My 04 Maxima is making a faint screachy noise when i turned it on from a cold start. I let it warm up but the sound has gotten worse. I think its coming from the timing belt but i'm not sure. Is there some lube or something we need to put on the timing belt. Do we need to lube the belt under the hood? My max has 35k miles.

ONe more question. What is a good oil filter to get for our cars?? And the oil filter number.

 

There is no timing belt on your Maxima.

 

timing belts are covered (by a timing cover, of course) and go between the crankshaft and camshaft to keep the valves opening in correct time.

serpentine belts/v belts go around the pulleys on the accessories of your engine, providing your power, a/c, steering, etc. they're also not generally covered by anything and is often mistaken for a "timing belt"

now that THAT lesson is over....

when the serpentine/v belt squeeks/screeches or whatever, it usually means it's just loose or wearing out (stretching) ... 35k miles is a little early for those to be going though. cold weather tends to make it happen much easier though. the only thing you can really do to fix the noise is adjust pulleys to counter the stretching... or just replace them.

 

On most Maximi, the timing belt is made from steel fashioned into the shape of three chains similar to:


The accessories are driven by two belts:

 

check the oil forum....
and like stated the squeak cannot come from your Timing Chain.

 

check your belts could be cracked to crap and/or your tensioner, probably loose belts.
check all accessories such as a/c compressor and alternator.