Greetings from Colorado

[still.monkey]

Long time reader, first time poster. I've owned Pathfinders for 6 months now. The 1st one(1990) had its life cut short by the rear end of a Chevy, and my 2nd(1989) is having its own problems.

 

Got the car and immediately did brakes, CV joint, vacuum lines, oil change, fuel filter, plugs wires, dash volt regulator(thank you to whoever posted that info). Was able to scrap a lot from my smashed cars interior that were missing in the 89. Then did belts, timing belt, water pump, heater hoses, gear oils, thermostat, bypass... and after this session of maintenance I was backing out of my garage and didn't realize the passenger door wasn't closed. It swung open caught on a wooden table and made a god awful metal on metal noise, and now doesn't close right. It still closes, but it isn't able to latch and stay closed, the door doesn't appear to be out of alignment more then a bit, but when it was driving it had to be secured with a rope to keep it from swinging open in traffic. I have no experience with body work of any kind so I would love some advice on how to fix this problem.

 

Now for the most serious problem. The engine was replaced 10,000 miles before I got it, and had no maintenance records with it, which is why I did all of the above as soon as I could. Well I got into the timing belt, and it only had the top half of the timing belt cover. I immediately ordered a replacement cover but put everything back together so I could drive it, not planning to drive it around town more then a few days a week. A week after this my friend's car broke down and I let him borrow the Pathfinder and completely forgot about the timing belt cover still being off... After two days of driving it 200+ miles round trip to work, the timing belt had torn itself in half lengthwise while driving on the highway and stopped the engine. Obviously it had slipped multiple teeth(the old timing belt was off a tooth when I replaced it). What I'm wondering is how likely is it that I will need to pull the head to replace those internal components?

 

I've been ignoring this problem for a month now, but need to get the old truck running again, and this site has been great motivation to make it happen. The trucks nickname is Cab Pearl because of the two tone paint job! Love it. Thanks

[SchizophrenicMC]

Welcome to the place!

 

I know a guy who tore a timing belt on a VG30 in a 200SX SE, once, at Top Dead Center, so everything was clear and he just needed a new belt. But this isn't likely. He was really lucky. In my experience, tearing your timing belt usually means blown-up internals that are a bit pricey to repair and replace. I'm sure someone here knows more about how it affects the VG30E, and can tell you more about what exactly to do in your case.

 

Good luck with getting your truck running again, man. I wanna see some pics of her back on the road.

[devonianwalk]

First, welcome to NPORA! Second, you need to check the compression of each cylinder. If you have compression then you should be good to go. Just realign the timing marks and go! I don't recall what the VG30 engine impression should read but, my VG33 was hitting in the 130-150 range IIRC?

[clkindred]

Welcome!

 

Another member from Colorado!

 

Scary how just that flimsy (the VG33 cover is anyway) thing being gone made THAT much of a difference with the belt!

 

Good luck with the motor.

[teixeira]