How-to on replacing timing belt.

[Guest SuperSon]

Found this how-to on replacing timing belt complete with pics.

 

 

http://www.sadik.net/nissan/howto/tbelt.htm

 

 

For some of you guys whos done this install is there anything on this how-to that might be inaccurate?

 

And will this install apply to 93 pathy also? (Im assuming all vg30 motors )

[fishead]

It kinda glazes over the harder parts (at least for me).

 

Things like removing the crank bolt. I didn't want to have to pull the starter to jam the gear, so I found a piece of metal about 3 feet long. I used a pulley to transfer the bolt pattern of the vibration damper onto this bar. I then bolted my bar onto my vibration damper. This allowed me to crank on the bolt without the engine turning over. Maybe you don't need to do this if you have an impact gun.

 

The bolts for the belt covers are all different. I had a buddy draw a picture of the covers with a circle for each bolt. Then, when I pulled each bolt off, I jabbed it into the side of the box in the corresponding hole. Much simpler to re-install.

 

If you gotta drain the rad fluid anyhow, you may as well pull out the rad. I think it is only 2 (or 4) bolts. Then you can toss it in the corner where it is safe from slipping wrenches and such. I hit mine once and scared myself. Busting stuff while trying to fix stuff... sucks!

 

Spark plugs... why would you need to take off spark plugs?

 

Instructions say to replace water pump before removing, or even loosening timing belt. I couldn't even come close to removing pump without fully removing belt. Maybe I missed something?

 

In all an easy job, but I don't think that how-to is very exhaustive. I also found the Haynes manual told me to do a LOT of extra stuff I didn't need. Fortunately I had a buddy who had done one before stop by off and on to give advice.

 

First time I did it I took most of a week. Now I could prolly do it in a Saturday.

 

Mine was a VG30E on a 1990 Pathfinder SE-V6 4X4. Pic's look the same on mine, and are prolly the same on yours. Good luck. If you are in the Vancouver BC area I could drop by to lend a hand. Otherwise, let me know if you want a pic of the tool I made.

Edited October 28, 2006 by fishead

[ILoveMyPatty]

Hey fishead.... wanna give me a hand?

Kamloops

[radar]

I would not recommened the method he states for the crank pully;

 

2. Loosen the crank pulley bolt (1 x 27 mm). Make sure to use a real penetrating lubricant beforehand (WD40).An air wrench makes this much easier. Pry the crank sprocket off the crank, it will be very tight, you will probably have to destroy the thin metal guide plate behind the sprocket, but you will replace it with the new one you special ordered from Nissan. Replace the seal, and install the new metal plate, the NEW sprocket key, and the sprocket with anti-sieze compound on the inside of it. Do not, under any circumstances, hammer a prying device behind the sprocket or you may break the oil pump housing, which is bad.

 

Instead, get a harmonic balancer puller and two 6mm metric bolts, will come right off and won't damage the oil pump or the pully.

 

Also, pull the crank bolt with an air gun, much easier, remove plugs to release compression when turningn the engine over, might as well change them while your in there. The water pump can be changed it you have any doubts, do it before the new belt goes on. Using a carboard box to insert the bolts into is a go idea for keeping the correct sizes together. I did my thermostat and outlet hose at the same time, don't wan't coolant leaking onto the timing belt down the road. The only real pita I came across was loosening the alternator tension, the bolt is in a real tight spot next to the frame on my 99. Take your time and good luck.

Edited October 28, 2006 by radar

[Guest SuperSon]

Thanks guys . So far I think I got this thing figured out but Im sure ill be asking you guys for more questions once I have it all apart.

 

My plan is to get all the parts that I need to do this job. I have all the tools needed.

 

Parts that Im planning on getting are as listed

 

 

Timing belt

Water pump and new gasket

new thermostat

Metal plate (not sure what the part number is on this)

Sprocket key

Oil seal

Cam seal

Tensioner and stud

Tube of RTC silicone

 

Im going to get a big cardboard and draw the layout of the bolts in there like what fishead has suggested and take lots of pics in the process.

 

Few question right now is

How do I turn the engine over by hand?

How do I know that its at TOP DEAD CENTER in compression stroke?

Do I torque the Camshaft pulley bolts(L&R) and the Crankshaft pulley bolt(27MM) after the install?

How do I remove the tensioner and the stud for it?

 

The biggest thing that really confuses me on this install is alligning the marks on the cam pulleys

 

Can you guys please run through this with me.

 

My understanding is there would be a mark on the rear cover of the timing belt. To allign the pulleys to that mark is by putting a socket on the right camshaft pulley bolt and turn it clockwise till the mark on that rear timing belt cover lines up with the mark on the pulleys?I am also assuming that this is what they meant by turning the engine by hand to TOP DEAD CENTER?

 

It is also to my understanding that the mark on the camshaft pulleys and the mark on the back cover of the timing belt is whats important to line up since the mark on the timing belt probably wont be there anymore.

 

Now that the marks are lined up ,time to loosen the tensioner and remove the old belt .1.) Replace the tensioner and stud 2.) Put the new belt in 3.) mark the belt also for reference so when I put it back on the mark on the camshaft pulleys which is already aligned with the rear timing belt cover mark also aligns with the mark on the belt .

 

Now that Ive aligned everything ,Release the tension again on the new tensioner and remove the new belt. It is now time to remove the pulleys so that I can replace the cam seals.

 

 

 

When I remove the pulleys from the shaft and if it does move while loosining it up Do I just turn the pulley by hand back to its mark same as the other pulley? I know that that pulley is only going back one way coz of that little prong sticking out of the shaft.

 

Next is replace the oil seal. After pulling the crankshaft pulley with a harmonic balancer puller pull the sprocket by prying on it and Im assumiong that theres a metal plate(replace with new one) behind the sprocket covering the oil seal?

 

 

Do I have to lign up the crankshaft pulley too?

 

Thanks for your time and patience guys in going thru this procedure with me.

 

Im asking all this questions now just in case I run into some kind of problem and you guys arent around to get a quick answer later on:D

 

 

 

Whew.That was a long one

[Guest SuperSon]

One more thing guys. I think I got the crankshat alignment figured out.

 

What I was going to do is once I get both the camshat pulleys aligned Im going to mark the sprocket and the housing or engine block with a white paint marker like the pic illustrated below. While I have the crankcase pulley off Im going to notch the timing marks deeper so itll be easy to read:D.What do you guys think?

 

 

[radar]

As far as turning the engine by hand, put the crank bolt back in and use a socket and ratchet. Turn the crank by hand until the cam timing marks line up and the rotor is facing plug wire on cylinder #1. Find TDC by inserting something long enough into the plug hole on cyl one that you can see moving up and down as you very slowly move the crank back and forth slightly, I used a jumbo tiewrap. Move the crank back and forth until you are sure she is at tdc. Once you have it, put a punch mark on the front of the engine as shown,the one on the crank gear is big enough already. As for the old belt, get a white tire marker and mark the belt at the timing mark points on each cam and the crank pulley. Use this to check the number of teeth between the cam and crank sprockets, it should be identical to the number of teeth between the marks on the new belt. If it is, your timing is factory and you simply reisntall the new belt with the marks in line with the pulleys. As far as torqing the bolts, either do this with the old belt or with a belt type wrench over the pulley, try to keep the pulleys in position, line them back up if they do move slightly, as long as all the marks line up on the new belt all will be fine. The tensioner comes off easily, one bolt, take note of the tension of the old belt and the tensioner position before you move it, belt tension is probably one of the things that you could mess up if not careful, by feel you should be able to turn the belt 90 degrees between the cam pulleys by hand. Too tight and it will whine, too loose and it will slip, bad scene. I didn't change my stud, it was like new, it you need to change it, either lock two bolts onto it and use a box end wrench or clamp a vise grip onto it. As far as the crank seal, you won't need to replace the back plate if you use a puller, if you do have to pry on the gear, be very careful. You may want to invest in a seal puller, what ever you do, don't knick the shafts or the seals will leak. Lastly, get a complete set of hose clamps if yours are factory, they will all break on you.

Edited October 28, 2006 by radar

[Guest SuperSon]

Thanks for the very quick response to this Radar.

 

I pretty much got everything you explained but theres a few that still puzzles me

 

First is

How can I tell if the rotor is facing plug wire on cyklinder #1?

 

When you mention the tension on the belt that I should be able to move it 90deg between pulleys,are you saying that if I hold both the pulleys on top that I can move it left to right?

 

On lining up the cam pulleys and crank pulley after determining that Im on TDC, Does it matter where I put that mark or punch in front of the engine as long as its kinda in the center and visible?

 

After putting that mark in front of the engine Im assuming that Im going to put a mark on the cam pulley and crank pulley lined up with the marks I made in front of the engine?

 

 

After I put those mark I can then mark the old timing belt with a line across?

 

On the crank pulley, Since you mentioned that the mark is big enough on the engine I still need to make a mark on the sprocket that lines up on the big punch mark right?

 

Pulling the sprocket on that crankshat,I was thinking of prying it with a couple of panel puller(pic below) slowly inserting it on both sides just on the very edge of that sprocket making sure that its not going to hit the shaft and knicking it and work it side to side till the sprocket is off of that shaft?

 

 

Is there anything holding that sprocket in place like a set screw?

 

And lastly for now, How do I release the tension on the tensioner?

 

 

Thanks

Edited October 28, 2006 by SuperSon

[fishead]

Plug #1: This is the front plug on the passenger side. Put a mark on the intake manifold just above this plug wire. When you are at TDC, if the rotor is pointing anywhere near this mark, it is the compression stroke. If it is way off, it is the exhaust stroke.

 

ILoveMyPatty I would LOVE to help you with your Tbelt, but... it is a bit of a drive. Next time you are headed to the coast, send me a message ahead of time and maybe I can help you out. We could for sure do it in my driveway on a Saturday... provided we had enough beer :-Þ

[zonianbrat]

To find out if you are on compression stroke I took a piece of paper towel, (I had removed all my spark plugs because I was going to replace them anywya) wad up the paper towel and put it on top of no. 1 cylinder where the spark plug goes, then turn the engine over by hand, when the piston starts teh compression stroke it will blow teh paper towel out of the hole. Then line up the marks and your at TDC. And while your replacing those parts go ahead and replace the cooland bypass hose. really easy to replace and you are already going to be right there. If you do not have an impact gun to get the 27mm bolt of the crank pulley (this bolt can be a bitcY) do what I did. I put my 27mm socket and my breaker bar on the bolt then positioned the bar under the frame-rail thingy and "bumped" the starter make sure you just bump it. Other than that it really is a pretty easy job. Oh and make sure to be careful when prying off the crank pulley, I broke the lip on mine and it cost me 250 bucks for a new one. I would definetely get a harmonic balancer puller and tow 6mm bolts. Good luck.

[radar]

Going to try and answer the questions for you here

 

First is

How can I tell if the rotor is facing plug wire on cyklinder #1?

 

Follow plug wire one back to the cap from the spark plug on cyl #1, mark the distributor housing and remove the cap, when the elongated end of the rotor with the electrode is facing this mark, you are on compression stroke cyl 1

 

When you mention the tension on the belt that I should be able to move it 90deg between pulleys,are you saying that if I hold both the pulleys on top that I can move it left to right?

 

When the belt is installed under tension, you should just be able to twist it by hand about 90 degs in the center between the cam pulleys, if you can twist beyond that, it is too loose, less and may be too tight. Feel the old belt first it should give you an idea of how tight it is, as well, loosen the belt tensioner and remove tension before removing the tensioner, take note of the position of the tensioner before you move it. The olkd belt is likely looser than it should be as it has been in use for a while and stretched.

On lining up the cam pulleys and crank pulley after determining that Im on TDC, Does it matter where I put that mark or punch in front of the engine as long as its kinda in the center and visible? As long as it lines up with the mark on the crank pulley and you can relocate the crank to that position it is fine, pretty much as in the pics you have posted.

 

After putting that mark in front of the engine Im assuming that Im going to put a mark on the cam pulley and crank pulley lined up with the marks I made in front of the engine?

 

The cam and crank puilley positions are the reference you use to get a mark on the engine, these pulleys are already marked, you will see them when you get the covers off, the crank mark should be about where you see it in the photo, there are marks on the rear cover plates behind and above the cam pulleys already.

 

 

After I put those mark I can then mark the old timing belt with a line across?

 

Mark the old timing belt exactly where the pulley marks are on the pulleys, the cams will be easy to mark as you are on top of the belt, the crank will be harder, be sure you get enough on the belt so as to be able to find it when removed, to be sure, count the belt teeth a few times between the drivers side cam mark and the crank mark.

 

On the crank pulley, Since you mentioned that the mark is big enough on the engine I still need to make a mark on the sprocket that lines up on the big punch mark right?

 

The pulley mark on the pulley is big enough, you most likely don't have a mark o the engine, if you do, someone has done this job previously.

 

Pulling the sprocket on that crankshat,I was thinking of prying it with a couple of panel puller(pic below) slowly inserting it on both sides just on the very edge of that sprocket making sure that its not going to hit the shaft and knicking it and work it side to side till the sprocket is off of that shaft?[/b]

 

Will probably work, mine was loose, the pulley in front of this one is the bugger, I can't advise more on this as I did not replace my seals when I did my belt, others can offer more advice if needed here. Just be careful around here, all aluminum and other brittle metals especially on the crank pulley that drives the accessory belts. Hope this helps, John.

Edited October 29, 2006 by radar

[Guest SuperSon]

To find out if you are on compression stroke I took a piece of paper towel, (I had removed all my spark plugs because I was going to replace them anywya) wad up the paper towel and put it on top of no. 1 cylinder where the spark plug goes, then turn the engine over by hand, when the piston starts teh compression stroke it will blow teh paper towel out of the hole. Then line up the marks and your at TDC. And while your replacing those parts go ahead and replace the cooland bypass hose. really easy to replace and you are already going to be right there. If you do not have an impact gun to get the 27mm bolt of the crank pulley (this bolt can be a bitcY) do what I did. I put my 27mm socket and my breaker bar on the bolt then positioned the bar under the frame-rail thingy and "bumped" the starter make sure you just bump it. Other than that it really is a pretty easy job. Oh and make sure to be careful when prying off the crank pulley, I broke the lip on mine and it cost me 250 bucks for a new one. I would definetely get a harmonic balancer puller and tow 6mm bolts. Good luck.

Thanks for pointing that out bud. I will definately get a harmonic balancer for this

[Guest SuperSon]

Plug #1: This is the front plug on the passenger side. Put a mark on the intake manifold just above this plug wire. When you are at TDC, if the rotor is pointing anywhere near this mark, it is the compression stroke. If it is way off, it is the exhaust stroke.

 

ILoveMyPatty I would LOVE to help you with your Tbelt, but... it is a bit of a drive. Next time you are headed to the coast, send me a message ahead of time and maybe I can help you out. We could for sure do it in my driveway on a Saturday... provided we had enough beer :-Þ

Awesome instruction Fishhead. I will try that in conjunction with radars technique.Thans a bunch guys

[Guest SuperSon]

now its all coming much clearer to me Radar

 

Got all that instruction. Thanks so much for spending the time and being patient on this.

 

I sure do appreciate all your help guys.

 

 

Heres what Im going to do. I just used a blue tape for now

 

 

[radar]

Thats the spot, I just scratched mine with a screwdriver, another thing you may want to do while you have her apart is clean out the rad by flushing it with water and clean between the rad fins outside as well, mine was loaded with bugs and dirt outside.

[Guest SuperSon]

Thats the spot, I just scratched mine with a screwdriver, another thing you may want to do while you have her apart is clean out the rad by flushing it with water and clean between the rad fins outside as well, mine was loaded with bugs and dirt outside.

Awesome

 

I get to fire up the power washer again

 

By the way, Heres a part set I found on ebay(my store)

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Timing-Belt...emZ230029802188

 

Not sure what motor I have.If its a VG30 .VG30E :confused:

Edited October 29, 2006 by SuperSon

[fishead]

I think my timing belt was only $30 CDN from the parts store. Ebay is cool for hard to find parts, but stick with your local guys for parts like a timing belt. Plus you get to look at tools while you are there. Even the dealer isn't very much for the belt.

 

Pretty sure the VG30E is a VG30 Engine.

 

Oooh, pretty blue tape. I agree with Radar on making a permanent mark. That way you don't have to mark it every time you pull it apart. Getting to be a habit of mine My "new" engine is missing my mark on the intake manifold.

 

Sounds like you are having fun though, and that's the main thing!

 

Also a good time to get all the feathers out of your radiator. I find that pieces of small birds can hamper the cooling ability of your rad quite severely.

[fishead]

Just noticed on that EBAY posting. That water pump looks like a 2WD water pump. Not the same as the 4WD pump.

[Guest SuperSon]

Just noticed on that EBAY posting. That water pump looks like a 2WD water pump. Not the same as the 4WD pump.

Decided to go with all nissan genuine parts after a brief discussion with Radar

 

You guys are awesome. Hope everything goes smooth.Ill take my time on this install.

 

Next would be UCA shocks and CV replacement

[Guest SuperSon]

To find out if you are on compression stroke I took a piece of paper towel, (I had removed all my spark plugs because I was going to replace them anywya) wad up the paper towel and put it on top of no. 1 cylinder where the spark plug goes, then turn the engine over by hand, when the piston starts teh compression stroke it will blow teh paper towel out of the hole. Then line up the marks and your at TDC. And while your replacing those parts go ahead and replace the cooland bypass hose. really easy to replace and you are already going to be right there. If you do not have an impact gun to get the 27mm bolt of the crank pulley (this bolt can be a bitcY) do what I did. I put my 27mm socket and my breaker bar on the bolt then positioned the bar under the frame-rail thingy and "bumped" the starter make sure you just bump it. Other than that it really is a pretty easy job. Oh and make sure to be careful when prying off the crank pulley, I broke the lip on mine and it cost me 250 bucks for a new one. I would definetely get a harmonic balancer puller and tow 6mm bolts. Good luck.

Zonian I forgot to ask where that coolant bypass hose is

Edited October 29, 2006 by SuperSon