Ok so my son has had his 2007 Maxima for about 2 years now and its been fairly reliable but he has had the cam tensioner noise for about the entire time. He has said it usually takes 2 times to start the car. So recently he drove home and parked in the street and when he went to leave for work his car was a crank no start. He said it made a clicking noise when he parked it. So I look at everything, NO OBD2 codes other than a O2 sensor which he has had for a while. I came here and learned the Cam Position sensor is an issue and i go to AZ and bought a replacement. Put it in and start it up and its rattling like a crazy SOB and shaking like crazy. I then think crap I forgot to plug it in, so I plug it in and I'm back to a no start. Since I'm in the street and not the driveway i unplug the CPS and get it into the driveway. At idle its shaking like crazy but when I give it gas to get up my steep driveway it smooths out above 1000rpms. I figured id tear it down and see what happened.

Well I tore it down and the cam chain was still it tact, the tensioner was super soft, the tensioner guide had slipped down and I expected that, however the top guide was in 3 pieces, that's something I did not expect. I look at the cams and cam sprockets and vales and they all seem to be good. The valves were surprisingly not bent. So I clean everything, replace the water pump, power steering since it was leaking, as well as the VVT Valve body's and timing stuff. Figured I'm in here lets get what i can get easily done as this is a job I don't want to do again.

SO long story short i get it back together and when i go to start it wont start unless I unplug the Cam Position Sensor. When it does start the engine sounds good and quiet like a sewing machine. I run OBD2 codes again once it starts and i got the P0345 since the CPS is unplugged and I also got P0011 and P0021 which was the VVT body's which are brand new. It mentioned the timing was too far advanced on the P0011 and P0021. I don't know how the timing can be too far advanced as all the painted links on the new chain assembly were spot on. When I run the OBD2 codes when the CPS is plugged in and it wont start I get no codes what so ever, It does get a sputter but never starts.

So basically I'm back to the same crank no start situation I was at before I started working on it. Is there anyway to see the timing using a timing light (I'm kinda old school). I replaced the Crank Sensors, Cam Sensors. I did notice the Cam Position Sensors do not click like a normal connector, not sure if this is normal or not.

Anyway thanks for any ideas you may have,

UPDATE:

ok so I took another Cam Position Sensor and plugged it in and it started right up and ran smooth for a few minutes though its burning some oil. I then turned it off and then put the tire on to take it for a spin and it started then stopped. I let it cool down and then it started and then it had erratic idle bouncing around. I pulled the OBD code and it shows P0345, so im wondering if I go buy a Hitachi CPS or is there something going on where the sensors are getting smoked or if the CPS is just cheap. I'm still a little leery of the non clicking of the connector on the CPS sensors. At least this sensor is easy to change and im not covered in grease and oil!!

 

There’s a million threads on only using oem cps’, Hitachi’s. Might even pull a couple out of the junk yard first, just to see, before spending the money on new

 

So I just went ahead and bought the Hitachi crank and bank 2 cam sensors, as well as new connectors to replace the non clipping connector and installed this morning. The car started and sounded great so I took it for a spin. about 1.5 miles in I was going to turn around and head home. I pulled into a neighborhood and the engine shut off with no sounds. I didn't even realize it until it was hard to turn which was weird since I just replaced the pump and realized the engine rpm was 0. It took a few cranks to get it going and I pulled the obd2 codes and got the P0345. I drove home and ran codes again and now i had the P0011 and P0021 as well. the VVT Sensor on bank 2 was cleaned the other night and the bank 1 is an aftermarket new unit. I'm guessing these are tied to the cam sensor and when it throws the P0345 it will throw those as well.

Anyways I go home clear the codes, top off the cvt fluid as it was low and go for another drive as I noticed a growling humming noise at speed and thought maybe it was just low fluid in the tranny. The 2nd test drive was longer and no Check Engine lights came on. Accelerated smoothly and quietly, trans was ok but the humming noise persisted even when in neutral so I listened to the wheel bearings and it sounded like a rear bearing. Lifted up the driver rear and it had a little slop at the 6&12 position but none at 3&9. So replacing that now. It was pretty loud.

Anyways Im still wondering why it may throw the code P0345 on the new Hitachi sensor, I mean its all timed correctly and such. Any ideas??

 

Ok well it's up and running and a unconnected ground may have been causing a hard engine jerk while trying to accelerate. I fixed that as well as put a wheel speed sensor in and all seems to accelerate smoothly. I am still getting P011 and p0021 codes as well as ASCD for some reason. I'm gonna send it and see what happens I guess. The P011 and p0021 don't turn on the check engine light.

 

So took the timing cover up and timing jumped a tooth. Reset everything. Found another post to confirm timing marks which might be helpful to someone in the future. 26 links between the cam marks, and 36 links between the bank 2 front cam mark and the mark on the crankshaft.

All is good now though I think the trans is starting to slip. That's beyond my ability!!