well yes i just got this car, and VTC's are drivng me insane, 2 Bran new vtc sprokets came with the car so i figure im saving $800 there so i need to get them in.

? so if bran new vtcs are in will it tick? should i run some crankcase cleaner to clean the oil gallries b4 i do it???

its still on the stock clutch, when i shift to 2ed driving hard it bogs down and then catches i can tell its slipping a little, im sure it would last a couple more years at regular driving, but i do like to race a lil, and that slipping isent helping


im trying to decide how i should do this i kinda wonna do it all at 1 time but its a lot of $$, i might do VTC's then clutch later

the VTC's job was gonna be......

my new VTC sprockets i allready have $800 saved
chain guides if needed, from dealer, $100 ish
Waterpump advance-idk but i get 20% disc
thermostat, i would like a cooler one also
Cam seals advance
front main adv
valve cover gaskets adv
get front valve cover power coted or something
port intake manifold, and tb


Clutch job

Zoom clutch its a good peformance clutch from advance like 200 wit discout stage 1, it should hold a lot better than stock

stillen flywheel, allready have but needs new friction plate
rear main
oilpan gasket, and new oilpan
get crossmember beefed up before i have problems
whatever tranny seals i need
axle seals
mabey get tranny beffed up or rebuilt


thats a lot of stuff, prob $1500 or more, it seems really dumb to spend that on it, im kinda regreting even buying it now...........

anyway, i need some feedback what whould you do???

i might get arron to do the work for me, hes like 2 hours from me and im 99.99% sure hes the best man for it, but its like 1g in labor.

on the other hand i could try to do it at someones garage i know, it would take a lot longer but would save tons, only probles are i would need soem good tools, and i would have to take my time and really do it right

wtf do i do????? should i de mod the car sell it for all i can and but a fen 5th gen like i really want?? and nto have to deal with vtc's and old clutches??????????????????????

after this work its gonna be like 7gs in the car, i coulda got jasons red maxims in WAY better conditin and worth a lot more with a 40k jdm motor!!!!!!!!!!!!

i also was looking to a desiel, there are some ppl around here that are makind bio desiel and i can get it for like $1 a gallon, i was looking at a jetta tdi, would be cool, or even a truck would be nice

oh ya i work at advance, i get 20% discount thats y i wonns buy stuff from there, its just some is really crap, dealer cost would be like 70% more

HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

well its all up to you you have a few options

if you want the car i would do everuthing you have just listed
everything you just listed though is pretty time consuming i have done all that and its not like changeing some spark plugs without proper tools and access to a garge for a week you will be looking at a lot in labor like you said
although everything you listed is pretty straight forward if you have and mechanical skill

it sounds to me like your better off selling the car to a max fanatic around here who can do all that stuff and get yourself a car that is ready to go when you buy it and wont need a crap load of maintenance

its all up to you my friend figure it out and then come back and if you decide to do the repairs then we will give you tips

 

what...I thought you "really" wanted a black VE5. From your PMs to me that was what I gathered.

See the problem is you are young and you will change your mind as to what you "really" want a million times so I suggest you not get a car payment.


My advice is to learn how to work on cars if you want a nice older car. If you have to pay labor costs for older cars it will not be worth it to keep it.

suck it up and read how to do the VTCs yourself. It is really not that hard if you just align the chains up to with the silver chain on the dot of the VTC. You cant mark it because you will be putting different VTCs in so just keep rotating the motor until the silver links align with the dots on both VTCs.

 

ok so i should def keep the car, like u said i really love ve5's and im planning to keep the car forever.


only thing about me doing it by myself is ill have a ton of questions, and i really would like someone to atleast help, if i take my time and really be carefull i could prob do a good job, its just ill have a lot of little questions

im kinda afraid the vtcs are going to go out completly, someone told me that them ticking for years eventually they can brake and ruin the motor

i would also have to buy a aircompressor, air tools, and whatever else i need

mabey i should research for a month or so and try to get all my ?'s answred and if i feel i can do it then i should do it, cuz it would be ncie to have a aircompreer n stuff n e way

im just glad i have 2 new vtc sprokets


oh also, my battry light and brake light are on, i took my alt off and had it tested checked ok, should i just replace? or not? its like 150 wit my discount

 

On what michael said...Either learn how to work on the car,or get a new car with a warranty....

You could make 6 months worth of car payments on a new car for what you will pay a mechanic to do the work this car needs to make it right...

 

have the alt tested on the car
and you dont need an air comp and air tools it would help but not needed if your on a budget

 

Zoom clutches stick and chatter iv had 2 from autozone, spend the money and get a factory clutch, much smoother more durable and you can get one for around the same price as the one your looking at.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/

 

i was gonna go zoom cuz of my discount, i dont not wont a factory clutch, i wont something that will hold more and can handle a lil abuse.

 

exedy stage 1 is where its at brian sells them pretty cheap
internetautomart.com

 

Exedy stage 1 is working well for me. I've heard bad things about the factory replacement.

 

Nothing last forever. I just got rid of a car that I used to swear that I would take care of forever and mod to the extreme. You get older and move on. All I am saying is don't set unrealistic expectations and plans.

I advise against doing this yourself if you aren't confident in your abilities. The problem with VTCs and timing chains is that you don't have room for errors. If you bolt it back together incorrectly, you will destory a motor that is quite pricey from the junkyard / JDM... It is very easy to quickly get in over your head with this stuff.

That is correct. I took this pic. The cap eventually came of the VTC, the timing chain broke, and blew a hole in the timing chain cover. This motor is scrap. Just good for misc parts. (This gem belongs to Michael. edit: Michael didn't do this or is in anyway responsible for it. The motor was already dead when he bought the car.)





That is a lot of money. If you already have new sprockets, perhaps you should consider taking it to the stealership. At least you know that it will get done right the first time.

If it is factory original and you have cash, sure, why not.

edit: Forgot about the clutch. It isn't bad at all. I had never attempted a clutch or a transmission removal before this car. I replaced the flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing safely, without incident, and got it right the first time. You can too. Just be sure to ask us when you have questions. There are several members on this forum who helped me a great deal.

 

Listen to this man. It wouldn't be a bad idea to save up for a house / education... I am not being condescending at all, but you are young! No need to tie your cash up in a depreciating asset like car.

 

Yeah, I did this myself as well. It was easy. Even for a first timer.

 

wow thanks for all the help!!!

i think i neeed to research a lot, i know i can do it, its just something when im actually doing the job i wont have time to post ?'s and wait

hmmm about the vtc cap comming off, makes me not want to drive it now, all i can do is hope its ok for now

actualy a aircompreer i was talking about is like $70 for a 4 gallon from advance, seems good, i know it woulten last for usage long cuz small tank but that wont matter to much to me

ima get my alt tested with it on the car tommorow

i know i can do the clutch job, im having a hard time deciing between a zoom from advance or something more costly, im def not going stock replacement though, i was j/w if zoom clutch was worth it, cuz im saving some $$$$ and it seems like a good clutch


edit: the main thing i would like to have is like a step by step process on vtc replacement, otherwise i will be a lil lost, i have fsm idk if it will help,

i really havent searched yet, i was just posting this thread to see if i should attempt vtc job, i think im going to try to do it in 2-3 days when i can take off work and work on it 24-7

 

well it didnt actually come off...its impossible for the cap to come off with the bolt still on because the hole is smaller than the bolt. What happens is the cap actually breaks (or explodes may be a better term) from the beating it takes from the VTCs (thats my theory anyway). i am pretty sure it has to be ticking for a while before it breaks.

I have seen two of these personally. Both my 93 I have now and the 92 I sold PA were blown up which is why I bought them. Both were black VE 5spds...hmmm on second thougth you might want to go ahead and get those replaced since yours is a black VE5 lol.

Seriously though maybe try grounding them for now if you havent already and then when you are confident you can tackle them.

good luck.

 

haven't had a chance to read everything yet


keeping that inmind my advice is to keep the car. It's a good car in excellent shape. Any car, even a 5th gen will have the clutch deal (the clutch in my Dad's 5th gen went out before 100k at that). VTC's is a VE thing, no way around it, kind of depressing but meh.

I say you do the clutch first. Get that under your belt. The VTC's are the hardest thing to do on these cars in my opinion (in terms of ammount of work). Use replacing the clutch as a stepping stone/confidence builder.



I'm not trying to scare you here but think twice about doing the VTC's if you do not understand how motors work, specifically how to time an engine. I highly recommend you find someone who has experience with them in the past that can help you out or at the very least someone with past engine experience. It doesn't have to be VE specific, just someone who can assemble an engine or someone who has done a timing belt or chain before. If they've installed a cam before chances are they can handle VTC's.

Give them the FSM/etc and let them look over it, see if they are willing and confident they can help you. You can do all the work yourself but it's good to have a back up plan just incase you start second guessing yourself or feel like you are in over your head.

Just don't worry about the VTC's for now. Get the clutch out of the way first. After that you'll have a much better idea if you want to do the VTC's or not.

 

scratch chain guides off that list, and add chain tensioners (two top ones), the bottom one is no easy to get at.

VTC's aren't that hard to do, but if you have large fore arms, then you'll be in a world of pain, getting the rear timming chain cover off is tedious. The front VTC is actually very easy, I would reccomend doing that one first to learn off of, then tackling the rear (which is basically the same thing except more to remove).

You have new VTC's, but do you know if they have the new version of the spring inside! If not they will fail again

 

I took my engine out to do VTCs, studs etc.... but that's me

With the engine in, I'd do this. Remove tranny and do the flywheel / clutch job. Put the tranny back in but not the rear support brackets. Tilt the engine/tranny down using a jack. This should allow you more access to the front of the engine where all the timing covers are. Especially the rear T-cover as explained by Eric.

Mark EVERYTHING. I cannot stress this enough

 

oh tensiners is what i ment, mabey chain guides if they are bad. im really skinng so ill have no problem. ill do the front fisrt

hmmm good point on vtc's mabey thats why he god such a good deal on them... what should i do to check????



idk about doing clutch first then vtc at the same time, i would like to make sure everything is ok before i start another job ya know?

yes im going to mark everything, thats why its going to take longer

 

I will say this again and STRESS it. Most people just mark the chain and the VTC asm. You can NOT do this since you are putting brand new VTCs. in.

You have to turn the motor until the chain's silver links align perfectly with the dots on both the VTCs. when the motor is at TDC and the silver links align with the dots on both VTCs then you will have no problems putting the new VTCs in. it may take several revolutions but you should get it. If you do not do it this way its just a guessing game and you will probably destroy the motor.

 

I think you guys have skeerd him enough now..

 

You're definitely right. It's not easy for a person that has never done anything timing related before. There is too much to go wrong! All it takes is a piston under compression to kick the cam back and it could get you sweating.

I rebuilt my VTCs last year and they ticked again within 1K miles. I'm guessing my oil gallies may be clogged preventing proper oil flow to get to the sprocket assemblies.

I really don't want to remove my heads to clean the gallies properly, but I might try to rebuild them again to see what happens when I have some spare time. I might be able to handle the chances of the ticking coming back. It doesn't take that long to rebuild the VTCs.

 

...I said the same thing and I have a 5 or 6 gallon one and it runs all the time when your in the middle of something. You need a 10gal at least with a good compressor. I rarely use it now that I have my husky ratchet. Its sweet because the handle actually turns the ratchet, and its really fast taking stuff on and off. I have to run but Ill have to find a pic of it, its about $40 and extremely well worth it.

If you dont want the VE-5 lmk, Ill trade you for my VG5 with a 166K engine in a 190K body in great shape.

~Alex

 

ok so before i take the chains off i turn it to tdc and the marks will align on both vtc's and chains. then i take the chain thats on the crank off, then the front vtc chain comes off, after i get the new vtc in, i put the front vtc chain back on, and make sure its aligned right. then do the rear vtc, and finally put the crank chain on

ill take the spark plugs out so compression wont be a problem and the motor will turn easily

 

Did you check the timing chain tensioners (per the TSB in the stickys)? This surprised me as most of my ticking problem.

 

it might take several turns for it to align. I guess you could turn it to TDC and just mark the chain where the dots are but to be safe it just takes some more turn to make the silver links align. Well I say that...you may be turning for 10 min before they align but its worth it to me.

you will not be able to take the chain off the crank unless you tear the motor way down. Dont worry though because the chain will not slip off the bottom.

It sounds like you havent done any more research with that question. I suggest you read some more.

after you align everything you undo the bolt and slip the VTC asm off. That is how you get it out because you cant take the chain off...it just slips forward adn when it comes off the cam you can work the chain off and pull the VTC out.

Do not be scared if the cam slips a little when you take the VTC off. That is the main reason for aligning everything. The cam will probably slip a little but just take the big wrench (the one you will use to hold the cam while you undo and tighten the VTC bolt) and move the cam back into position when you put the VTC back on.

 

turning over motor w/out timing chains [cue valves bending agianst pistons sound]

 

Since all the ticking stops when I ground the VTCs, I think it rules out everything else expect the actual sprockets. Any thoughts on this?

 

He didn't say he was turning over the motor. He said he slightly rotated cam backwards if it moved while taking a VTC off.

 

What are vtc's? Will they cause potential problems for all 3rd gens? Can they be checked/maintained to prevent problems?

 

do some research but simple answers are...variable timing control, yes they can destroy a motor if they break (only on the 3rd gens equipped with them), yeah they can be checked...if they are ticking they are bad...if not they soon will be lol...you can ground them to get them to stop ticking. No real PM can be done except normal oil changes etc.

If you dont have a 92-94 SE (and SE only) you dont have VTCs anyway.

 

I'm unclear on this as I'm new to owning a Maxima and doing any sort of work on my own car.

My VTC's click real bad at start up so I'm going to ground them. Now this supposedly stops the clattering, but does it actually solve any real problem? Are the bad vtc's still a threat to my engine if I ground them? I know the timing chain loops over the vtc sprokets and if something were to go wrong there my 92 VE with only 67K on it would be destroyed.

Also...I have a good mechanic friend who is willing to work on my car for me and replace the vtc's for me if neccessary. He thought of this though. Instead of replacing the vtc sprockets with other vtc sprockets that will probably just fail again down the road(and they cost a damn fortune), could I instead just replace them with some sort of basic intake cam sprocket found on cars without a variable timing control? Does something exist that could take the place of the vtc sprockets???

 

Sounds correct. With mine I tried the test of removing and replacing the VTC solenoid connector and got ambiguous results. Any way, I rebuilt and cleaned the VTCs and replaced both tensioners about 6 months ago and engine is now quiet.

 

This variable valve timing scheme only occurs on the SE engines from 1992 on ( to when?).The VTC's (variable timing Cam) sprockets are on both the intake cams only and advance or retard the opening of the intake valves, depending on the speed of the engine (among other inputs to the computer). A signal from the engine computer activates two solenoids that stick out of the heads on either side of the water pump, that apply oil pressure to the VTC. The timing chain is attached to the VTC sprocket, and between the sprocket and the camshaft is a sliding, sleeve with spiral teeth on it sliding on an extension of the camshaft. Oil pressure is applied to this sleeve to slide it forwand and a spring returns it to its rest position. When it slides the spiral teeth rotate the sprocket W.R.T. the cam, thus changing it's timinig, optimizing the valve opening for the conditions.
Over time the oil supply lines can become gummed up and not supply enough oil or, mostly the springs just lose their springyness with age and the VTC sleeves can rattle around inside.
THe VTC rebuild kit basically comes with a new, longer spring that supposedly won't lose it's springyness.
As for preventitive measures, you can use an oil filter with a non-return valve to minimize oil presurization time and change it regularly to reduce deposits and spring mechanical wear, but the spring deterioration is due mostly to heat and compression cycles and thus is not easily controlled.

 

but its black and has airbags right? thats all that matters.

Quality doesnt cost it pays, Ive never heard of a zoom clutch but if its that cheap there is a reason for it. Learn this lesson now and just do it once and do it right, 2 cheap clutches will end up costing you as much a one good one that will last you, not to mention the cost of your time as well.

 

hahahaha that was awesome.

 

no it has only 1 airbag, the 4th gen came with airbags

 

ok so i went to the dealer today and talked for a while, i also talked to a service person and we went to listen to my car, we determined its the front vtc, but it seems weird cuz if you put ur hand on the valve cover you can feel it, as if something is hitting it really hard, if that what a vtc tickin will feel like????? or is it something else, im wanting to pull my valve cover soon and look to make sure its not something horrible

they also quoted me $750 for vtc replacement, which i think is cheep for a dealer, he said he can give me a 12month 12,000mile warrenty, but not on the vtc sprokets i allready have

 

ok well after some research, i think ima try this mabey septemberish idk, after i got Nissan Fast and seen the digrams, and can see every single part, i think i can do it, im even going to get new bolts on some stuff

Everyone on Maxima.org should install Nissan Fast, idk why it took me so long to get it

 

maybe because you didnt know about it