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What do you think of the timing chain?


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2001 pathfinder

Bought it real cheap for a fixer upper.

 I ended up having a broken secondary timing chain on the drivers side (US)

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tore into the engine and replaced the broken secondary timing chain.  From memory, the cam sprockets up top were lined up with the lighter colored links on the secondary chain as the Haynes book says to do. The primary timing chain had two yellow links. Those lined up with the marks on the intake cam sprocket marks. I had those yellow links centered summetrically. The crank sprocket shaft key lined up with the Mark next to it on the rear timing cover. However the book said there should be a lighter colored link on the main timing chain that lines up with a mark on the cam sprocket. There was no apparent link down there. The only apparent special links were the two yellow links up top. So my fear was “what if I’m off by one link on the crank sprocket?”. I pulled the drivers side (us) of the timing chain as tight as I could because normal engine operation would be pulling that side of the chain and connected the chain to the crank sprocket. Then I installed the main tensioner. 
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So I’m theory, I have it timed up but when I turn engine by hand or electric starter, the chain has varying tightness as it goes around. This varying tightness is enough to completely compress the primary tensioner and relax it. (There is little to no oil In the engine therefore no oil pressure) This has me worried. Is that normal? I just assumed the tension would be constant.

 

heres a video of it in action

 And it even does it by hand too

 

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Did you repair or replace the chain Or Is the chain new or second hand?  In my old chain driven motorcycle, alternating tension and slack meant that the chain had been stretched unevenly and should be replaced...

I will admit I haven't got any experience with Pathy timing chains...so I can't say whether it's normal or not - but If I saw that, I'd be looking for second opinions too...

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I replaced 1 of the 3 timing chains. The drivers side secondary timing chain was replaced because it was broken. The other chains got used again. I did fill the engine with oil and crank it over (no fuel) for a minute until that tensioner stopped slapping. After it tightened up under oil pressure, it turned over by hand really smooth so I put it all together. (Which it’s not running rough so maybe it’s not fixed)

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  • 3 weeks later...

It looks to me like that tensioner is malfunctioning. It should hold pressure pretty well even after only being primed. When they pop in like that they're usually bad or not primed at all. Remove that tensioner and check the oil passage to it isn't clogged.

That chain seems suspect as well, even with you holding up in the guide it shouldn't push back on you anywhere near that much, it should be smooth and even as all the cam lobes are rotated through their positions not clunking like it is. Did you inspect all of the teeth on the timing sprockets? I've had a bent tooth cause tensioning issues after a broken chain due to worn guides. It was barely noticeable to the eye but it kept the chain from sweating fully on the teeth and causing a similar issue.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

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