ChrisFreeman Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I have a 92 SE and the timing belt has 95k miles on it. Some things have come up and I can't afford to get it replaced. How long could the belt go before it breaks? How long have any of you let the timing belt go. I am starting to get nervous but I simply can not afford to get it changed for another 2 months (1000 miles give or take) Thanks a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeelthePathos95 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I've heard of them lasting past 125,000 miles, but when you wait past the recommended service interval you are rolling the dice and hoping you get lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I have a 92 SE and the timing belt has 95k miles on it. Some things have come up and I can't afford to get it replaced. How long could the belt go before it breaks? How long have any of you let the timing belt go. I am starting to get nervous but I simply can not afford to get it changed for another 2 months (1000 miles give or take) Thanks a lot The recommended interval is every 60k (or 6 years IIRC) for a 1992. Some 93 and all 94-95 have 105k mile intervals. (square toothed VS round toothed) At 95k you are definitely pushing it, it is at almost 160% of recommended duty cycle. If you have no choice, you have no choice, but I would recommend making it a priority! Drive the vehicle as little as possible and drive it gently when you do... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushnut Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 when in vegas the house always wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisFreeman Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 Thanks for the answers. I am going to try to get another 500 miles out of it and if it does snap I will update this thread. And I just discovered that my lower ball joints are bad. Fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byob Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 If you hear a rattle noise from the front cover it is loose. They can brake at start up or driving down the freeway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaBigPerm Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 "Greater than zero" On the bright side, such that there is one, the VG30 engines lack one component that can fail and result in a t-belt failure: an automatic tensioner. A Civic I know of, 4cyl, threw the timing belt and bent a couple of valves because the tensioner spring gave out, the belt slackened, flew off the sprockets and wrapped around the crank snout, busting the crank position sensor in the process. This happened at just off idle speed navigating a parking lot. Belt was actually fine (well, it was before the shenanigans). The warning was brief - a second or so of a warbling noise from the engine ... not even long enough to think "wth is that?" then a pop, quick squeal, and engine lockup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeelthePathos95 Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 My daughter's Durango had a tensioner pulley seize up during the winter while she was driving. She and her boyfriend heard this loud crack as the belt snapped and slapped the underside of the hood. Dash lit up like Christmas, power steering immediately gone. Shop had to dig bits of the belt out from all over the engine bay. No serious damage done though, since she pulled over and shut it down right away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 My daughter's Durango had a tensioner pulley seize up during the winter while she was driving. She and her boyfriend heard this loud crack as the belt snapped and slapped the underside of the hood. Dash lit up like Christmas, power steering immediately gone. Shop had to dig bits of the belt out from all over the engine bay. No serious damage done though, since she pulled over and shut it down right away. This happened to my friends 318 dodge ram while I was with him. These pulleys make noise for months and no one notices or decides to do anything till it fails like that... I sure loved helping him change that in a gas station parking lot when it was -30 out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeelthePathos95 Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Yeah, it was like -20 here when it happened to the Dingo. I took a look at the engine bay and could see pieces of belt everywhere and was like, no, I'm not getting frostbite trying to dig through this engine playing find thebelt shards. Was worth it to pay someone else to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 So that was a serpentine drive belt, not a timing belt... Pathfinders have a fixed tension idler that is set upon timing belt replacement. There is no warning to timing belt failure with the VG30 that I know of. No sound, shake or kiss to the forehead. Members have had them fail when starting, idling through a parking lot, driving down the road and even "I'm going to change it this weekend". Best bet is to be proactive... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeelthePathos95 Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Yep, my bad. Dingo has a single serpentine belt that runs everything. Not the big happy family of belts on the Pfinders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 (edited) I got a whine at around 2500 rpm (IIRC) that developed after I'd had the truck a while. Turned out the PO had done a timing belt job and apparently over-tightened it (and used cheap parts), and the tensioner was failing. Luckily we noticed and got it to a mechanic before the bearing gave up. OP: Good luck. Hopefully it's got another 500 in it. You might check under the timing cover to see if the rubber's in good shape (no cracks/fraying), but it doesn't sound like you'd have another option if it wasn't... and I've seen pictures of belts that looked fine except for the missing teeth. Edited May 3, 2014 by Slartibartfast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Yep, my bad. Dingo has a single serpentine belt that runs everything. Not the big happy family of belts on the Pfinders. Not a big deal, just trying to make sure the two aren't confused. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeelthePathos95 Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 I'm pretty good at confusing myself in trying to keep straight the various maladies of my two aging 4x4s, the daughter's aging 4x4 and another aging sedan, so I can use the correction now and again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaBigPerm Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 At least the parts aren't that expensive, provided you can (or feel confident enough) do it yourself. OEM isn't the cheapest, obviously, but Gates makes quality replacement parts; think I paid around $15 for the belt (square tooth variety, should be the same as the OP's application going by the year in his avatar details). Tensioner pulley I think was in the neighborhood of $40ish. Threw in a water pump, thermostat, & bypass hose while I was in there, as well as crank & cam seals. If you do decide to try it yourself, this site, Youtube and Google are your BFFs (there's a good t-belt video on a Hardbody, but it has the same engine). There are a few tricks you'll want to get familiar with beforehand; holding the engine from rotating (for auto-trans Pathys) while removing/installing the crank bolt as well as removing/installing cam sprockets to get access to cam seals, properly tensioning the t-belt without getting it too tight (WHINE!), removing cam/crank seals and getting a new crank seal over the crank snout without buggering the seal lip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 ^ Good advice there. I used all gates stuff on mine too, and later on I used dayco when I had to tear it apart again. A piece of advice, if you see any of the seals leaking, even just a little wet, change them all. To get the crank bolt out, brace your breaker bar against the frame (steering box side) and bump the starter, disconnect the coil wire, obviously. Works every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 accidentally starting the engine while trying the "use the starter to loosen the crank bolt" trick is a bad thing. Wasn't me, but a friend of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byob Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I do t-belt kits when I am in there. T-belt, cam and crank seals, tensioner, water pump, t-stat, by-pass hoses, drive belts and radiator hoses. All factory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebayfish Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 The timing belt change is pretty easy. it took me about 5-6 hours, and was pretty straight forward. you can pick up kits on ebay for about $60 on ebay with a new water pump, gates timing belt & tensioner. The gates belt also has timing marks on it makeing it pretty well dummy proof. go ahead & get a harmonic balancer puller from your local auto parts store before you start the job. IMO, it is also a good idea to replace your thermostat, coolant bypass hose & at least your two main fain belts while you do it. It can all be done for under $100 & a fer hours of work, a whole lot cheaper than a new engine if it does happen to break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Agreed, but I would question the quality of the parts if it all costs under $100. I do t-belt kits when I am in there. T-belt, cam and crank seals, tensioner, water pump, t-stat, by-pass hoses, drive belts and radiator hoses. All factory Agreed, I went with dealer parts for everything and it was about $250-300 IIRC, but then you shouldn't have to touch anything for another 100k miles (1994+ anyway). Remember Rob Lacy (Alkorahil here) at factorynissanparts.com, great prices so order ahead. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byob Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I try to give clients the best bang for the buck. When I do the t-belt kit I give them the option. It is there money not mine it is a 45 minute job that once it's done it's done and no worry's. I do ad a radiator recommendation if the truck has 100000 miles or more with no ad in labor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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