Help, please. Need advice re. timing belt issue.

[QuietMan]

My '97 Pathfinder's timing belt snapped recently. I know, I know. I've done some reading since then, and I am preparing for the worse.

 

But before I make some major decisions, I thought that it would help to definitively know if the valves/pistons are affected.

 

So I asked two mechanics if they could: 1) open the engine; 2) replace the snapped timing belt with a new one, and; 3) run a compression test.

 

One mechanic said that he could that, but the other one said that it would be cheaper to replace water pump, tensioner, seals, etc. while the engine was open... perchance the compression test rolled a snakes eye and I lucked out. He (the second mechanic) said that you would have to open the engine up again to replace those parts if the compression test produced favorable results, which means more labor, which means more dolleros.

 

Which mechanic would you be inclined to put your trust in?

 

Thanks, in advance, for helping me to clear up my state of confusion.

 

QM

[GhostPath]

Unless you just messed up the belt while changing a water pump or some such, you're out of luck; you have a 99.999995% chance that you smacked a valve into a piston. It's not even a question.

 

Both mechanics are correct. If you dismantle the front of the engine down to the point where you can replace the timing belt, you're also at the point where you can replace the pump, main seal, tensioner, and most of the related parts with little or no additional labor (or cost).

 

But if you do all that labor, then even partially assemble the timing stuff to do a compression check, you're going to have to tear it all back down again if it fails. And it probably will.

 

The second mechanic is trying to save you more money, IMHO.

 

Either way, you are looking at a head rebuild/replacement as a best case scenario. You may be better served by putting a used JDM engine in the truck instead, of course.

[QuietMan]

Thanks for your quick response. You confirm much of what I read, of course. Sh_t!

 

So what's a used JDM engine? And where can I learn more about it?

 

QM

 

 

 

Unless you just messed up the belt while changing a water pump or some such, you're out of luck; you have a 99.999995% chance that you smacked a valve into a piston. It's not even a question.

 

Both mechanics are correct. If you dismantle the front of the engine down to the point where you can replace the timing belt, you're also at the point where you can replace the pump, main seal, tensioner, and most of the related parts with little or no additional labor (or cost).

 

But if you do all that labor, then even partially assemble the timing stuff to do a compression check, you're going to have to tear it all back down again if it fails. And it probably will.

 

The second mechanic is trying to save you more money, IMHO.

 

Either way, you are looking at a head rebuild/replacement as a best case scenario. You may be better served by putting a used JDM engine in the truck instead, of course.

[GhostPath]

I'm assuming that you're new to Japanese vehicles or to the phenomenon of internet forums about Japanese vehicles. Otherwise, you couldn't possibly have missed what JDM stands for.

 

JDM is short for "Japanese Domestic Market." From Wikipedia:

 

Japanese domestic market

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The Japanese domestic market (JDM) describes the trade mechanisms solely within Japan, including imports and exports. The term Japanese domestic market, more often used as the acronym JDM rather than the full term, may also refer to a style of modifying automobiles and a subculture of automotive culture.

 

Technically JDM stands for Japanese Domestic Market. It has been used for many decades as a label for goods sold specifically to Japanese based residents within the country of Japan.

 

 

In automotive business

 

In car trading, the term "Japanese Domestic Market" or JDM is strictly used to refer to cars intended solely for sale in Japan. To be considered JDM, a car model (or a particular type or set-up within a model family) cannot be sold in any other market officially. Other markets acquire JDM vehicles through Japanese Used Vehicle Exporters selling grey import vehicles to importers. If a car or parts are sold in another market, such as the United States Domestic Market, it is not considered pure JDM, even if manufactured under a Japanese brand.

 

In automotive culture

 

In automotive culture, JDM refers to a style of modifying, or tuning, automobiles, often agreed upon as inspired by motorsports, mainly cars of Japanese origin. The function of components is often preferred over cosmetic appeal. "True" Japanese domestic market components are also preferred over Japanese aftermarket (Japanese aftermarket refers to products produced by Japanese companies, however, are not sold strictly within the Japanese domestic market.) An example of one such market is the import of [used Japanese engines] to North America to be put into Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Mazda, Subaru and Mitsubishi sports cars for higher performance.

 

Though the majority of the JDM cars/parts imported to the United States have a US counterpart, the Japanese version may have certain advantages. Often Japanese engines have received factory tuning that allows for a higher horsepower output, due to decreased emissions standards in Japan. Cars, though of the same model, may have a different version in Japan than in the United States. Often these cars will have more performance oriented items, including but not limited to seats with more secure bolsters, increased lighting capabilities, different engines, increased suspension capabilities, along with several others.

 

JDM parts are highly prized among US and European owners of certain Japanese car models. Not so much the Pathfinder, as the JDM part differences are pretty minor and have no advantage in normal use. On the other hand, the Civic guys go nuts over JDM parts because the JDM Civic is usually a *lot* better than the US one. Likewise with the US S13/S14 240SX guys.

 

Now, as to what is commonly called a "used JDM engine" - due to draconian vehicle inspection laws in Japan, as well as Japanese laws intended to keep their auto industry running at full capacity all the time, it is often cheaper for a Japanese car owner to replace his engine (or the entire car) rather than keep it once it is more than a few years old. This results in vast numbers of low-mileage engines being swapped out from perfectly fine cars, or engines being removed from discarded cars with low miles. Typically these engines have around 35-65,000 miles on them and have usually been fairly well cared for. Since there is such an enormous supply of these, you can get a replacement engine that has been brought into the US by an importer for cheap - and sometimes you can even pick up a power boost that way. (Don't count on that, though.) You can get them with or without warranties, and installation is available at many shops that offer these.

 

Anyway, it's a cheap alternative to a local rebuild or an unknown junkyard engine.

 

There are JDM engine importers in every major US city (yes, even Detroit). You need to find a good one, because a bad one will fob off awful garbage on you. You can also find hundreds of them online. Just do a search for "JDM engines" and you'll find more vendors than you ever wanted.

 

Good luck!

Edited April 5, 2008 by GhostPath

[QuietMan]

I'm assuming that you're new to Japanese vehicles or to the phenomenon of internet forums about Japanese vehicles. Otherwise, you couldn't possibly have missed what JDM stands for.

 

JDM is short for "Japanese Domestic Market." From Wikipedia:

JDM parts are highly prized among US and European owners of certain Japanese car models. Not so much the Pathfinder, as the JDM part differences are pretty minor and have no advantage in normal use. On the other hand, the Civic guys go nuts over JDM parts because the JDM Civic is usually a *lot* better than the US one. Likewise with the US S13/S14 240SX guys.

 

Now, as to what is commonly called a "used JDM engine" - due to draconian vehicle inspection laws in Japan, as well as Japanese laws intended to keep their auto industry running at full capacity all the time, it is often cheaper for a Japanese car owner to replace his engine (or the entire car) rather than keep it once it is more than a few years old. This results in vast numbers of low-mileage engines being swapped out from perfectly fine cars, or engines being removed from discarded cars with low miles. Typically these engines have around 35-65,000 miles on them and have usually been fairly well cared for. Since there is such an enormous supply of these, you can get a replacement engine that has been brought into the US by an importer for cheap - and sometimes you can even pick up a power boost that way. (Don't count on that, though.) You can get them with or without warranties, and installation is available at many shops that offer these.

 

Anyway, it's a cheap alternative to a local rebuild or an unknown junkyard engine.

 

There are JDM engine importers in every major US city (yes, even Detroit). You need to find a good one, because a bad one will fob off awful garbage on you. You can also find hundreds of them online. Just do a search for "JDM engines" and you'll find more vendors than you ever wanted.

 

Good luck!

 

Wow! Did anyone ever accuse you of being terribly helpful?

 

This is incredibly useful info to me. I thank you.

 

Hard to imagine a time when the Internet didn't exist and you couldn't tap helpful info like his so easily, but there was.

 

Thanks again.

 

QM

[88pathoffroad]

Personally, I would tear down the front end of the engine myself, put a new belt on and compression test it to make sure. There have been cases where a t-belt broke and actually did no damage. It would kill me to buy a new engine, install it, then mess with the old one later and find out it wasn't broken after all...