Nice186 Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 ok i just got back from class and my truck drove fine now i walked outside and saw green coolant leaking under my truck, took my skid plate off to see where its coming from, no hoses are leaking but its leaking right under the alternature. can it be that the water pump is gone? i turn my engine on and it starts leaking again and in the same spot here is a photo is this hard to replace oneself? how much is this part? is it just worth it to take it to a shop and have them install it? this is my daily driver so i need this truck. thanks for the help guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I can't quite tell from the picture, is coolant leaking out of the water pump weep hole? I'm not sure how the procedure goes for water pump replacement, the FSM is very vague. Page LC-7 of the factory service manual has an exploded parts view, FWIW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice186 Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 no that weep hole is for the ac and its dry right where im pointing is where its leaking on that disk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 If you are replacing the water pump, its time to do the timing belt. Not hard, there is a write up in the how to section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 A/C weep hole? You mean the hose at the firewall? The water pump weep hole is on the water pump itself. It could very well be causing that leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 thermostat is in that general area too, and hard to see if it's leaking, you'd have to feel around the housing. Waterpump is easy'ish, but if you've never done it before and it's your only vehicle, it would take a shop a day to do it. As suggested already, do the timing belt and thermostat as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice186 Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 Thing is I'm tight on cash and the if I take it to the shop for the timing belt they will charge me $500+ for just the belt!! Is the belt outside or inside the engine? If there is a water pump weep hose would that be hanging anywhere where I can see it? Would it leak a lot of coolant? Is that normal or should I replace that hose?(weep hose) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice186 Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 I myself never did a timing belt before. Do I need any special tools? I'm asking this because the way my father is telling sounds like its really difficult to do, then again maybe on these older trucks its easier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 It's a weep hole, not a hose. If it's leaking your only option is to replace the water pump. The timing belt is internal and there is a guide in the Garage section of the forum I believe. I don't recall the change interval of the TB at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I'm on tapatalk so I'm not sure of his year, but 90-93 are 60k, 94-95 are 105k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDY Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 pop your hood and check and see if the water pump weep hole is leaking, the water pump is the one that is holding the fan on, there is a small hole on the driver side ill try to take a pic and post it on IG if you cant find it. let me know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkorahil Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 (edited) Could be waterpump, could also be thermostat housing or bypass hose, they are up above the crankshaft pully and cold be leaking down onto the pully. I think most people on here will agree that if you have a little mechanincal skill the timing belt is not as hard as it looks and sounds and once you do it, it seems easy. But it will take a whole day your first time. Edited October 17, 2012 by Alkorahil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 The write-up in the How To section of the Garage was written by a Dealership mechanic and has been discussed and suplimented. Basic tools, a place to work and some time will get everything replaced cheaper than the labor a shop will charge. Read the write-up, get your parts/tools, prep your work space and get started on a Friday if possible. There is a lot to do, but I wouldn't say any of it is terribly hard. B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shotzie417 Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 if you have know idea were the timing belt is located, wether, inside or outside the engine, then please dont replace it your self have at least a mechanic buddy there and supply him with beer, i am not tryn to be a a****le i"m just saying that you could do some searious damage to your engine if you make a mistake while replaceing the timing belt, cause you have to remove it when you replace the water pump you might as well change the thermostat cause that is probably wat caused the water pump to fail in the first place, that is if it is the water pump. but from the pic it looks like to me it could just be the t-stat housing, how many miles does it have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Why does everyone say you HAVE to remove the timing belt when replacing the water pump? I had my water pump replaced years ago in my old hardbody and we didn't touch the timing belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 That depends on the design of the engine. The Pathfinder VG uses the water pump body as a seal for the timing belt chamber so the water pump can only be taken off if you remove the timing belt. I have done this job and there's nothing to it. All you do is basically drain the coolant, remove the fan and shroud, remove the hoses, remove the balancer, and remove the timing belt cover. Before doing that though, don't forget to position the engine at intake TDC and not exhaust TDC. The rotor under the cap should point to spark plug 1. Then you can go ahead and loosen the tensioner and pop the timing belt off. Loosen the water pump bolts and remove the old water pump with your big hammer. Rub some sealant on the new water pump gasket and pop it back on. Be sure to put the timing belt on the right way with the proper tooth count between the sprockets. All the torque specs are in the FSM. When you put everything back together, just refill the coolant. Don't worry about opening the thermostat since this engine does not need to have its thermostat open to be refilled with coolant. The coolant will fill the engine through the return line in the intake manifold. If you got any questions there's plenty of write ups here and don't hesitate to shoot me a message. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice186 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 if you have know idea were the timing belt is located, wether, inside or outside the engine, then please dont replace it your self have at least a mechanic buddy there and supply him with beer, i am not tryn to be a a****le i"m just saying that you could do some searious damage to your engine if you make a mistake while replaceing the timing belt, cause you have to remove it when you replace the water pump you might as well change the thermostat cause that is probably wat caused the water pump to fail in the first place, that is if it is the water pump. but from the pic it looks like to me it could just be the t-stat housing, how many miles does it have? My truck as of now has 78k and also I got a quote from a friends step dad that has a shop for $350 to replace the water pump and timing belt.... It's much cheaper then what I thought.. I have a surgery tomorrow and I'm gonna be out of work and school till Monday... I'm thinking if I read the how to's change the timing belt over and over again I might do it myself since I have a lot of free time this weekend now... I don't have the book of my truck (94 pathfinder xe-v6) but how many tooths are between the belt? Are they counting the wells? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice186 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 That depends on the design of the engine. The Pathfinder VG uses the water pump body as a seal for the timing belt chamber so the water pump can only be taken off if you remove the timing belt. I have done this job and there's nothing to it. All you do is basically drain the coolant, remove the fan and shroud, remove the hoses, remove the balancer, and remove the timing belt cover. Before doing that though, don't forget to position the engine at intake TDC and not exhaust TDC. The rotor under the cap should point to spark plug 1. Then you can go ahead and loosen the tensioner and pop the timing belt off. Loosen the water pump bolts and remove the old water pump with your big hammer. Rub some sealant on the new water pump gasket and pop it back on. Be sure to put the timing belt on the right way with the proper tooth count between the sprockets. All the torque specs are in the FSM. When you put everything back together, just refill the coolant. Don't worry about opening the thermostat since this engine does not need to have its thermostat open to be refilled with coolant. The coolant will fill the engine through the return line in the intake manifold. If you got any questions there's plenty of write ups here and don't hesitate to shoot me a message. Thanks for this write up... You make it seem so easy!!! I saw a video on YouTube that the guy took the whole front end off to get to the belt but I guess you don't need to? Just the fan and the shroud? What balancer are you talking about? Also what do you mean by intake TDC and not exhaust TDC. What does tdc stand for? If the rotor isn't in the first gear position how do I make it first gear? When the truck is on park isn't it on first gear anyways? Should I just replace the thermostat anyway or I shouldn't even touch that? Ok so this is what I understand so far once I take the fan, shroud and timing belt cover off, make sure it's on first gear by looking at the rotor, count how many tooths are between the timing belt. Then loosing it and take that off, unbolt the water pump. Put the new pump in with the gasket and add sealant so it's on tight. Then slide in the new belt on, make sure the tooths are the right amount and pretty much put everything back in... Also drain the coolant first... Now tell me if there's anything I missed cause this sounds too easy. I know once I do it it's gonna feel different haha... I'm really thinking about buying the part now off of rockauto and give this a shot and save $300 as the parts only cost $50-$60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 The fan and the shroud are enough. You can remove the radiator if you want. The balancer is that thing at the bottom with a big pulley on top of it. TDC means top dead center. It's the optimal position for the engine to be rotated to when taking it apart or setting the timing. You can look it up on YouTube for an explanation of what it is exactly. The rotor I'm talking about is the rotor under the distributor cap. It should point to spark plug 1. If your thermostat works, leave it alone. I suggest buying the water pump from Nissan. You can get one off RockAuto but they are not the same quality as the dealer part and will probably not last as long. The Gates timing belt kit sold on RockAuto is plenty good though. I usually try to get all parts from Nissan but last time I bought a Gates water pump and a Gates timing belt and tensioner. The water pump ended up failing on me but I had no issues with the belt or tensioner. I had to go and replace the water pump with a Nissan one. You want to wait a few minutes when you apply the sealant so it doesn't squeeze out everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 If your thermostat works, leave it alone. I'd replace it. Its sort of a pain to get to, so you might as well go new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 My truck as of now has 78k and also I got a quote from a friends step dad that has a shop for $350 to replace the water pump and timing belt.... It's much cheaper then what I thought.. I have a surgery tomorrow and I'm gonna be out of work and school till Monday... I'm thinking if I read the how to's change the timing belt over and over again I might do it myself since I have a lot of free time this weekend now... I don't have the book of my truck (94 pathfinder xe-v6) but how many tooths are between the belt? Are they counting the wells? $350 is a deal if they do a good job and use quality parts, especially with your surgery and all. Unfortunately, you haven't read the How-To so you are just asking questions that have been answered. I really recommend this course of action first... Regardless of some claims of short cuts, there is a reason most people follow the same procedure as a certified mechanic so don't make any decisions until you have read up on it. We'll support you regardless. B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Screw the Chilton / Haynes manuals, download the entire factory service manual here. To save a copy of the FSM, right click -> Save As on every PDF, save them into a single folder, then use fwd.pdf to navigate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 (edited) I don't remember how the guy did my water pump way back, but I don't recall him removing the timing belt. It's been so long since that was done, probably around 1996 I think I might know how the guy replaced the water pump in my old hardbody, just remembered, I had that done after we moved down here to Florida, I had already had the engine replaced with a JDM engine before we moved down here from NY. I think maybe the JDM engine was out of a car so it may have had the 2wd style water pump. As I said in another thread the JDM engine I got had ribbed belts not the "V" belts like the VG30's have in the PF and pickups, and the fuel injection was unlike any I had ever seen from a US model, and it had a belt driven fan so I know the engine was out of a rear wheel drive car. Edited October 18, 2012 by ahardb0dy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WxChaser Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 I myself replaced my timing belt (and I'm just a college student with basic mechanic skills!) Mine slipped the day after I got my pathy, luckily no valve crashing occurred (the engine shut off because I didn't hit the clutch quick enough in a near-miss accident in the neighborhood... but I couldn't get it started since the belt skipped). It's relatively time consuming and can be quite exhausting. I recommend for now just adding antifreeze and driving short distances if at all possible, just be careful and watch the T-Stat gauge. If you decide you could do it say this weekend, then have at it. It took me 2 days of full work to do it myself, with a socket set, breaker bar, etc. I recommend finding a comfortable area to working on the vehicle, because you'll be all around the engine bay while you work. Please feel free to consult any of us on T-belt or water pump replacement. I didn't replace my pump when I did the T-belt (before you all freak, I wasn't sure if the engine would start if I replaced the timing belt, so I didn't want to waste the money on a water pump if the truck was done for). From what I can see, the water pump is not difficult to do. And please, PLEASE do the thermostat while your doing the T-belt and water pump. You're already there and it's an inexpensive part to replace. Easy to do, takes 5 minutes to replace if you already have everything else popped off. BTW, I HIGHLY recommend getting a harmonic balancer puller from a parts store in town, because I couldn't get mine off without it. If you don't get the balancer off, the lower t-belt cover will not come off. At $350, that'd almost be worth the frustration and time. Plus you may get some sort of warranty out of it. ~$50 for water pump, $15 for timing belt, $? for timing belt tensioner (I didn't replace this because it looked perfectly fine), $10 for Thermostat and gasket, and then whatever your time costs. So theoretically, for a weekend of time, plus $100, you can do it yourself and have some pride, or spend an extra $250 and just let it be a mechanic's issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WxChaser Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 BTW, pull the radiator out too. should be 4-6 bolts if I remember. Run a water hose through the intake and let it drain through. I did that with mine and found a ball of hair in mine... How? Idk. But cleaning that out may help with keeping the engine running smoother so far as keeping it cool. Do this when you need to take a break from frustration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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