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1997 Pathfinder Timing Belt Replacement 3.3L


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I purchased a timing belt and water pump kit from NAPA. The serpentine belt and tensioner appear to be in good condition. Are there any other parts I will want to replace while I'm in there? Any special tools needed?
Cam, crank seals, thermostat and coolant bypass hose. Probably need a puller to get your crank pulley off.

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Parts: everything you can get at now that you won't be able to later. Water pump, timing belt, timing belt tensioner, cam seals, crank seal, water pump bypass hose, thermostat. This is stuff you'll have to pull the belt to fix if it fails later, so you might as well do it while it's easy. When I pulled mine apart, I didn't like the look of my lower rad hoses, so I replaced those as well. Also remember you'll need to top up or replace your coolant afterwards.

 

Tools: Torque wrench, something to hold the cam sprockets when you remove/retorque the bolt (you can use the old timing belt and vise grips like a strap wrench, I made an F-shaped tool from scrap metal that made it easier), a puller for the balancer (duck's foot puller worked great for me, make sure it comes with the right bolts), and something to pull the seals out. To remove the seals, I sharpened the tip of a flat screwdriver, bent it 90°, polished the back side so it wouldn't garf anything, slid the tip between the shaft and the seal so it hooked the seal from behind, and tapped a socket against the handle to pull the seal out (like a slide hammer). There's probably a better way to do it. I also had to buy a 1 1/16" socket to get the crank bolt out because I didn't have any sockets that big at the time.

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Did you guys remove the radiator? Was it necessary to remove the AC pump? 
I would recommend removing radiator. Just unbolt the a/c leaving at least one bolt stuck in as to relieve stress on the hoses then when need be you can pull it out of the way to get timing cover off.

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You're already draining the coolant, might as well pull the rad and give yourself some more room to work with. Easier to see, less chance of damaging the radiator if it's not in your way, and more skin left on your knuckles when you're done. If you've got an auto trans, you'll also need to disconnect the cooler lines. You can plug those hoses with old spark plugs (insulator side, not the threaded side).

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Not sure about the rest of you but I've never been able to get a puller in there without removing the radiator. The shroud and fan are already off so why not just remove it. 2 bolts and it should lift right out.

 

You don't need to remove the AC but just be careful getting the upper cover past the AC line. This is an R50 specific issue IIRC as the wd21 and the Xterra have different routing.

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