hey gang, I am new to the forum and was hoping you could help me out with a question. I have a 95 Se that will be getting a new cam chain tensioner (rattles badly)....what kind of life do OEM water pumps have? I have to tear apart the whole front side of teh engine and am wondering if i should replace it witha remanufactured unit while i'm in there? My car has 72K miles on it...I just bought it recently and am the third owner...the first two neglected the car quite badly so I doubt the cooling system has been flushed.

 

If you dont mind me asking, what is the tensioner replacement going to cost you? (Roughly)

 

You're gonna do that chain tensioner yourself?

Good luck man, a lot of us have learned to live with the chatter.

As far as the water pump goes, youll know its going out because it will leak from time to time because of the bearing, and once the bearing starts making noise, then it's time to get a new one.

I have 152K on my 95se, and the H2O bearing pump is making noise so i know it's only a matter of time. good Luck, and welcome to the crew

 

dealer quoted $1100 just to replace the tensioner and rear guide. for this job i justified buying my stationary air compressor to my wife..haha. I do plan to do the work myself...just will be a long weekend and a couple six packs...i race motorcycles and do all my own engine building/tuning along with all my other work on vehicles so stuff like this doesn't scare me off....but that doesn't mean i enjoy leaning over a fender for 10 hours either...hahaha

FYI: I bought all the part from thepartsbin.com ...the timing chain kit is made by tsubaki (oem company for nissan) and comes with ALL three chains, ALL guides, ALL three tensioners and front cover seal for $185...i almost peed my pants. The pan gaskets are $1.50 each and a reman water pump was $66, thermostat was $11 (factory part)....all shipped for free....i would recommend checking their site out if you are looking for something...my first experience went well, speedy shipping, quality parts and good price.

john

 

If I were you, I would just do it. Since your timing chain job already makes the water pump accessible(when's the next time this is gonna happen, if ever?), you may as well. Give yourself piece of mind, especially considering the lack of care the previous owners put upon the car.

DW