I know this is a question that hasn't ever really had to be asked, but i was talking about the car the other night and it got me thinking. It was with one of the guys who used to work with me at autozone and he's a service advisor now, I was asking him about pulling the MAF readings to see if thats why my car jerks and has a stutter in the engine under low load. He says, the timing chain may be worn, i was like wtf?! he said yeah, at 90,000 miles (where im at) the sprocket(s) could be wearing small grooves and very very slightly changing the timing. If this question should be in All Motor, then move it, but for you guys who know internal engine,
1.) how likely is it that that's the cause of the problem?
2.) wouldnt the computer sense the timing change and therefore retard or advance it to match?
3.) i dont beat the **** out of the car, but i dont drive it like an old lady either as im sure hardly anyone on here does, and the vq30 is a great motor but the timing chain can be a wear part on any engine, can/should it be worn out this early? Thanks in advance, sorry for the long thread

 

I doubt it, there are a ton of people on this board with a 150,000+ miles on a VQ with no problems. I would keep on looking at the MAF or coils.

 

on the MAF or coils. Its probably time for a tune up. maybe you have an O2 sensor or other sensor thats going.

 

Good call on the sensors, this time last year i was having a pinging noise when i pushed the gas in high gear and no CEL, took it to nissan and they put in an MAF which fixed it, and thankfully was under warranty. I know this engine runs easy to 250k+, thats what made me think

 

Look elsewhere. It's not the chain or gears.

Chain and gears might get slightly worn over time, but they are there for the life of the engine. You should never have to replace either.

 

I had 250K miles on my 95 SE before donation and it was still running great. It's not engine.

 

for bulletproof VQ my brothers 97 still rolls like new @135k

 

The only thing that would wear in that area would be the timing chain tensioners. As they are in constant with the timing chain to retain tension. However i've pulled VQ's with 150k+ miles with tensioners still in good shape.

 

I've had a 3rd Gen and a 5th Gen, both over 130K miles and never had any VQ problems, as a matter of fact, neither of them even used any oil.

 

What did the motor use for lubrication?

 

z i n g .

 

VQ never dies! No but on a serious not, its a solid, high quality piece of machinery.

 

160K on mine, no signs of any wear.... and I've been inside the engine. It runs stronger with more miles I think.

 

o.0--Would not doubt it though lol.

 

VQ is a great engine with lots of potential..... it will last a long time with a lot of miles as long as you do the maintenance on time and treat it right.

 

If you were suffering timing issues due to chain stretch, you would be hearing a god awful noise coming from the timing cover area. By the time stretch starts to affect running, the chain is already eating its way through the cover, guides, tensioners, etc. I've only seen maybe two VQ's at the dealership where I work that actually needed chains replaced. Usually the rest of the car is shot before the engine.

 

Good to know, now what kind of labor is involved in doing a vq30 chain? I know its got three total, an inner and outer and the timing cover is basically the entire side of the engine but who knows the actual cost/ time?m Not gonna do it anytime soon, these replies made me feel pretty confident its electrical but j/w

 

Timing chains are very reliable. Only a handful of the 1995 VQs are known to have timing chain tensioner and guide wear issues. Because you have a 2001, I wouldn't worry about it. There are many of us with more than 200,000 miles on completely stock and original motors (mine's at 230k) that run smoother than most new engines on the market. This would be last on my list of things to check to solve this stuttering problem.