CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

ohhh the key. gotcha.

CarAudioHelp

I think I bought the stud but couldn't get it off so I just left it. The same with the crankshaft seal (which I talk about along with the camshaft seals). But if you can get your crank sprocket off then definitely do it. The camshaft seals weren't too bad once I figured out what kind of tool to use to get the old ones out.

CarAudioHelp

I've created another tutorial on fuel injector changes and just posted it online.

How to 3rd Generation Nissan Maxima VG30E Fuel Injector Change

http://www.caraudiohelp.com/nissan_m...ange_tutorial/

jdspilot

wow awesome tutorial, yes tensioner is 5mm hex and bolt is 14mm on tensioner. I would also like to add that the tooth count across the top is 40, right side is 43 and left (tensioner) side is 50. This would help someone check to see if a belt has slipped. great pics. your tutorial is all I had to use for the belt change. Mine won't start yet but I also had lots of other stuff off the engine for a fuel injector replacement. Might not have put everything back right. Thanks for taking the time to make the tutorial.

AzureblueZ

Here is a great list of all Nissan timing belt related part numbers us z31 guys put together a while back. They are all the same on the VG Max's with the exception of the CHTS:

http://www.88hybrid.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3576

nissanparts.cc is a great resource for Nissan parts. They have the lowest prices that I have found and they are a dealer so it's all true genuine Nissan parts (which is all you should use when doing timing belt related stuff).

Here are all the parts I ordered when I last did the job on my z31. My poor Maxima just got the tensioner and belt this last round.:

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Includes timing belt, timing belt tensioner, timing belt stud, thermostat, waterpump, CHTS, CHTS harness, small hose, and all related gaskets.

Everything you see came to $265.83, which includes $28.48 shipping.

If you are on a budget the timing belt and timing belt tensioner are a must. Just go Nissan. It will nly be about $100 all said and done using Nissan parts. You know you can trust Nissan parts.

AzureblueZ

I must say again, awesome tutorial. I know from experience that this job is hard enough. I can only imagine stopping to take pictures document everything! It is nice that you included tool sizes because most of us (myself included) have to figure that out by trial and error. I also lost some time figuring out how to hold the crank still while trying to remove the crankshaft pulley bolt.

Well done sir! Kudos to you

jdspilot

wow you are doing a real service. I just did mine and your tutorial is right on. No complaints. How are your struts.. see my thread on it.

GRNMAXDMON

iTrader: (1)

the small stud or the big one that the tensioner slides onto and the lock nut and washers screw into?

maximaVG30E

Great tutorial. I wanted to see if someone knows how get my car back into timing (1993 Maxima VG30E). I had to change the head and took out the distributor. So now when I have the #1 cylinder at TDC and the distributor pointing to the number one terminal the car cannot start but I hear a fire craking noise inside the engine, but cannot fire. Please HELP!!!

CapedCadaver

iTrader: (8)

you might have it 180 degrees off. remember that the disty spins at half the speed of the crank. so cyl 1 and 4 are at TDC at the same time, 2/5, and 3/6. This means you might have it installed pointing at cyl1 when it should be pointing at cyl4, depending which cylinder is about to start its power stroke and which is about to start its intake stroke.

and yes i/goon9 have made this mistake once on my car when doing an engine swap. vid of it 180* off and vid of it after we turned it 180* disclaimer: i don't remember whose queer laughing that was... me or my friend who came along with me.

mer3y

Thank you very much
Get a lot

tomandjerry20004

iTrader: (1)

There is a timing belt on 2000 maxima? I thought it was a timing chain??? Noob question....

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

Chain....no belt..

Wangan_Cruiser

good guide!

redhunter

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I wanted to share a mistake I made while changing my timing belt, so no one else makes it. In taking off the lower timing belt cover there is a nested bolt that is used as a water pump bolt as well as a timing belt cover bolt. When I took the cover off it came off as one piece (stayed on the cover—I unscrewed it only from the water pump) and I didn't think anything of it since the Haynes manual shows it as one bolt. After changing the timing belt and water pump I replaced the lower timing belt cover with that nested bolt still attached to it. Because the cover portion of that bolt is small I didn't torque down on it much and consequently the water pump was not adequately bolted down. And as you might guess I had a coolant leak. I was able to isolate the leak to that bolt area as I made the leak more or less by loosening and tightening the bolt, but I thought I didn't apply the RTV properly—maybe not putting the RTV on the inside of the bolt hole.

Not knowing how much coolant got on the timing belt, I broke it down again and put a new belt on and re-sealed the water pump. I was about to do the same thing again with the nested bolt, but luckily I noticed the bolt was hex shaped below the cover and realized it was two bolts. I separated them and properly torqued each one and so far no leaks.

fspgtd

Good thread and tutorial, OP; thanks! I'm putting the tutorial to use.

Anyone have any tips for removing the seals? I managed to get the front cam seal out so far (used a paint can opener, and levered the handle out using a pry tool against a wood block - after welding the can opener's handle closed, so it wouldn't pull open from the large prying force necessary to pull the seal). Rear cam seal doesn't have enough room for the paint can opener. Maybe the drill and tap trick is necessary? Wish there was a better way.

I suspect the front main seal is leaking so that one is definitely on my list (and luckily I didn't have a problem getting the crankshaft timing sprocket off.). I did have a time removing the sheet metal washer that goes behind the crank timing sprocket. It seemed was stuck in a groove on the crank back there. I pried it off with two screwdriver but bent it up in the process (current plan is to form it flat and re-install).

I managed to remove and reinstall new ball bearings from the two serpentine idler pulleys (both old bearing were feeling pretty rough). Found pressing out the old ones went a lot easier when I ground away the swaged lip along the edge the bore on the pulley, which was really holding those bearings in. (I used a die grinder for that). Although a swaged fit to hold a bearing like this is probably overkill, I used a conical punch in a few spots to re-swage the bearings in the pulleys really tight. Part numbers on the replacement bearings were 6301-2RS (need 2 total, one per pulley).

Another problem I ran into was the coolant bypass hose nipple above the thermostat housing had pitting that went all the way through the aluminum wall in two places! No wonder there was the strange coolant leak there I couldn't fix by tightening the hose clamp (the holes were right behind where the hose clamps were.). I just managed to repair that today, initially tied tig welding he holes close, but the contamination from the coolant residue (hard salt-like perhaps deposits) was just too much. Ended up hack sawing off entirely the pitted aluminum nipple and fabricating a new one from some 1-1/8" aluminum tubing I had around.

Are the crankshaft woodruff / half-moon keys a common part, with standard dimensions? I tried searching for the Nissan part numbers and only places that carry it are Nissan dealers, which have very high shipping. (Plus, I don't really want to wait very long.). The old ones aren't perfect but maybe good enough to reuse this time. Old water pump looks great, but that will be changed out preventively.

I found my thermostat was bad - rubber parts were swollen/damaged, and the thermostat wouldn't close all the way (this explains why car heater didn't get so hot, I think.) I had a tough time finding the right thermostat. Not happy at all with a cheap aftermarket one I got from the auto parts store (in a boiling pan of water, it barely opened at all, so I would be very concerned about potential overheating if I installed it). I'm going to return that and have ordered the factory thermostat.

One that came out of the car (and spec'ed for earlier cars) is the more commonly available 82 C (180f), which carry a range of seemingly equivalent part numbers (a common one is 21200-V7206, but some others are -V7205, -0B00, -V720A, and -85E00) this seems to be available high quality Oem aftermarket, sold as the Stant 48128 or the Gates 33984.

Since my old thermostat was stuck open, I didn't want to push things much hotter on this 230k mile engine, so I will go with a genuine Nissan 170f thermostat.

Seems like 21200-J30003 or 21200-V5015 are the correct part numbers for 91 and later, which I surmise are the same dimensions as the earlier 3rd gen GXE maximas, but just run cooler at 76.5 C (170f) rated opening. No good quality aftermarket Oem option that I was able to find for this part.

jakeru

The tutorial picture shows the tensioner being turned clockwise to tighten, and I've got mine partway buttoned up already (timing belt covers installed) with tensioner turned clockwise.

I got looking more closely at the Nissan FSM procedure however, and found it shows the tensioner being turned clockwise to tighten. (See pages 14-16: http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Maxima/1994/em.pdf ). So my question is: whether I should bother taking off the timing belt covers and redo the tensioner so it's turned counterclockwise instead of clockwise?

Also - any tips for torquing the crank pulley bolt to full specs (95 ft-lbs) with an automatic tranny? I managed getting about 60 ft-lbs or so by turning briskly with a torque wrench against engine compression. It was enough to run the engine briefly (no coolant in it or any drive belts installed yet). So far I've resisted the urge to just hit it with the air impact.