of other parts, or scratch up the cylinder bore or something..

you have to take the oilpan off and undo the bolts that hold the the caps on the rods, then draw the pistons out from there. out the top unless you want to remove the crank too (unless there's room between crank and cylinder bore? i don't think there is... didn't pay attention when doing my oilpan). Then there's a lot of stuff to measure to make sure it's still in spec... and if it isn't you have to replace or machine it, depending what it is.

 

The piston bone connected to the... crank bone... dododododadada...