Just want to know if others have had these replaced. How many tensioners are there and should I automatically change the chains? How much are the parts and how long of a job is it???

 

just took my max in this morning and i got quoted $1500. $1000 for labor. I'm getting all tensioners replaced, 2 chains, and some small stuff they need to change like gaskets and washers.

 

10hrs of labor

 

All tensioners? 3 right? How many miles do you got?

 

my cars at 84k miles.

 

got mine done recently, 1500$ , all tensioners, 2 chains and water pump...friggin chains fine its the crappy tensioners that bust causing the chain to loosen

 

You should check out this thread: http://forums.maxima.org/6th-generat...ine-noise.html

 

^^^ good information on that tread

 

Just because you replace them doesn't mean it will go away, I had my replaced around July 10 for about $1,100 from the stealership and guess what I can hear that noise coming back on start up and it goes away after its warmed up

 

what did they replace? the shop i took it too was only going to replace the secondary chains and tensioners, but I'm having them do all the tensioners

 

I had both plastic ramps replaced since they had been chewed up, some hoses and little parts washers, etc. I feel the part is a design flaw from Nissan, I guess mine had been going on for a while even before I bought the car, I got the car at 68k miles. I can hear the chain noise on start on and then it will go away. I expected it to be quiet after I replaced them, they haven't

 

Ive been riding mine since about 40k miles when the issue wasnt really documented. I took it to the dealership and they told me back then they couldnt hear anything. Now I have 188k miles on my car and it hasnt caused any problems. Now that I am getting up there in miles I probably need to go ahead and change the timing chains and tensioners, but i dont want to give them all that money and still hear that sound. Although im kind of used to it now.

 

Well mine is on start up and has a whine after. Whine will go away at an idle most times but doesnt change during accel. I will get mine replaced just because I would rather replace parts instead of a whole damn engine. I just dont like that sound when I first start, and its very intermittent. I got the car for a good deal and expected to do a couple grand worth of work on it.

 

I have had the same issue and I agree with what he said ^^^. Read the WHOLE entire thread you'll be amazed with the amount of knowledge that you gain from reading it.

PS "weird engine whine noise" is actually a link that you click to get to the thread. Just in case you didn't know

 

at what mileage should the chain be replaced? i just check out the drive belt in our car and notice that it has chips, but of course i cant see the chain, should i get the chain checked or replaced?

 

i bought the parts myself..chains (all 3) and all tensioners and water pump, also new side engine cover in case it warped, and i went to a guy i know who did it for $600 in labor. the top tensioner rattled so much over time that a screw that holds the tensioner on came loose..and all the way out! it dropped down and luckily didnt cause any damage. but car was timing-chain noise free after that and ran fine. i BELIEVE they updated the design of the tensioner..but i cant be positive.

 

Really? I just had mine replace 3 weeks ago, so your saying that thay just use that same tensioners?

 

had mine done 2 weeks ago, $3200.00 parts/labour/taxes in.
thank god the stealership paid for it, and thank god I made them agree
to fix the odd noise before I purchased the vehicle

 

Read the thread posted...

They need to replace the chain AND tensioners, not just tensioners. The chain is the problem as it may have sharp edges that eat the plastic of the tensioner.

Fender, if they did not replace the chains as well, then yeah, the problem is probably back.

 

Yeah well I had mine replaced but I believe the previous neglect my engine has gone through I still have chain rattle on start up. Lasts about 1.5 seconds sometimes a little more. Like the tensioner has to get oil fed to it. Sucks but Im looking at selling this car or replacing motor..... Anyone know where to get a good cheap motor?

 

Hi everyone, I'm new here. Just bought a Maxima and I LOVE it, but it seems like I might have the tensioner issue. My Max is an 07 with 96,000 miles on it (I got it pretty cheap) and I'd like to get another 100,000 out of it. I have a 3 month warranty and I want to get this tensioner issue fixed within that time if I can.

I went to the dealer and told them about the whine and they changed out my alternator and my a/c compressor. It's still whining and the only thing left to be making the noise seems to be these tensioners. I'm going back to the dealer today to take a ride with a technician (who said it sounded fine earlier), so I need your advice and opinions on whether you hear a whine or not before 3 today if at all possible (but later is fine, too).

Here is a video of the noise it is making. Please let me know whether you think this is the tensioner or not. Maybe you won't hear the whining sound and you will think I am overreacting. Let me know. Video below.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8827405/Maxima%20Tensioner.MOV

 

I am at work so i cant play the video

But I did lot of reading here and from what i know it starts with a whining noise and changes into ticking noise.

Mine was a ticking noise when i got the car. It probably whining before, i dont know. It was very clear and distinct. You could tell even when you were inside the car and it clearly came from inside the engine. It would do it on a cold start and the noise would go away when the car warmed up.

Does yours still whine when the car has been running for a while ?

I had a very good mechanic rip it open for me. I replaced tons of parts..

Secondary chains - both
secondary tensioners
PRIMARY chain - even though this was not in the bulletin - because there was significant slack in it
And also primary tensioner (?) i believe.

The mechanic and I looked at each and every part carefully.

I have put close to 5,000 miles since then on my maxima and it still drives like brand new. Knock on wood.

I would say make sure you check everything and replace everything the bulletin calls for and may be more depending on how badly the other parts look.

 

This is horrible news.

The whole point of having a chain is so that u DONT have to replace it. Very disconcerting to hear nissan would opt to use plastic tensioners that assuredly wdnt last as long as the chain.

Guess its a great way to make money back if your the dealer.

 

Thank you for the reply. If you get a chance when you get home, check it out and let me know if it sounds like yours.

My issue right now is that if they tear the engine apart and the tensioners aren't bad my extended warranty won't pay. I'll have to pay for the whole fix out of pocket, and I'm sure it's really pricey (I know it will probably be at least 1500).

 

Hey guys, I just purchased my first car, a 2004 maxima se 6-speed with 108k miles. I bought the car on ebay from a guy in PA and would like to make sure i dont have this issue. Is there a way to test the timing chain and tensioners to make sure theyre fine or would i just have to wait for the wining and ticking to start? Im extra concerned because the car idles a little noisy and it rattles briefly upon cold starting. other than that the car sounds great when reving (might be cause of fujita cai it came with). before i move on to performance mods i want to make sure all essentials are in perfect shape. Thanks in advance for any input.

 

at how many miles should timing chain be replaced?

 

The timing chain is supposed to be good for the life of the car. It's the tensioners that are crap.

 

This ^

Recently replaced mine when I had my engine apart to replace the rear timing cover seal because it blew out. When I looked at mine you could tell that the chain was wearing into the tensioner rails. The tensioners themselves are ok, it is the cheap rails they used that are the problem.

 

in love with Porsche are we?

 

I need to get my timing chain and tensioners done too, I drive an 08 with 63000 miles( I wish happened 3000 miles ago while it was under warraty...lucky me ), I was quote $1428 for everything.......

 

There is no need to replace the tensioners, they are not what is failing. The secondary chains and tensioner shoes are the only things that need to be replaced. Here are pictures I took while replacing a set yesterday, it's pretty obvious what has happened as I compared the old with the new. This is from a 4.0 VQ in a Frontier but the 3.5 VQ is the same.

 

I ended up replacing tensioners as a whole. Just in case but my Primary chain had a lot of slack in it and I wish I would of replaced tensioner for that also. I still got the rattle on start but this engine is toast so it dont really matter. I want to buy a moor with about 60 K since the tensioner job will only cost me $300 and will be pretty easy if the motor is completely out of the car.

 

2005 Maxima here. We had the guides replaced at about 30,000. Recently during a trip through Arizona, started hearing a high pitched whining noise. Pulled off the road and the noise was obviously the timing chain. Turned off the motor and that was all it took. Tried to restart and nothing, just cranked and would not start. Had it towed into a Nissan dealer in Flagstaff ( Planet Nissan) and they looked at it and concluded it was timing chain failure as there was no compression on the back bank. Had it towed home (Missouri) and left it at the dealer. They replaced valves, valve guides, two pistons, spark plugs and so on and so on. Our warranty is 5/60,000, the car is six years old but we only have 40,000 miles on it. The dealer called Nissan and they agreed to fix it at no charge.
Final diagnosis was that the timing chain tensioner had failed causing the chain to slip and throw everything out. I'm grateful that they didn't charge us as that would of been more than I could afford right now. Also, Planet Nissan in Flagstaff were great, they went out of their way to take care of us and being from out of town I didn't expect that kind of service.

 

Are you saying that this happened once at 30,000 miles and was fixed and then happened again later at 40,000 miles?

The wording made the post a little confusing. I'm wondering if this is prone to fail even after the fix happens.

 

What throws me off about that post is you wouldn't hear the whine sound if the tensioner is what failed, the chain would have just slapped around then came off and the car would have died out with a lot of knocking.

 

Sorry for the confusion. At 30,000 we had the chain guides replaced. This last problem was at 40,000 and I believe a serparate issue. I'm just relaying what the dealer explained to me, that the tensioner failed and let the timing chain slip. Since it only effected one bank on the engine is it possible it was one of the secondary tensioners? I don't know, just a thought. Either way I'm just glad it's getting fixed FREE!

 

Sounds to me like whoever fixed it did something wrong. Have never heard of tensioner problems on these cars, its normally the shoes since they used a chain with sharp edges it would just eat through the plastic. Defective part maybe.

 

Mine is making this noise also. UGH!!! When should I be concerned???

 

When it is consistant and not only on start up. If you catch it now it will be cheaper and parts will be around $220 so if you got a GOOD mechanic that will be cheaper then the stealership unless you have a warenty.

 

I'm going to buy an 08 with 72k miles on it in the next few days. Should I be worried that my timing chain/tensioners are a ticking time bomb in the next 25k or so miles? I'm asking this because im trying to decide if I need to buy an extended warranty for the car.