The whole thing went pretty smoothly.
But...something had to **** me.

Chain is completely loose and is smacking the **** out of the cover. I ran it for 10 mins at 2-3k and no change.

Tensioner is good. I didn't take it apart.

Edit: took off tensioner cover. It is pushing on the guide correctly. No pressure, I guess.
Edit 2: disassembled and reassembled with high tack sealant between gasket and tensioner. I'm going to let it cure before I fire it up :/

Any ideas?

 

Problem solved.

Tensioner wasn't sealing to the block with old, ****ty metal gasket.

The high tack sealant worked. She quieted down in 30 secs and is running fine.

 

That's great. How long did the job take. Did you any problems getting to all the necessary parts? Did you remove the passenger side mount and jack up motor for room??

 

If you can do this without removing the mount, then I will give you a handy J

I did not jack up the motor at all. I just kept it level as raising it wouldn't have accomplished much unless I removed the crossmember. I didn't want any more lean for **** to fall in.

I didn't time it and this was my 1st go on a VQ, but I would say it takes about 4.5 hrs if you don't **** anything up. This would basically be cut in half if I were to do it, again.

There is plenty of room, believe it or not, with the mount gone. What is so time consuming is being very careful not to lose a bolt in the timing cover and putting the bolts in all by feel.


What will make this relatively easy is knowing the nuances of the job.


0.) Buy an Aisin pump online unless you want to pay for Nissan's mark up. I got mine for 48 bucks. It comes with seals. Buy two M8x40mmx1.25 bolts. (people are going to ask about buying a new tensioner...the new ones are different and won't press on the guide correctly! If you can match the O-ring, then you can replace it and have a like new performing one)

1.) Jack up pass. side (use jack stand of course) and remove wheel. Rotate engine to TDC (I didn't do it). Drain engine oil. Coolant will also drain out this way, so use a different catch pan if desired.

2.) Remove PS return hose, unbolt the reservoir bracket and push it up out of the way. Protip: I used the bolt from the top of the motor mount with clamp to plug the hose.

3.) Remove motor mount. Use jack on middle of crossmember to free bolt that goes through the mount (quit using the lower oil pan lol). Cordless impact makes this a breeze.

4.) Remove radiator hose from t-stat and stuff it out of the way. Remove horn if mounted by thermostat.

5.) Remove belt tensioner assembly.

6.) Remove pump and tensioner covers. A small, wedged tool with a hammer/mallet will pop them loose (be careful if using screwdriver, it's easy to mar the surface).

7.) Remove upper tensioner bolt. Loosen lower bolt until you can wiggle it and break the seal.

8.) Tilt tensioner up as far as it allows. Loosen lower bolt more as necessary.

9.) Compress tensioner with a long screw driver and insert pin/tiny allen to hold it. DO NOT use soft metal for this. It will not be removable!

10.) Carefully remove tensioner. Leave the bolt in the hole as you pull it out. This will help hold the metal gasket on case it pops free (make sure you have it). Use wire or small bungee to hold chain guide out of the way if necessary (can be useful later, too).

11.) Crank engine counter clockwise with crank pulley. FSM says no more than 20%, but I went more to achieve desired amount of slack by the pump (this can be dangerous). I had enough slack to easily push the chain off the teeth.

12.) Remove the three pump bolts. They are small, so be careful. I used shop paper towels in the crevices to help avoid catastrophe.

13.) Insert the M8x40 bolts into the top and bottom ears of the pump. Crank them alternately with no more than 1 turn each time WHILE PUSHING THE CHAIN OFF OF THE TEETH. It will fall behind the teeth quickly. If they are hard to crank, then no more than half turns. (my pump slid out with very little force)
Crank them until the pump is completely loose.

14.) Remove water pump. Remove M8x40 bolts, then carefully tilt and wiggle the pump until you find the correct orientation to slide it up and out. PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ORIENTATION! You will need to know this for new pump installation.

14.) Install seals on new pump and lubricate them with grease.

15.) Install new pump. CAREFULLY lower the new pump using the orientation that I yelled at you about. This will keep you from rubbing and possibly cutting the seals. Once pump is in place, pop the chain over the teeth. Use only the top and bottom bolts and crank them in just like when you removed it. Install third bolt last.

15.) Slightly crank engine to deliver the most slack on the chain guide.

If the metal gasket is still stuck to your tensioner, then lucky you. If it has come off like mine did, then you can either opt to carefully hold it with the bolts through the tensioner as you install it or clean everything up and use high tack sealant to hold the sum ***** down.

17.) Install tensioner. Be very careful, again. I lost the metal gasket twice into the timing cover Luckily, it's magnetic.

18.) Crank engine clockwise until chain is tightest on the guide. Pull pin on tensioner.

19.) Install access covers. Clean them and the timing cover. Apply RTV to covers. Very carefully hold and stick covers into place. Insert bolts and finger tighten only. Wait at least 30 mins, then fully tighten.

20.) Install everything else in reverse of disassembly (thank you repair manual instructions...**** suckers).

21.) Wait a couple more hours, so the RTV has cured some, then refill fluids (longer if not summer or very moist).

22.) Pull fuel pump fuse and crank engine for a few seconds. I don't believe this is necessary, but I wanted to make sure the chain stayed seated correctly and didn't have power applied (so no big badda boom).

23.) Start engine and rev to 3k and hold until noise abates. If it idles down and noise returns, then rev it up some more. Mine got quiet in 30 seconds.

 

If it sounds like I left something out, then let me know. I just spent a fair amount of time recollecting all of this, but my memory is terrible.

Anyone that can do moderate level mechanical work can do this, but you have to be meticulous as this is tedious and dangerous. If done wrong you could blow your engine (like by slipping the chain).

I'm not bragging, but this is probably the best write up I've read or watched for this pump LOL. I saw multiple tutorials on this, but none were still really concise, so here ya go!

 

Would it be safe to assume that you could apply these instructions to the 4th gen as well?

 

Yes, 95-01 should be identical.

I wager that most of it applies to all 3.5s, too (easier on RWD even if you have to remove accessories).