Gary95

In searching the forum postings about installing the timing chain tensioner (for noise correction on 95/96 Maximas), I found only one mention of a part #: 13091-31U26. It was stated that this includes the tensioner, a timing chain guide, and a few bolts.

However, I have learned that there are in fact 3 guides: lower, center, and upper. Which one of these guides is required for the fix? Should all of them be replaced? Does this "kit" take care of everything you need?

izzydig

I believe that kit (Which I bought myself) includes the tensioner and guide. I don't remember any bolts.

Secondly some suggest you can just replace the tensioner itself. In my case that's all I did, but I recommend you replace both of them if you can. The angle in which the tensioner pushes the guide is different than the original one.

Gary95

Hi Izzy,
I'll just assume that the guide included is the only one needing to be replaced. You never know... I'd hate to do the work, run into problems, then find out "oh, y'know, you should've replaced that center guide as well..." I take it the replacement of the guide is no easy feat, otherwise why would you have skipped doing it?
Thanks.

izzydig

Yeah doing the guide and tensioner both requires removing the passenger engine mount, propping the engine, removing oil pan and maybe removing other stuff (it's more difficult). You basically have to remove the timing cover to get to the chains.

You just have to remove a small plate to get to the tensioner, so it's typically easier (but have to work in a pretty tight place).

As for doing any more guides if you do remove the timing cover, I believe there are some guides for the cam shafts chains, but I haven't read up on them much. There are three chains underneath that cover.

The tensioner and guide that we're talking about is for the main timing chain...the guide we're talking about seems to be the one under the most wear (look at a haynes book. The other guides for the main timing chain seem to guide the chain in a straight line, versus this one, in which it picks up all the slack on the chain.

Quite frankly I wasn't overly-impressed with the results in just replacing the tensioner itself. It didn't completely eliminate startup noise.

Oh yeah, I did a quick search and haven't read up on any broken timing chains yet (maybe I'm wrong). I have close to 220K and some other guy has 230K+ miles on his engine. I figure if it blows at 250 - 300K, then I'll swap it for a used one.

Mine doesn't drop or burn oil ......yet.

Gary95

Actually, I saw someone post a work-around. You reposition the Power Steering canister by loosening the bolts and swiveling it out of the way. He stated this gave him enough room so that he didn't have to mess with the engine mount, which is a HUGE benefit.

I'd suspect that both the tensioner and guide should be replaced in order to reduce the noise enough. As someone else mentioned, it wasn't a 100% fix, but it was definitely a noticeable improvement. The real advantage is reducing timing chain wear.

Incidentally, I have read up on several sources that discuss the merits of timing belts vs. timing chains. Although a timing chain will last longer, it is still subject to wear. Replacing a timing chain is far more costly and time consuming than a timing belt. So really, in the long run, the timing belt could be a more economical/viable design. But this is a general statement. I also saw a point about engine noise, that a timing belt will be quieter. Well, I disagree with that. The newer timing chain driven Nissan/Infiniti engines are super quiet. And who knows--perhaps the Nissan design suffers far less wear to the chain, versus other timing chain driven engines.

izzydig

I had posted that workaround, in which you swivel the power steering canister out of the way. Though, it was for easier access to just the tensioner itself. To get to the guide, you need to remove the timing cover.

And for chains versus belts. I couldn't really say (alot of factors to consider), other than that on my Nissan Stanza, the chains tend to break at 100 - 150K (almost guaranteed..so you should replace chain on a Stanza every 100K). Though these maxima chains tend to have a longer life span. I suspect this is so since they have 3 timing chains (stanza had only one, and alot of cars only have one timing chain/belt). The Maxima's chains don't put all their eggs in one basket, reducing stress on a single chain.