DDub

iTrader: (1)

I attempted to complete the water pump replacement yesterday following the DIY by Mishmosh. I was able to get everything out yesterday but didn't have enough time to attempt to put it back together.

The only problem is I think I may have rotated the crank shaft too far. It was rotated about 35 deg or more.

I attempted to put the new water pump in but was having difficulty getting it in due to not enough slack on the chain. I check the side where the tensioner was and there is slack on that side as well.

Is it possible the chain skipped? Or is there another reason for there to be slack on the tensioner side? Also, did I totally mess up the engine by rotating more than 20 deg?? Please Help!

Trini Boom

iTrader: (5)

Did you rotate the crank pulley counter-clockwise? If so, the slack should have gone to that side for the water pump to even come out. Amount of degrees doesn't matter as long as it was turned in the right direction.

DDub

iTrader: (1)

I rotated it counter clockwise.

What worries me is that there was no slack on the tensioner side before, but now there is.

martyscholes

That happened to me too. I suspect the cams rotated once the chain had some play.

Just rotate it a little counterclockwise again, install the pump, the tensioner (I now regret not replacing mine while I was in there), seal it all up and pray.

Mine had a lot of trouble starting after I did the pump and it spooked me. It was loud and ran horribly for 30 seconds or so.

I also had a problem with intermittent chain noise and the oil light (which also spooked me) for several weeks.

After a month or so it started holding pressure regularly and the chain is quiet(er).

Good luck!

cashoit

I think its normal to hear noise initally, but it shd quiet down after pressure is built back up and normalized.

svezarov

you can read my post (search for svezarov). I had the same issue like you, had a panic attack for about 24 hours, but after that re-thinked and realized that there can't be any slippage. So don't worry. You can pull the slack into the water pump compartment by turning the crank pulley and after that by pulling on it in the TC opening, it turns the cams and the slack comes on the other side. I did this probably about 5-10 times. I think I explained that in that post.

martyscholes

I hear you and would agree except it happened. Oil light was on, chain was a a little noisy and yet it was still oiling. Google found one other post where some guy took his Max to a mechanic for a new water pump then had intermittent oil light problems immediately afterward.

My wife (not knowing better) drove it for several minutes on the freeway with the light on. I noticed that stopping the engine and restarting it "fixed" the oil light and the noisy chain for a while.

The only theory I could come up with was that the old tensioner was disturbed enough to develop a leak under certain conditions, and the leak would bleed off oil pressure (causing the light) and reduce the tension (causing the noise) but it was still circulating some oil (which is why my wife didn't cook the motor). Stopping and restarting the engine moved the tensioner piston enough that it would not leak, for a while at least.

After several weeks the frequency and severity dropped to where it doesn't happen any more.

DDub

iTrader: (1)

Can you reuse the old tensioner? A mechanic I talked to said that you need to get a new tensioner if the old one falls apart....the piston and spring on mine shot into the timing chain cover. Luckily I was able to fish it out with a magnet.

If I need to get a new tensioner can I get an aftermarket that will work? I know that Nissan doesn't make the old style tensioner anymore. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Stormzusmc

iTrader: (17)

you should get a new one, they can get "tired" over time...if youre in there, replace it

DDub

iTrader: (1)

Will the aftermarket tensioner match the old style used in the 96.

Blassmasta

Hi there - I know this is an old thread but this problem sounds exactly like something I am dealing with right now. Just completed the water pump/tensioner job yesterday. Buttoned everything up, started the car, chain rattled like an S.O.B., ran it for a bit, turned it off, let it sit.
Restarted the car and it was much quieter but not COMPLETELY quiet. There is what sounds like chain rattle coming from the water pump/tensioner area that was never there before.
On my way to work today the oil light came on twice (very dim). I stopped and checked the level which was perfect so I kept on driving.
The car seems to run just fine but I am still hearing this damn chain (or whatever) noise that was not there before.
Is it possible there is an air lock in the tensioner that's causing this? You say this eventually went away completely for you?
Car is a '99 5 speed by the way - and thanks.

surban1

iTrader: (17)

did you put a new tensioner on? if so, is it oem nissan or aftermarket? if aftermarket, whose? did your 99 have a tensioner gasket on it? if not, did you put one on before you buttoned everything up? need some more info.

Blassmasta

Yes.

OEM

Nope, there was no gasket on the old one. The new one was identical in appearance and everything fit no problem. Water pump was brand new from the dealer also.
The reason the air-lock or trapped air idea made sense to me was the whole oil light scenario. Since the oil level is where it should be the only thing that should trip that light is low oil pressure, which I could see being caused by air trapped in there or an air bubble making it's way past the sensor. Thing is it only came on briefly and then never again. Car still feels right, all noise aside.

This may be a stretch but could air in the power steering system be making this sound? I know a cavitating pump can make a pretty horrendous noise. As you know it helps to move the P/S reservoir out of the way (which I did) to get at the tensioner which also means you have to refill and bleed the system (which i did - or at least I thought i did).
Sounds under the hood of a car can be tricky but my gut tells me it's mechanical (ie - chain rattle) but why?

Like I said, everything seemed to go pretty well - aside from the obvious PITA that the job is, everything fit easily, lined up as it should, nothing seized...

The pisser about this job is you have to drain oil, coolant and P/S fluid - so many areas stuff may be happening and it's all crammed in the same space which makes it hard to tell where sounds may be coming from.

Oh yeah, I did notice that the plunger spring on the new tensioner was a helluva lot stiffer than the old one but I would expect that - since the old one had about 350 000 KMs on it - it should be tired by now and that should be irrelevant anyhow since oil pressure takes over after the car is running.
And incidentally - the chain guide looked to be in darn good shape. Normal wear, no metal on metal happening there.

That's all I can think of right now, and thanks.

svezarov

Looks like you did everything right. I have 96 and know that they changed the tensioner/guides in the later years and I hope that yours had already the new one installed when the car was made. I also know that they don't produce the old one any more so you can only buy the new one which is almost the same but not exactly and doesn't install properly. Please search the forum for discussions to see in which year they started making the car with the new one.
Also when I did mine because I had quite a lot of coolant going down in the pan I changed the oil twice after I assembled everything. The oil had absorbed like a sponge the coolant and had already dark color after 15 minutes of running the engine. I don't know if that would be a reason for the pressure to go down, but it is worth looking into.

Blassmasta

I will certainly look into that although my pump actually seemed perfectly fine. It was the inner o-ring that had gone bad and was allowing a very small amount of coolant to get past it and drain out the weep hole. The only coolant that got in my oil was when I actually pulled the pump out of the housing.
Of course I changed the oil and then poured a fresh litre through to flush any residue from the bottom of the pan.
Oil is clear and clean.
I'm actually considering re-installing the old tensioner to see if it makes any difference.
I'm really confused by this .
Damn thing was running great before (great actually) - just changed the pump to stop the coolant loss.
What a drag.

surban1

iTrader: (17)

sounds like you did it good; i don't know what the noise could be. if it were me, i'd wait a while before doing anything else. do you hear the sound at all rpm, does it change at different rpm? your idea about power steering pump...maybe; i guess you could check by taking off ps belt and running engine to see if noise persist/changes or is eliminated. you're not hearing the fuel injector noise, right? investigate and give more info on noise.

Blassmasta

For sure not injector noise. I'm very in tune with the sounds of my motor - I know that sound well and this isn't it. This is something that was not there before I did this job. You hear it more when the car is idling but that's because when she's revved up the engine noise is drowning it out.
That P/S belt will not be coming off - not by my hand at least. I tried to change it out while I was in there but I'll be damned if I could get that back nut free.
What I will do is take another crack at bleeding the system. I know it was a major PITA on my girl's Lexus - took many turns lock-to-lock, engine on, engine off, add fluid, make sure it doesn't suck in any air, etc, etc.
It almost seemed too easy on the Maxima.
Anyway - I do appreciate the feedback. I will report any new findings.
All the best.

Blassmasta

On my way home from work tonight, chain got very noisy all of a sudden, just like after start-up with a dry tensioner. Horrible noise.
Well - I went ahead and re-installed the old chain tensioner with the hope that the issue was with the new one. The only difference I could see between them was the new one had a beefier spring - otherwise the same.

I start it up - hear the usual racket, it quiets down fairly quickly and settles in to make the same ****ty sound all over again. No friggin' luck.

What the hell - I perform some maintenance on the car to stop a leak and now the car is basically worthless heap.

Since no one else has mentioned this I feel I must. What dimwit in the Nissan engineering department thought it would be a good idea to bury the water pump behind the timing cover and to have it driven by the timing chain? I've never seen a motor set up like this. I know it's all about packaging but really? You have to mess with the timing chain to change a water pump?

I'm at a loss - 2 days ago - perfect running car - today - embarassing rattletrap P.O.S. Why? Basically because an O-ring rotted out. Should have just let the bugger leak. It ran perfectly.

Blassmasta

Car is now running just the way it shoud - now that the old TC tensioner is back in place.

Something to consider for all you guys that replace the tensioner when you do a water pump job. If your water pump is leaking and you are going to replace it - I would not replace the timing chain tensioner if the car is running smoothly and you don't hear any chain noise. In other words, if it ain't broke - don't fix it.

For whatever reason my car did not like that new part being in there. Could be it was some made-in-mexico junk (yes, it's OEM from the dealer), where the original is made-in-japan like the rest of the car. ('99 was the last Jap built Max I believe) The tolerances on a part like this would have to be pretty tight so if it's even just a little off, I could see it causing problems.
Anyway - there it is.

surban1

iTrader: (17)

glad to hear that it's running noise-free again. you could examine the "new" tensioner that you just took off; maybe you'll discover the problem it has. it wuld seem that something (o-ring, out of square//flat sealing surface, too big drain hole, etc.) is preventing it from building proper presure (and therefore tension).