Jump to content

Replacing the Timing Belt & Adding an AT Cooler


DoctorBill
 Share

Recommended Posts

I got a question, when I did my timing belt I didn't time the spark? Was I supposed to or is there something you removed that I missed in this thread?

Personally, you shouldn't have to mess with adjusting the timing, but it doesn't hurt to check if you feel that the engine isn't running quite right...If you do what the FSM says when you replace the timing belt, you should not have to adjust it with a light.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you didn't move the pulleys, your timing shouldn't have moved, though, you should have checked it to be sure. However, with all that "Doc" went through, timing the spark is definitely a must.

All I did was line up the marks, remove belt, reinstall belt and count teeth. Seems to run fine. Maybe I will have it checked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know most of you NPORA folks worship the NP, but after working on it - I'll take any JEEP

vehicle over a NP any day, any time, anywhere as long as it has the straight six engine !

DoctorBill

 

Yes that probably will be your best solution. Buy a 95 Grand Cherokee with 175,000 miles, a 4.0 AT and of course make sure it's got the first generation Quadra Track. Then you will be happy.

 

Buying a Grand Cherokee was the best thing I ever did in my life because it turned out to be such a POS I went running back to Nissan cars and trucks and I've never looked back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All I did was line up the marks, remove belt, reinstall belt and count teeth. Seems to run fine. Maybe I will have it checked.

 

I got a timing light if you want to check it sometime

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Air Conditioner Tensioner Pulley sounds loud.

Ball or Roller Bearings ?

Ball bearing. It's a common failure at old (1987-95) Pathfinders. Natural wear of bearing...

 

If I loosen the one Bolt on the right side of the Distributor (the only bolt to loosen ?),

which direction should I turn the Distributor to go back to 15° BTDC ?

Will I get zapped easily turning the Distributor - Spark ? Unpleasant experience !

Me think, CCW rotation is to retard and CW to advance timing.

If you are afraid to get zapped, you can stop engine, rotate distributor, fix bolt and start again to check timing.

30 deg. BTDC is too early. Are you sure that you don't made "one tooth error" when you put TB on sprockets last time? I.e. all 3 paint marks (outer side of TB) was clearly aligned to punch marks at sprockets?

If you are absolutely sure about "all things are fine here", I suppose your engine had incorrect timing before TB replacement (legacy from previous owner).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was VERY careful about lining up the Belt marks with the marks on R3 and L3.

 

The Countershaft Sprocket mark was exactly on the line on the Oil Pump also.

 

Then I counted 40 teeth on the Belt between the Camshaft marks across the top.

FSM - EM-15 number 4. (2).

 

I did not count the teeth from the L3 mark to the camshaft sprocket mark.

 

 

I also noticed that the FSM has nothing in it about timing the Pathfinder - anywhere!

If I am wrong - please inform us where it is at in the FSM.

 

YET....the Chilton Manual, page 2-15 both frames, describes timing the engine with

a timing light. I posted one of the frames on that page previously.

That is where I saw 15° BTDC with AT in "N".

 

So - apparently, it can be timed. and nothing said about a vacuum advance in Chilton.

 

If some of you change the TB and don't check the timing, who knows what is going on?

 

Who is right and who is wrong....?

 

I have some Spray Motorcycle Chain Lubricant and some 3-IN-ONE "High Performance

Spray Lubricant" with which I can spray on the AC Tensioner Pulley (ACTP).

 

I just don't want any of it dripping down onto any belts.

 

How about I take the ACTP off and soak it in motor oil....let it drain and remount it ?

 

However, I seem to remember the ACTP had a Bearing pressed in the pulley and it was

one of theose "Sealed Race Bearings" that oil couldn't get into anyway - unless I used

one of those Grease Gun Syringe doohikies for greasing Universal Joint Bearings and forced

grease between the rubber and steel. Probably wind up ruining it....

 

DoctorBill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also noticed that the FSM has nothing in it about timing the Pathfinder - anywhere!

If I am wrong - please inform us where it is at in the FSM.

This is described in EF&EC section of FSM (standard timing and mixture check procedure, can't remember exact name in table of contents).

 

nothing said about a vacuum advance in Chilton.

VG30E has an electronic advance control, not a vacuum.

 

I have some Spray Motorcycle Chain Lubricant

It will be better than any other oil to use on ACTP. Chain Lubricant is very thin (has a good penetration) immediately after spraying, then forms a layer of a thick grease (similar to commonly used NLGI-2). So, it can penetrate inside the sealed race bearings. The same idea as for "Spray'n'Seal".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes that probably will be your best solution. Buy a 95 Grand Cherokee with 175,000 miles, a 4.0 AT and of course make sure it's got the first generation Quadra Track. Then you will be happy.

 

Buying a Grand Cherokee was the best thing I ever did in my life because it turned out to be such a POS I went running back to Nissan cars and trucks and I've never looked back.

:rofl:

 

B

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Timed the engine to 18° BTDC according to the marks - turned Distributor almost full throw

CCW.

 

Had it in "PARK".

 

The Idle speed has dropped to quite low - will probably have to up that.

 

Going to drive about 20 miles in the vehicle in a few minutes to get a front disk turned for

daughter's KIA RIO (hunk of junk)...we'll see how the Pathy works on the road.

 

Later: 2:20 PM

 

Drove to next town twice - about 40 miles total - no problems, no leaks, no worries...

has power like before.

 

I'm still quite nervous in the service...waiting for the "Big Bang" !

 

Shifts nicely - still that high pitched whine from something. (?)

 

I will check the Timing again this evening - this time I'll have it in "Neutral" !

 

DoctorBill

Edited by DoctorBill
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Timed the engine to 18° BTDC according to the marks - turned Distributor almost full throw

CCW.

Seems like you have incorrectrly installed distributor (rotor is turned "early"). If so, you need to reinstall distributor to get 15° BTDC "near a middle".

 

The Idle speed has dropped to quite low - will probably have to up that.

FSM pages EF&EC-24..28 - full procedure of "Idle speed / Ignition timing / Idle mixture ratio inspection".

 

I'm still quite nervous in the service...waiting for the "Big Bang" !

Shifts nicely - still that high pitched whine from something. (?)

I suspect AC tensioner Pulley as a source of whine under the hood. Alternator bearings can produce high pitched whine also. Remove AC belt to determine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Terrano1992

Seems like you have incorrectrly installed distributor (rotor is turned "early").

If so, you need to reinstall distributor to get 15° BTDC "near a middle".

 

I did not mess with the Distributor - If it is installed wrong, it was done previously.

 

I am supposing that what you are saying is to lift it out, rotate it one gear tooth or so and push it back in.

 

BUT - 18° BTDC is only one degree out of the 15° ± 2° - so why worry about it ?

 

FSM pages EF&EC-24..28 - full procedure of "Idle speed / Ignition timing / Idle mixture ratio inspection".

 

OK.

I suspect AC tensioner Pulley as a source of whine under the hood.

Alternator bearings can produce high pitched whine also.

Remove AC belt to determine.

 

The belts are confined by each other - that is - in order.

 

To take Alt or AC out, I have to remove the ones in front, unless I were to "wire" them completely

out of the way of the Damper and any moving belt.

 

Scary icon5.gif - but a good process of elimination - Sherlock Holmes' methodology.

 

Alternator ~ $150

Schucks Alternator

 

Tensioner Pulley, AC - $50

Tensioner Pulley A/C

 

Other topic

 

I have an old SEARS Dwell Tachometer that was connected to the Coil when

Distributors had points - but gave RPM.

 

Is there a way to get it to work now, or is it an old relic to be tossed ?

 

My Tach in the Dash is schizophrenic and completely useless for setting the Idle.

 

DoctorBill

PS - I am getting static from my ISP because of spending so much time on this Forum the last month !

 

They said I cannot go over 8 - 10 hours per day !

 

Didn't realize I was putting that much time into this Thread....Ha !

Edited by DoctorBill
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did not mess with the Distributor - If it is installed wrong, it was done previously.

I am supposing that what you are saying is to lift it out, rotate it one gear tooth or so and push it back in.

Yes, exactly. One tooth. This is not a complex task.

 

BUT - 18° BTDC is only one degree out of the 15° ± 2° - so why worry about it ?

18-20° BTDC is good angle for LPG or high-octane fuel. However, it can lead to a knocking with standard (87..91) octane.

 

I have an old SEARS Dwell Tachometer that was connected to the Coil when

Distributors had points - but gave RPM.

Is there a way to get it to work now, or is it an old relic to be tossed ?

Me don't think so... Your tach was designed for very old type of ignition systems.

To check modern engines, you need a tachometer with "contactless" sensor (inductive or capacitive), like modern timing lamps has (this type of sensor clamps over a high-voltage wire).

 

My Tach in the Dash is schizophrenic and completely useless for setting the Idle.

You can try to remove dashboard from bezel and tighten small nuts (or screws? - can't remember) connecting tachometer to a printed circuit board, to restore electric contact. Sometimes it helps.

Edited by Terrano1992
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Adamzan - Listened to your video and my "Tone" is just that - not a mechanical whine.

 

Like the Tone you get on TV when they are "Off the Air"...or the tone you get on the

phone before you dial....a clean tone.

 

I took off my AC Tensioner pulley and used a Grease Gun Injector Needle (made in Canada!)

GreaseNeedle.jpg

and gently lifted the rubber seal on the Ball Bearing Race without cutting or nicking it

and injected some grease in there.....as cleanly as possible....then pushed the Seal back down.

 

Will report later if it works or not.

 

Was going to run the engine with the AC Belt off (wanted to tie it up with wires so it doesn't get

caught in the other belts !) to see if the "Tone" goes away. Terrano1992's instructions,

but I cannot do that safely...so I won't !

 

DoctorBill

Edited by DoctorBill
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shifts nicely - still that high pitched whine from something. (?)

 

K9sar and someone else reported a whine from the timing belt from over tensioning. :shrug:

 

You can try to remove dashboard from bezel and tighten small nuts (or screws? - can't remember) connecting tachometer to a printed circuit board, to restore electric contact. Sometimes it helps.

Yes, brass screws, they are the ground contact. Sometimes it 'fixes' the problem...

 

B

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are you sure you didn't put the timing belt on backwards?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(sorry... that was mean)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

K9sar and someone else reported a whine from the timing belt from over tensioning. :shrug:

 

 

Yes, brass screws, they are the ground contact. Sometimes it 'fixes' the problem...

 

B

 

I did the 90° degree twist thing....(?)

 

The TB Tensioner was at 5 O'Clock.

 

I torqued the L3 and R3 Bolts to what is in the manual - has anyone had them come loose ?

I keep worrying that I should have Threadlocked them in place...!

 

Perchance it will "go away" as the TB is used and just naturally loosens a tad...

 

I shall look into the dashboard thing...once I get some of my other jobs knocked off !

 

Like the Frazetta painting - "Just one damned problem after another !" My Karma.

 

Edited in at 9:45 AM -

 

Success ! The Tone stopped.

 

I put the newly greased AC Tensioner Pulley back on and started 'er up.

 

No Tone.

 

Wasn't the TB or the Alternator.

 

Hopefully, I saved myself $50 on a new Tensioner Pulley.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - :thumbsdown:

 

K9sar - "Are you sure you didn't put the timing belt on backwards?"

 

I - being a Reasonable Conservative - put it on correctly (several times).

 

You know, I heard once that a Democrat had done that - put a timing belt on backwards !

 

But then, the engine ran backwards.

 

So the guy blamed George Bush and called Nancy Pelosi on the phone.

 

She told Barak Obama about it (he also blamed George Bush) and then Obama told the CIA !

The Democrat was hired by the Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

(DARPA) to plan all future weapons for all military procurement.

 

You can now rest assured that you are in good hands....How's that !?

 

DoctorBill

Edited by DoctorBill
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe just the bearing can be replaced also. At least that's what I did with my D720 and I thought the pathys were the same... :shrug:

 

Glad it wasn't the TB, just figured it was worth mentioning...

 

 

LOL, bad k9sar, bad!! :D

 

B

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

So, looking at this, I wonder if the PO screwed up installing the TB?? It looks like it is one tooth off?

No, I have not counted them yet but will tomorrow; I didn't see this until I loaded the photos...

 

The belt looks fine and still has good tension so I doubt it jumped one tooth... The truck runs fine, but seems a bit gutless compared to my old manual 95. :shrug:

Just figured I'd post as it seemed odd to me that the marks don't really line up. :shrug:

 

 

TimingBelt032.jpg

 

 

TimingBelt033.jpg

 

 

B

Link to comment
Share on other sites

did you count the teeth between them? thats the only way to be sure. should be 40 IIRC. Mine wasnt exactly spot on with the marks either. but tooth count was A-OK. 40 teeth between upper sprocket marks, 43 between left hand sprocket mark and crank sprocket mark.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

After reading this complete post it gave me a weird feeling. It was like hmm kinda like I wanted to ship my 95 Nissan pathfinder to Afghanistan with an American dummy in it with an American flag strapped to its chest. Just to see if they would waste their bomb on garbage. Just kidding, great post. 90% complete with my head gasket/timing belt replacement. Can't wait to see if I'm going to be calling up the junk yard yet. Over all I hear that this vehicle is a good performer but poorly designed for maintenance. P.S AT sucks big time does anyone know if replacing it with a manual is affordable/possible?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, some of the maintanence is a pain, but once you know what to do, it isn't so bad. Thankfully, they don't need a lot of it... ;)

 

Yes, a MT swap is possible and affordable. You are in MN, so pick up an old rusted donor car and drag it into your yard for parts. :D

 

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=23822&st=0

 

B

Link to comment
Share on other sites

did you count the teeth between them? thats the only way to be sure. should be 40 IIRC. Mine wasnt exactly spot on with the marks either. but tooth count was A-OK. 40 teeth between upper sprocket marks, 43 between left hand sprocket mark and crank sprocket mark.

 

 

Probably an idiot question, but where is this information located? In the FSM or did you just count when taking off the original belt?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...