1991 Pathfinder SE timing belt project, OEM Nissan or eBay parts?

[JohnnyHaywire]

Howdy amigos,

New to the forum here. I've had my '91 Pathfinder SE for about 2 weeks and after going through the service records, I see that she is about 30K overdue for her timing belt service (read: ticking time bomb!).

I'm about to order the parts and was wondering if anyone had any input about parts preference, OEM vs. aftermarket.

I see Courtesy Nissan has a kit for $274 (before shipping, and they list the WG30E as a '94-'95 for some reason, as I don't believe I have the WG30i engine):

http://www.courtesyparts.com/bundle-timing-belt-kit-pathfinder-wd21-p-568787.html

This is the kit I was thinking of going with on eBay (seems pretty complete except for no t-stat) for $154 shipped:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/380771602513?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

And then there is this Gates kit and I would put the rest of the parts together on my own (it only comes with the pump/gasket, T-belt, tensioner and w/p studs) for $80 shipped:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/87-93-Nissan-Pathfinder-3-0L-V6-Engine-Timing-Belt-Water-Pump-Kit-TCKWP-OE-oy-/301226053940?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1991|Make%3ANissan|Model%3APathfinder&hash=item462278d134&vxp=mtr

I'm going to do the radiator hoses and spark plugs at the same time. Thanks in advance for any input.

[adamzan]

The nissan kit is the best, but I would contact alkorahil on this board, he is a nissan parts guy and can get you a better price usually. If you want to go aftermarket gates is a great choice and that is what I have used in the past. I got mine from rock auto, though.

[JohnnyHaywire]

Thanks for the reply, adamzan. I'll drop him a line now. I'd definitely prefer Nissan parts, but I'm trying to stay on a budget if possible. She's got 276K on the clock

 

And thanks also for the Rock Auto tip, their price for the Gates kit even with shipping is $7 less. I've had good luck with Rock Auto in the past.

 

Here's a couple of pics of the truck:

 

 

 

 

 

[ebayfish]

I'm going against the flow with this answer, but I've always been a good fan of any Gate's belts. I've personally never had an issue with them & that's whats on my pathy.

[JohnnyHaywire]

Thanks for the input, ebayfish. I have read good things about Gates products and I believe I've used their belts before.

 

 

[JohnnyHaywire]

Got her done. Took twice the time and beer anticipated, but she runs again!

I went with a mix of OEM Nissan parts and the eBay kit. I did not end up changing that elbow hose behind the rear timing cover for the cams (kind of wish I did, but the cam seals seemed okay and so I did not pull them or the rear cover, which allows access to said hose) and also did not change the stud for the t-belt tensioner (seemed fine). All the ordered parts seemed to work well and fit well, except the WP gasket, see below.

Some notable pains in the arse were:

Upon removal, the spark plug wires left most of the metal contacts on the end of the plugs, ripping them off the wire itself, despite visible evidence of dielectric grease being used. Probably lost 30-40 minutes rebuilding them. 4 of 6 came out like that. Throw on new plug wires if they are old during this job (I did plugs, cap and rotor, but not wires). I am ordering some new ones soon. Having the plugs out makes turning the crankshaft by hand during re-assembly a whole lot easier. I will add a pic of my #6 plug removal rig tomorrow.

NOTE: Removal of #6 plug was simple. Use a spark plug socket for the NGK plugs (smaller one, test on plug to guarantee fit), one 6" extension, an articulating joint with 2" of electrical tape wrapped around the joint to keep it from flopping (all this stuff is 3/8"), and two 3" extensions and your 3/8" ratchet. Came out with no effort at all, and I never even saw the plug or area. # 2 and # 4 were tougher to grab, but still not too bad compared to back plugs on GM V8s from the '80s. A step stool to stand on helps a good bit for the reach for this.

The cam seals were fine, or at least not leaking, which = fine in my book. The crank seal was leaking on my truck, though, and getting off the crank gear took a while. Lots of penetrating oil, taps with a rubber mallet, and gentle prying. Still damaged the rear washer (between gear and seal) from prying and had to pound it flat best I could. Order this washer behind the crank gear from Nissan if you plan on changing this seal as you'll probably bend it a bit while prying off the gear. If you can tell your crank seal is leaking by a oily lower cover, order this washer. It is, however, almost impossible to tell until you get the timing covers off, which will set you back days, so order the washer (I'd guess $2-$4 washer in advance if you do this job). It is keyed, so you need OEM. I would have replaced mine if I knew removal would damage it.

Crank bolt (at least on my truck) needed pneumatic force to remove. I was moving the truck back and forth in 3rd gear with the parking brake on when using a breaker bar. Pneumatic gun made short work of the crank bolt, but I'm sure penetrating oil helped a bit. Added some blue Locktite to the crank bolt threads when re-assembling.

The timing belt I got had one mark that was kind of between teeth. This threw me off and freaked me out a bit, even though the cam and crank marks were lining up after every revolution. The timing marks on the belt are only accurate for installation, they will not line up after 2 rotations, or 4, or 7, or 18, etc. I have no idea how many spins it takes to have them match up again with the cam and crank marks, but I think a lot, due to obvious factors if you think about it.

Finding the torque specs for certain items was a total pain, despite having two Chiltons and one Haynes manual. I found most, but it was a time drain. Make notes from Dr. Bill's write up, he did a lot of the hard work for this task.

Timing belt tension. I had no specialized tools and ended up going with the "it should twist to 90 degrees between the cam gears with two fingers" rule. I think this should be more like 85 degrees. My belt whines a bit now. Maybe it'll break in, or maybe it'll only last 62K, I don't know, but I'm not going back in there to loosen it. And the rule of the Allen wrench tensioner hole being at 5 O'clock, hmm. Mine was at around 5:30 and still seems a bit tight. With my combo of parts, I'd say best is around 5:45. Your mileage may vary with different combinations of parts (aftermarket belt and tensioner w/ OEM spring in my case).

The WP gasket didn't line up on one of the holes toward the passenger (non-pump area side) and I had to trim it, it was about 1/2 of the hole off. Not impressed with the manufacturing specs there.

The drain **** on my radiator was stuck and I decided not to force it and just loosen the lower hose to drain as a preventive measure for longevity (why break it if it's not leaking?). My radiator cooling fins are steel (OEM?), though, and are rotting away, so that will need to be replaced in the future. As I gently hosed it off, some of them were crumbling away. Heavy water pressure can bend fins, but if they are rusty, low water pressure will massage them away gently

I used the Permatex water pump and t-stat housing sealant (gray) stuff and the Permatex specs for tightening the housing vs. manual specs were way off (some lb. ft. measurement in the manual vs. 1 and a half turn per the Permatex specs) so I split the difference. Okay, I'm lying, I snugged those ba**ards up till they were good and snug.

I ended up using most of my factory Nissan hose clamps for the rad hoses, but used a stainless steel worm drive clamp for one of the hoses and realized I should have updated them all. The worm drive clamps are like butter, the Nissan 2-wire clamps are like...not butter.

I'll post some pics up tomorrow. Still tired and dehydrated but happy she's running and hopefully more efficient.

[adamzan]

I found some of the aftermarket belts whine more, especially the dayco one I used on my friends xterra (same belt). We did the 90 degree test, what seemed like 20 times. And it still whirrs. Annoying but probably harmless.

[JohnnyHaywire]

Ha-ha, yep, same deal here. I must have spent an extra half hour tensioning and re-tensioning that belt trying to figure out what was best.

[JohnnyHaywire]

I just noticed that my previous post has blocked out the word used for a male chicken, or in my case the drain c-o-c-k. Ha!

[tmoore4512]

I have a Gates belt on mine now...have had no issues and will probably put a Gates back on when I do the job again.

I need to do cam seals and front crank seal.

[Nefarious]

I always use the ebay master kit but then substitute in a gates timing belt. Great quality and never had an issue going this route. Master kit on ebay includes cam seals, crank seal, waterpump, timing belt, tensioner, and stud for 100$ shipped. Gates belt at the auto parts store is about 20$ after discount. Grand total of 120$ for the whole deal. If you live in the states that would be even cheaper as shipping to canada is always more!

[adamzan]

I know most people don't have problems but I am really really leary of buying car parts off of ebay, that aren't used factory parts. I mean if I wanted cheap white box parts I can go down the road to prime choice and pay the same price.

[Rebelord]

I got my kit from Alkorahil. His price with shipping was inline with everyone else. Full kit, all hoses, belts etc. Worked out awesome.

As for your radiator: Get one from these guys: http://www.sunbeltradiators.com/sbr-314 Right now, free shipping also!! Cant beat that. I have used their radiators in my Pathfinder and wifes car for years. Have always worked out awesome and never had any issues. If you call them, they may even have a diff model number that is thicker also. The factory one in mine was something like 15 mm thick. The one I got from them is 27 mm thick. Keeps the truck much cooler.

Edited August 29, 2014 by Rebelord

[JohnnyHaywire]

I was surprisingly pleased with the quality of the parts from the eBay kit I received (you can see description and also the link above). All the parts were Japanese except the belt (US made) and fit well except for the WP gasket, but the hole that was off was not near the pump seal area and was resolved with an exacto knife.

Of course, I'd always prefer to have all Nissan parts, but I got in touch with Alkorahil (super awesome guy!) too late and couldn't get them in time for the weekend I had alotted to do the belt and other stuff in there.

Thanks for the tip and link on the radiator, Rebelord!! That price is quite nice! I will definitely give them a ring and see about the thicker radiator.

I've only put around 25 miles on the Pathfinder since the belt change, but am going to do around 80-100 miles tomorrow, so that'll be more of a test. It's been hot and humid, though, and things seem to be holding up well so far.

[Rebelord]

Id replace that rad sooner than later. If the fins are crumbs then the tubes are soon to follow.

[damuho]

I used the Gates kit from Rockauto in my last timing belt change. Works well.

[Nefarious]

I agree about the eBay parts. Make sure you buy from the seller 'cnsautoparts'. They consistently have high quality parts for pennies on the dollar compared to local parts store. Ive used their timing kit on 2 vg33s and a vg30de in my 300zx and all of them have held up great.